thinking of learning an instrument

2013 · 10 Sep 2020 at 06:44

Im thinking of learning an instrument to relax and enjoy myself.
Ive always wanted to learn but something I liked

I was not too fond of music at school due to getting a given a recorder to learn.

I dont have a clue about musical notes, so I dont know how well I would do with that.

I'm think guitar or piano.
They are the 2 I like and because I want something I can use with headset not disturbing others but still enjoying it, and hopefully connect to my pc and get more out of it.

Im leaning towards keyboard because im assuming if I get a electrical piano I can change the setting and get the sound of other instrument like the guitar and drums

What would you recommend for me.

also I would like to be able to buy a cheap starter.

wolfie138 · 10 Sep 2020 at 09:10

i'd recommend the triangle.

Minusorange · 10 Sep 2020 at 09:42

If you get piano you want something with weighted keys, also pay for an actual teacher, they're not expensive and worth the money if you want to learn properly

https://www.pianodreamers.com/best-digital-pianos-under-700/

I'm using an FP-30 the keys are solid, not quite to the standard of my teachers Hammersmith but they're good enough

MookJong · 10 Sep 2020 at 12:27

What is you budget?

I would highly recommend either buying a synthersizer workstation, or if you have a PC a MIDI keyboard. A lot more fun and possibilities if you don't want a purist experience of a single sound.

The Korg i3 maybe

or EK-50

jsmoke · 10 Sep 2020 at 12:34

Piano easier to learn at first over guitar then visa versa as you get more advanced.

It's a lot of hours of slaving either way.

I used to play clarinet at school and a short go at cello. Then I picked up guitar myself.

I started off trying to learn riffs like Johnny be Goode and progressed from there but I could never get past around intermediate level. Still not sure why.

Josh · 10 Sep 2020 at 12:37

I was tempted by a Ukelele as it seems a straight forward instrument to learn to play.

koolpc · 10 Sep 2020 at 12:37

I know a few builders who are experts on the fiddle!

ttaskmaster · 10 Sep 2020 at 12:50

Josh said:
I was tempted by a Ukelele as it seems a straight forward instrument to learn to play.

It's also good if you like cleaning Windows™...

Josh · 10 Sep 2020 at 13:04

I think that's where it came from, my grandad loved George Formby and always played his music.

jsmoke · 10 Sep 2020 at 13:41

George Formby was great. I think I almost wrote to Jimmy Saville to see if he could fix it to meet George when I was a kid.

ThePainBarrier · 10 Sep 2020 at 17:42

I recently bought a keyboard (Yamaha EZ-220 - no point paying big money for something I might get bored of).
Not started yet (other things on) but I intend to start out on this guys YouTube channel when I do:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2VELs7Mfz81cZxC9A6-JOg

Malevolence · 10 Sep 2020 at 18:18

Bass, violin or piano.

2013 · 10 Sep 2020 at 20:33

Minusorange said:
If you get piano you want something with weighted keys, also pay for an actual teacher, they're not expensive and worth the money if you want to learn properly

https://www.pianodreamers.com/best-digital-pianos-under-700/

I'm using an FP-30 the keys are solid, not quite to the standard of my teachers Hammersmith but they're good enough

Ive love to go all out but I dont want to spend much money ( little as possible) because it maybe something I loose interest in or may have less time, so I dont want to invest so much when I dont even know how to play it properly

If I get better and start to enjoy it, I may get a teacher when corvid cools down.

MookJong said:
What is you budget?

I would highly recommend either buying a synthersizer workstation, or if you have a PC a MIDI keyboard. A lot more fun and possibilities if you don't want a purist experience of a single sound.

The Korg i3 maybe

or EK-50

Little as possible at the moment, I dont want to put a lot of money in something I may not stick with or not have much time for.

I mean I dont even know how to play. so at this point it would just be a toy for me to relax.

jsmoke said:
Piano easier to learn at first over guitar then visa versa as you get more advanced.

It's a lot of hours of slaving either way.

I used to play clarinet at school and a short go at cello. Then I picked up guitar myself.

