What music instrument should I learn?

Question

I play piano and I like classical musics. Now I decided to learn another music instrument. It's a tough choice between violin and flute. I like violin but I'm afraid I'll hurt my fingers.

Besides violin and flute, do you have any good suggestions?
What instument do you think I should learn? Thanks!

By the way I'm already 21 years old.

Answer 1

Well, first of all, choose an instrument you are interested in and will stick with. I play violin, and I love it a lot, and it doesn't hurt your fingers. It's a very excellent instrument. If you like classical music, I'd say go for violin. It's very easy to learn and play, and very popular, too. Or you could do some other instrument.

If you like:

classical/pleasant, go for a string instrument

jazz, modern, go for saxophone or something

fanfare-ish/marhcing band, go for a brass instrument

rock, go for guitar or electric guitar

something gentle and nice, go for flute

OR if your decision is between high and low:

if you like high/moderately high sounds, go for violin, viola, flute, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone

if you like moderately low/low, go for cello, string bass, trombone, tuba, tenor saxophone, bass saxophone

If you're not sure or if you don't know what some of those intstruments are, research it a little, or if you want a different instrument but don't know what, research that too until you find out. A good thing to do is to decide what kind of sounds you like better: violin, flute, or something else. My obsessive love for violin music is what led me to choose violin.

Anyway, when you think you've made you decision, you should find out about the instrument, establish a budget for yourself, find instruments in the price range, and most importantly, find out if you can get lessons nearby. Many music stores give private lessons if you are interested.

After all that, buy your instrument and get playing!

Answer 2

Drums are probably the easiest since its mostly rhythm. But it takes coordination. There's a lot of books on guitar and piano so those would probably be a good second best. The wind instruments require specialized techniques for breathing and making the right shapes with your mouth to play. Trumpet, for example, requires 'buzzing' where you purse your lips together and use air to virbate them together. It's best if you learn the proper ways to do that with an instructor guiding you. Trumpet requires you to change the opening to change pitches (since you only have 3 keys to work with). So unless you're working with a group, or have a good ear, you could be off pitch, significantly and not know it (Like low C, G, C, E, G all share the same 'open' fingering). The Boys and Girls Clubs sometimes have music programs where you might be able to learn an instrument that way. That might be a low cost option too. Music is fun - so I don't want to discourage you from giving it a shot. Good luck

Answer 3

You have friends who are musicians, right? Go try their instruments until you find one that you just can't put down. Then go get yourself one. It's really that simple. You can do the same thing at a music store, but the salesperson is likely to talk you into buying something that he or she wants to sell, not necessarily what you want to buy. What instrument pricks up your ears when you listen to music? You already know that you are interested in two. Go try those. Violin doesn't hurt at all once you build up a little bit of callous on your fingertips and you do that by playing for five minutes and then ten minutes and then a little bit longer as your fingertips toughen up. You did the same thing with your feet when you learned to walk, honest. Violin isn't nearly as expensive as a flute if you get an entry level instrument starting out by the way. I have three in my classroom that cost less than two hundred dollars apiece and one that only cost me forty. (I wouldn't recommend that one, but if you forget your instrument, you get to play that one! (LOL)

Answer 4

Well, seen the fact that you are already 21, the violin might not be such a good idea. Appart from that, the beginning on a string instrument is more difficult than on a wind instrument like the flute. But there are an awful lot of people who play flute, so have you thought about clarinet or saxophone? If you want to play a string instrument, maybe the cello would be a bit more comfortable than the violin. Of course it all depends on what you would like yourself. After all the decision is yours.

Answer 5

Flute, I tried violin it's a lot harder than it seems. There is no way you can play it without being able to tell what note you are playing when you put your finger down. Violin also needs to be taken care of often. I haven't played mine for a month and it has a scratcy tone from old resin (stuff you put on your bow to make noise) left on the strings. I would think that flute is a semi-bad choice too, because some people have trouble playing certain wind instruments. The reason i play saxophone is because i couldn't play the trombone or tuba.

Answer 6

Do you like chinese classical instrument? Well, i strongly suggest you take up one of those instrument to preserve chinese classical music which has rich musical heritage...for example
1) Yang-Qin or Chinese dulcimer

Yangqin is a Chinese hammered dulcimer with a near-squared soundboard. The instrument is very similar to Santur, played with two bamboo sticks.
or the more popular one in M'sia

2)Zheng or Guzheng - Chinese zither with movable bridges and 16 - 25 strings. In the same family there are the Japanese koto, the Vietnamese dan tranh, the Korean kayagum, and the Mongolian Yagta (more ... )

3)Erhu - or Er-Hu, a two-stringed fiddle, is one of the most popular Chinese instruments in the Hu-qin family, where Hu stands for "foreign" or "the northern folk" in Chinese, and "qin" is a general name for all kinds of string instruments. Also known as chinese violin...



I think there are few associations for chinese classical music in Pg...

I love classical music too but i did not learn, i have played guzhen before when i was living in my sis hse and the sound of the music is so dazzling,melodious and peaceful feelings.

Answer 7

French horn!!! The horn is an awesome instrument! I play the horn and it is absolutely wonderful! If you are looking for a challenging instrument that is a blast to learn and play, then then the French horn is the one for you. It is in treble clef, so you wouldn't have to learn different notes and brass instruments are really cool and fun to play! Good luck with whatever you choose to play!! :)

Answer 8

If you're in for classical music, play the violin. If you're in for peaceful music, play the flute. If you like dreamland fantasy music, try the harp. If you prefer slow, mellow tones, then play the cello. Which ever you choose, it doesn't matter. All musical instruments are wonderful.
I myself play the flute. It fits my personality. My real name is Irina and it means 'peace'.
So. . .yeah.

Answer 9

I played the flute for seven years and I regret dropping every time I hear a flute solo. It's not very difficult and incredibly beautiful.

Answer 10

You can play lots of other types of music on violin, not just classical. I have celtic, irish, gypsy, and disney movie music books to play for fun haha.