Easiest Musical Instruments to Learn

Musical instruments that are easier to learn. There are many who want to learn music, want to play a musical instrument, but don’t get started because they think its difficult. Besides, there are many who have taken lessons as a child but did not pursue it seriously but are now keen to learn. If you’re one of those, this is the list of easy to play musical instruments for you.

Introduction

Most beginners think that a music instrument (be it piano, guitar or drums) is difficult to learn, and as a result most of them don’t even get started.

However, as with any skill, it’s easier to get started and learn the basics, but it takes years to become a master.

So, I would suggest that you take the plunge, try it out for a few months and see for yourself how it feels.

One thing that helps initially is to find a good tutor and take the time to practice.

With proper guidance and regular practice, you can get across the initial hurdles and things do become easy eventually.

Easy to Play Music Instruments

Certain musical instruments are easier to learn (to get started with) and they are cheaper as well, compared to say a piano.

Having said that, every person’s learning capacity and the way they learn is different. What is easy for one person may look difficult to the other person and vice versa.

You should also follow your heart.

You don’t have to necessarily stick to this list. If you find something interesting, go ahead and learn to play it.

Here are some musical instruments that are easier to learn.

Recorder

The recorder is another small wind instrument (shaped like a flute). Its portable, inexpensive, easy to play, produces a charming sound, and is very popular among beginner music students.
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Piano / Keyboards

Many feel that the piano is a difficult instrument to play. However, the fact is that there are easier methods to get started on the keyboard. Start with the basic notes, learn a few chords, and you should be fine. Or maybe you can learn to play only with one hand first.
More on Piano / Keyboards.

Ukulele

The Ukulele basically looks like a small guitar (used a lot in Hawaiian music). Its basically a string instrument but easy on your fingers (the nylon strings). A Ukulele doesn’t cost much.
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Melodica

Also known as the key-flute (pianica), this is an easy to learn wind instrument that comes with piano like keys. It can also be used by students for getting introduced to Keyboards.
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Harmonica

It is very easy to produce a sound on a harmonica (advanced players use it for different genres of music like blues, rock, pop, folk or jazz). It is easy to learn as well and is extremely portable. You can easily carry it in your pocket. Harmonica (also known as the mouth organ in some countries) is basically a reed instrument.
More on Harmonica

Guitar

Another great music instrument! You can play melody as well as rhythms on a guitar. You can easily carry it on your shoulders and people do get impressed with it. In order to learn guitar within a few hours, all you need to do is remember a few chords and you can get started strumming on the guitar.
More on Guitar

Percussion/Drums

This is another exciting music instrument which can be taken up. The drawbacks being – it needs more space and can be expensive. Of course, there is the noise factor also which you need to take into account. More on Drums

Learning to Play Piano vs Guitar

Not sure whether to play piano or guitar, here are some of my thoughts based on my experiences.

Playing chords with your left hand on a keyboard (with the accompaniment) doesn’t take long, you can do that in a couple of weeks, at least the C, F, G chords, and you can play several popular songs with these chords. In fact, if you refer to the Kenneth Baker keyboard books, you can play a couple of songs, with chords (with the accompaniment on), in the first week itself, with say 30 min of practice. If you have never touched a keyboard before, these are great books to get started.

But there is much more to learning a piano or the guitar.

While it’s difficult to generalize, but if you have an outgoing personality, you may be well suited for guitar. If you are a bit on the introvert side, then you will mostly choose the piano/keyboard.

This is what I’ve observed looking at my friends, who play either of these instruments. It may not be totally accurate, but to some extent it seems to be the case.

Heading out over the weekend for a picnic/mini vacation with friends? You can take along the guitar and accompany your friends while singing some fun songs.

And if you have a few more in the group who can play the guitar, you guys will have a blast.

It’s difficult to do this with a piano/keyboard because of its size and because it runs on electricity!

There are some who feel playing the piano with two hands is difficult, compared to playing the guitar.

But that’s definitely not the case. Maybe you need to be a bit more patient initially on the piano, but most students do get it. It also depends on how your teacher introduces the use of left hand in your piano playing.

I also know many students who have picked up the piano quite fast but struggled with the guitar.

While playing the piano helps you become better as a musician and an arranger, keyboard players have an advantage when it comes to studio work as its quite easy to input the notes using a keyboard controller.

Also Read

• Checkout more Musical Instruments: Buying Guide
• Get started with music lessons here