Guitar or Piano???

[DTWD]

My brother learnt and played keyboard/piano for about 5 years before trying his hand at guitar. Within a week he was pretty good, after a few months it was like he was playing it for years.

He's always said that once you have learnt how music works, how it's constructed and how you read it and understand how to string notes together any logical instrument is fairly easy to learn.

Personally I think it depends on the style you wish to play. Guitar has the "cool" factor, the fact you can be "that guy" at a party and get the girl*.

But the piano has power, personally I don't think there are many instruments that can evoke a true sombre feeling, but the piano is one of them. It can be happy, but nothing says "this song is supposed to be sad" like a slowly played piano. Think of all the stand out sombre/moving pieces of music out there and you will find it's usually piano driven and usually stripped down to just it and possibly a singer. If you want power just sprinkle some strings in. It's often not the leader of the band, but can be the heart.

So I would go piano.

*In Hollywood anyway.

 

[boxman2000]

I'm glad I got into the piano first as it really gave me a good understanding of theory and rhythm which I could apply to the guitar.

Either are good choices but probably guitar for price and speed of good results.

 

[timbob]

I think all instruments are equally as hard as each other. Sure, single line melodies come more easily to total beginners on the piano than on a guitar (or heaven forbid, a violin ) but that instrument's repertoire has developed over the years to "make up for this" by including mental pieces with total independence of right and left hands needed.

Any one can bash out boom-tish-boomboom-tish on a drum kit - it's possibly the easiest instrument to get started on. But what is expected of a professional drummer - total independence of the hands and feet and complex overlaying of different rhythms, whilst being a human metronome more than "makes up" for it being easy to start on.

Wind instruments are "harder" to start on than a guitar, for example (talking single line melodies) as you need breath control and an embouchure to get a nice sound, versus a little finger practice to pluck a clean note on a guitar. But then you only play one note at once, versus many on a guitar. Then there's intonation to deal with...

However, the hardest instrument is obviously the trombone

 

[Curunen]

However, the hardest instrument is obviously the trombone

Haha, no the hardest instrument must be the timpani, or even the triangle; no margin for error!

But yeah for casual playing I'd say anyone can easily bash out a decent sound on anything requiring use of the hands/feet only. So anything from various percussion, to piano, guitar, even harp. BUT although making a decent sound is easy/instant, being able to play any one of those properly requires just as much commitment and practice as anything else.

Wind, brass and stringed instruments using a bow are a completely different kettle of fish - all require serious practice to even make a decent sound in the first place, let alone be able to play one of them well.

 

[mranderson]

Guitar is a more versatile instrument. Not as difficult as piano and you can always carry it around.

 

[timbob]

Haha, no the hardest instrument must be the timpani, or even the triangle; no margin for error!

But yeah for casual playing I'd say anyone can easily bash out a decent sound on anything requiring use of the hands/feet only. So anything from various percussion, to piano, guitar, even harp. BUT although making a decent sound is easy/instant, being able to play any one of those properly requires just as much commitment and practice as anything else.

Wind, brass and stringed instruments using a bow are a completely different kettle of fish - all require serious practice to even make a decent sound in the first place, let alone be able to play one of them well.

I was semi-serious about the trombone. All the problems of being a wind instrument (breath control, embouchure strength), none of the benefits of "normal" wind instruments which have keys or valves to at least get a note near to being in tune. The trombone is more like a violin, in that you *have* to be able to pitch the note in your head to get anywhere near it. It has the "brass" difficulties of having to pitch many notes with one hand/finger position (like a bugle). You even have to be able to read two different clefs unless you want to miss out playing entire genres of music!

 

[Curunen]

I was semi-serious about the trombone. All the problems of being a wind instrument (breath control, embouchure strength), none of the benefits of "normal" wind instruments which have keys or valves to at least get a note near to being in tune. The trombone is more like a violin, in that you *have* to be able to pitch the note in your head to get anywhere near it. It has the "brass" difficulties of having to pitch many notes with one hand/finger position (like a bugle). You even have to be able to read two different clefs unless you want to miss out playing entire genres of music!

I can see what you mean. I don't know how the embouchure works with brass instruments, but that together with "guessing" the pipe length for different notes, and breath control... it does seem like a tough instrument to play.