musical instrument

[wolf63]

My whole life I have wanted to be able to sing or play a musical instrument. I know that even the best singing teacher would run away in terror at the sound of my voice, so I have decided to learn to play a musical instrument.

Which one is the easiest to learn? I don't want to pay too much money as I will probably get fed up when I realise that I have no talent.

Can anybody give me some advice on this - or is there a singing teacher out there (based in Tayside) who is fearless and has a sense of humour?

[Mortartube]

I would suggest that you get yourself a harmonica. It's cheap, easily transportable and you can wander into a park or field and practice on a whim. You can also practice whilst parked up in the car waiting for that traffic jam to ease. They are not too difficult to get a tune out of, but like all instruments they take time to become a master player. I have a harmonica in the key of C which costs around �6.00, (yes six quid). It's the cheapest away to annoy a lot of people that I've found and at that price, it's not too drastic if you give it up. I find that once you get a tune out of one instrument, you have more of an interest in learning another. Good luck.

[james_m246]

If your going to learn to play an instrument you should learn one you enjoy rather than the cheapest one. If you don't enjoy it you will give up because its boring.

Harmonicas are great though, I bought mine from lidl for �2.95! Fairly easy to get a basic tune out of them aswell, I could play twinkle twinkle little star and happy birthday easily after about a day or 2.

[falloutgirl]

Don't put yourself down! Trust me, if you enjoy it enough you'll practice a lot, and you know what they say about practice making perfect!! You don't need huge amounts of talent to be able to play an instrument well, I have very little talent and I managed a distinction in my Grade 5 piano exam. If I can do it, anyone can!!

I used to play the keyboard but my grandma bought me a piano a few years ago, so now I'm going to sell my keyboard on E-bay for about �25-30. There are always bargains so I'm sure you'll be able to pick up something for vey little money.

Good luck xxx

[SaxyJag]

First of all, have a look at Atarah Ben Tovim's "The Right Instrument for Your Child' (ISBN 0297850652). Her theory is that the instrument must suit the person intellectually, emotionally and harmonically if they are to stand any chance of success.

You'll have to consider whether you want to play in band eventually. If so, would you like to be a show-off soloist or one of the back line support (I play alto sax - I do both)?

Are you quite solitary? If you are, then a self-contained instrument such as guitar or piano may be better?

Would you like to play rock, folk, classical, jazz? If rock, then perhaps electric or bass guitar rather than acoustic. If jazz, maybe sax rather than flute (although many people do play jazz flute).

How musical are you? For something like violin or trombone, for example, it helps to be able to 'hear' the correct note before you play it, whereas with something like the piano (if it's properly tuned), the notes are ready made for you.

As you can see, it's hard to say what's easy and what's not - I think sax is easy, but it wouldn't suit everyone. A young friend who really struggled with sax is now racing ahead on trumpet, whereas I could barely get a note out of the latter.

Good luck, whatever you end up with. Let us know how you get on.

[wolf63]

Thanks everybody.

I have decided to get a keyboard and also I am going to book a singing lesson - it says that the first one is free.

I am going to post another question looking for "hope" - hope that they can make my voice sound half way decent.

Susan