I started off trying to learn riffs like Johnny be Goode and progressed from there but I could never get past around intermediate level. Still not sure why.

I was thinking the same but I thought the piano would be easier to start.

I mean I dont even know how to read the musical notes.

ThePainBarrier said:
I recently bought a keyboard (Yamaha EZ-220 - no point paying big money for something I might get bored of).
Not started yet (other things on) but I intend to start out on this guys YouTube channel when I do:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2VELs7Mfz81cZxC9A6-JOg

My thoughts, I dont really want to invest a lot when I know nothing and dont know how long before I get bored, I just thought it could be a therapeutic to learn or at least play randomly, I thoughtI could enjoy it even if Im just making my own random sounds and music.

Malevolence said:
Bass, violin or piano.

Nice choices, I thought about all of them but the piano maybe the easiest.

Minusorange · 10 Sep 2020 at 21:02

2013 said:
If I get better and start to enjoy it, I may get a teacher when corvid cools down.

Start with a teacher otherwise you will learn bad habits that will be hard to unlearn and will hinder your progress if you end up going down the teacher route

Teachers aren't expensive, mine is £12 for half an hour a week, the knowledge and assistance they give is invaluable to learning how to correctly play

builder22 · 11 Sep 2020 at 19:07

MookJong said:
I would highly recommend either buying a synthersizer workstation, or if you have a PC a MIDI keyboard. A lot more fun and possibilities if you don't want a purist experience of a single sound.

this...making something that sounds like music will be far more accessible (and relaxing like you mention) going this route compared to learning the guitar or piano from scratch...especially if you have no real (definite) desire to learn either

plus it might give you a taste for whatever music/sounds you can make and lead to wanting to learn an instrument properly

CircleFaust · 18 Sep 2020 at 14:45

sounds like you are interested in the piano /keyboard more
you should be able to pick one up pretty cheap, ideally one with full size keys (possibly weighted?)
you'll need a stool and stand also. if you have an ipad or something it would help for watching tutorials and the like

learning an instrument is frustrating to begin with, you will get annoyed at your progress likely
the only way is to stick with it and put the practice in. you'll start to enjoy it a lot more after about a year of learning
good luck

Mr Badger · 18 Sep 2020 at 15:27

Rather than focus on which is "easier" I think the more important question is which instrument gives you the greater motivation? The trick to getting good is putting in the hours of practise and building up the calluses and muscle memory so it becomes second nature, just as much as the technical side of learning how to play. If deep down you want to be (say) Elton John then there isn't much point trying to learn the bass, or if you want to be (insert name of guitar rock god here) then settling for the piano may not be the best way to maintain your enthusiasm in the long term, despite getting chopsticks down on your first day.

2013 · 19 Sep 2020 at 03:23

Any suggestions on what I should get and price point.

Mr Badger said:
Rather than focus on which is "easier" I think the more important question is which instrument gives you the greater motivation? The trick to getting good is putting in the hours of practise and building up the calluses and muscle memory so it becomes second nature, just as much as the technical side of learning how to play. If deep down you want to be (say) Elton John then there isn't much point trying to learn the bass, or if you want to be (insert name of guitar rock god here) then settling for the piano may not be the best way to maintain your enthusiasm in the long term, despite getting chopsticks down on your first day.

For me I think I would be the piano, I want to learn the guitar I have zero experience so I know I will find it harder and loose interest.

Im a total zero in the terms of playing and knowing what I should be looking at.

My main interest is to be able to be able to recreate music similar to what pops in to my head or adding new music to old tunes I like DJs, I still dont know if keyboard would be the best option or something else like djs,

I will just be to let off some steam and relax, I dont how well things will go but thats the hope.

I dont really know what I should be looking for or at which point to start, I have some time at the moment so I was hoping to at least get some pointers in the right direction.

potatolord · 19 Sep 2020 at 22:56

Guitar is easyish if you want to bash out chords and play songs. Also, they're cheap and don't take up much space.

Steel string acoustics are better for playing songs. I prefer a classical (nylon) for tone, but they're a bit more work for a beginner.

You can pick up a reasonable acoustic for under £50 on ebay. Yamahas are always quality, in my experience.