No matter the ultimate goals, whether you’re planning to become a professional or that you just feel like doing it for fun, music gives joy unlike any other form of art. Just think of it – you have this hobby and you’re able to perform some of your favorite songs. And if you dedicate enough time and attention to it, you’ll be able to write your own music and even improvise different lead sections within your desired scope of genres. But the big question comes up – what is the best instrument to learn as a beginner?
After all, it’s not that easy for a complete rookie, who hasn’t played a single note in their entire life, to get ahold of it in a short period. There are plenty of potential obstacles that you can stumble upon along the way. However, the task is not impossible either. While it’s easier to start early, before the age of 10, no one should ever be discouraged to start learning how to play an instrument. Some great musicians even started later on in their lives.
With all this in mind, we figured we could make a brief guide about the best possible paths for complete beginners. Here are some of the instruments that we’d recommend.
Best beginner instrument guide: Piano and keyboards
The best thing about the piano is that anyone can technically play it. Just press any of the keys and you’ve already produced a note! What also makes it really easy is the fact that you have everything laid out in front of you. There’s nothing too complex and all the notes are just next to each other, from the lowest up to the highest ones.
What’s more, there are plenty of keyboards and electric pianos that make it easier for the youngest ones to approach it. The keys can be lighter and smaller, plus there’s always an abundance of different exciting new sounds they can play around with.
One should not forget that there are plenty of great apps for learning the piano. The instrument itself being straightforward makes it possible to follow things through and learn a few chords, melodies, and even simple musical pieces in a surprisingly short period.
Guitar
Although slightly more complicated than the piano for an average beginner, the guitar is also pretty accessible as the best beginner instrument. It’s fairly easy to understand how things work, and when you learn some of the basic chord shapes, it’s often easy to transpose and learn music in other keys.
The best thing about it for the beginners is that you can easily learn a few basic chords and strum along while singing with your friends and family. Besides, it’s also pretty easy to carry around and you can basically practice or jam along anywhere.
It does take some time for the fingers to adapt though. Aside from getting left and right-hand stamina, beginners often struggle while building up callouses at the tips of their fingers.
Bass guitar
Another great choice is the bass guitar. The first obvious thing that makes it simple is that it features fewer strings than the guitars. (In most cases, at least.) The principles are pretty much the same, although the techniques can differ.
Also, the bass guitar has a different function in modern music. It’s more “linear” in a way, as the chord progressions are usually played note-by-note. This makes it easier for any beginner to get a hang of it. But don’t get fooled; although it’s easy for beginners to learn, the bass is actually a challenging instrument to master. After all, bassists are those who keep things together in a band.
Ukulele
If guitar, bass, or piano seem a bit too complicated, or if you don’t feel like bothering too much with them as a beginner, you can always try ukulele. We could describe it as a smaller and fairly simpler guitar. And it’s not because it features just four strings and up to 15 frets. The tuning is conceived in such a way that all the basic chords are really easy to play.
What’s more, you’ll be able to find plenty of really accessible songbooks or tabs with arrangements of famous songs of all genres. It’s not unusual to see people get ahold of ukulele in a matter of days, managing to learn and perform a few songs on their own.
In some way, you can look at ukulele as a gateway instrument to things like guitar or bass guitar. It’s definitely a great choice for a beginner and a fun way to get into the wonderful world of music.
Best beginner instrument guide: Drums and percussion
Drums could possibly be the technically most demanding instrument for beginners on this list. Nonetheless, they open up a few easy ways to start learning music. So instead of jumping on the entire drum kit right away, a student can start with just the snare drum; or even a practice pad. It’s a pretty straightforward approach and the best one for getting ahold of basic rhythms and staying in time.
After a while, the student gets the chance to play with all the other components of a full drum kit. It takes some coordination, but it’s not impossible to learn some basic beats after a few months of practice.
Why not try being a vocalist?
But out of all the instruments at your disposal, your vocal cords are the most obvious choice. And why would you need anything else when you already have a very powerful musical tool in your own body?
But all the jokes aside, singing is one of the best ways to get introduced to music as a beginner. There’s a high chance you’ll be able to develop a better pitch than other beginner musicians. Sure, it’s not as simple as it may seem; but it’s definitely the simplest option for a beginner, no matter the style of music they’re into.
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