Which Music Instruments Should I Play

What musical instrument would you like to play?

As others have discovered, it's difficult to answer without being boastful. The truth is, I don't really know. I own around 70 instruments and I play all of them. I've probably played 30 or 40 of them publicly.There's a small element of smoke and mirrors here because there families of instruments which become relatively easy to play once you play one member of the family.My instruments include all the mandolin family, all the banjo family, all the guitar family, all the ukulele family. If you play any of these, then the charango, vihuela, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan cuatros, cavaquinho and a whole raft of other instruments are a piece of cake. You can add to that list the bouzouki, tsouras and baglamas because the playing principles are the same.I play the dobro, and that makes the lap steel and weissenborn instantly playable. I play electric bass and the transition to double bass takes moments. I learnt the trombone at school and that made the euphonium, trumpet and tuba easy to pick up. I play the recorder family, which makes fifes and Irish whistles easy. Playing the piano adds a whole raft of keyboard instruments to the list.I play many more but I guess I'm trying to say that, just as one thing leads to another, so playing one instrument makes others extremely east to play.

Should children play musical instruments?

Short answer: Yes.Long answer: Playing instruments has many benefits, the earlier one starts, the better he will be. But learning an instrument takes a lot of dedication. I often regret not having practiced a lot when I was younger, sometimes I even blame my parents for that. I think one should learn an instrument as early as possible, preferably at 4 or 5, and parents should find a good teacher that is good for their children and encourages them. I’ve had teachers that pressured me so much that I didn’t practice at all. If your kid does that, get it a new teacher.Playing instruments have many benefits, musicians (especially the classically trained ones) are known to be very intelligent. Dedication to an instrument over a long time can also be a helpful factor when looking for a job.However, the downsides of playing an instrument should also be considered. For instance, a lot of children and teens do not have a social life outside of school or maybe their orchestra or band. All they do is practice, they don’t even have time to get their school work done. A friend of mine experienced that. He’s got his violin, piano, orchestra and quartet rehearsals on four days of the week, on weekends he often has up to nine hours rehearsal + concerts every week.So yes, instruments are great, and really helpful, but the downsides must also be considered, you don’t want to stress your child too much.

I have giant hands. What musical instrument should I play?

I'd say Cello, Bass, Tenor/Baritone Saxophone, Drums, Piano, Electric keyboards, Accordion, French Horn, Guitar etc. Basically anything but the Violin haha, jk.If you're really curious about music, you can try and play any instrument, no matter how big or small you are/ your instrument is.Look for the instrument which sounds the most beautiful for you, and which you think you could be comfortable playing.Playing a piano or an electric keyboard/digital workstation is much easier than a violin or any woodwind/brass in the beginning since you only have to press down the keys to get a sound, unlike on a violin/viola/cello/bass where you'll sound awful for quite a few months, especially if you don't already have a well developed ear. The same for woodwinds/brass, whith which you'll sound awful for some time and you'll have to learn all those finger combinations in order to produce any note. But with time playing piano (I'd say even the accordion too) gets much, much harder, because you'll learn harder and harder pieces, and especially on the piano you'll have to read two staves at the same time, so it will take more time to learn pieces. Oh and don't forget that you have chords on any keyboard instrument, which means you'll often play more notes at the same time, either as an accompanist or while playing a piece. Doesn't mean that it's less fun though!Also see if you like how the instrument sounds in your favorite genres.You could go for a Digital Workstation / Synthethizer like the Yamaha PSR series (great for begginers), or an electric piano (from Yamaha/Casio I'd say, and then move on to another instrument. Starting with a keyboard instrument and then moving to another instrument (if you'll still want to learn another one) is kinda the safer and easier route because the keyboards have the notes in a logical order and it helps with music theory if you know to play a keyboard instrument too.In the end, the most important thing is for you to like the sound of the instrument you choose. You'll feel miserable if you don't play something that you love. Good luck on your music journey.