Strings
 

I agree with those who suggest stringed instruments mainly because they are portable and always sound good solo. You can also get away with playing by ear and don't have to learn to read music. My choice was 5-string banjo. It has a bright happy sound and in at least one aspect can be easier to play. It has a open G chord so your left hand can get some rest.

Another good choice may be mandolin. It is tuned the same as fiddle. I can pick out a tune on the mandolin then translate it to fiddle. At least I used to be able to do so.

The important thing is to not get discouraged at a perceived lack of progress. Take lessons to get the basics down then practice on your own. One morning you will get up, pick up your instrument and all of a sudden, sound like a player.

One thing to mention with guitar is that your fingers WILL get sore. It takes a few weeks to toughen up your fingers. Lots of beginners start out with light strings to make it easier. The left-right coordination can be a challenge, but once I learned to isolate the fretting and picking from each other, ie work each hand independently, it was a revelation.

I agree that when you start learning to play guitar your fingers will get pretty beat and eventually develop callouses. Once you get the proper technique down and strengthen your fingers, the callouses lessen.

IMO it's like learning to ski. As a beginner you exert far more energy than is actually required.:D

Here are some very dedicated guitarists:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddn4MGaS3N4&feature=PlayList&p=07E5A3CF3221AF2A&index=0&playnext=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSnWhsmlGec&feature=PlayList&p=EB60B72F9CEAE54C&index=0&playnext=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2BOApUvFpw

I started out as a Music Major in College, then had a bicycle accident that mashed up my embouchure too severly for me to continue in the Music-program any more (Pieces of teeth and gravel (very fine) embedded in lower lip - VERY PAINFULL!)...

But, while I was in the program, I found that regardless my exposure to other insturments, the one that I had dearly wished that I had learned many years prior to College was the piano.

You can't do yourself ANY HARM learning even the basics of the piano...learn at least that, then see where it takes you. I'm sure you'll enjoy the ride! :thumbsup2:

you can take an electric paino insted :D

True ... and they sound so good in open spaces.:D:D

http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/...asio_SA-1.jpeg

Piano. Unless you don't have the space, money, and need portability. If that's the case get a guitar. I play bass, which is also a great/easy instrument to start on...it'll just take you a lifetime to master.

I've played guitar since my teens and taught group classes in Seattle for years. Very lucrative part time job. Still I wish I'd learned piano along with it. Some of my favorite musicians/song writers are proficient on both.

One of the best pickers I've known is a lefty who plays the guitar strung the normal way, left hand on frets. So maybe there is an advantage to putting your primary hand on the frets. Hendrix turned the guitar around, I think he's a lefty, but left the strings strung the normal way. So did Elizabeth Cotton (Wrote 'freight train, freigt train, goin' so fast.' She was about 80 when I saw her in concert in Seattle in the early 80s)

I used to tell my left students who asked me if they should change the strings so they could flip the guitar over about my lefty friend who did really well playing it normally. But then I remembered that the single most successful guitar player in history in $$ terms was a lefty who switched the strings and played it right hand on the frets: Paul McCartney. The way he would stand next to Lennon with his bass and have the two instruments in sort of mirror image effect was eye catching. I noticed it right off and dug it. Kinda silly, but oh well.

Basically, there are no rules. One snag though, lefties: if you switch the strings, it's not cheap -- the saddle has to be repositioned and a new nut made, and you'll not be able to enjoy sampling other guitars except in the rarest of circumstances.

Electric keyboards with headphones are great for portability and low impact practicing (low impact on housemates).

keytar?
http://www.gruposmadrid.com/articulos/keytar.jpg

Maybe a drumitar.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1047/992957779_2fe6bc9739.jpg?v=0

Pretty cool device. I've checked out a few of Future's drumitars up close, but have never played them, not even for sound check.

Or a Theremin, those things are a trip

Robert Moog was a genius.:cool:

Only if you're man enough to wear those pants in public.:lol::lol:

Guitar is probably the most practical. Cheap investment and portable. Piano is great as well.

I'd start with a decent little acoustic guitar and see how it grabs you. Plenty of tablature and chords on the internet.

I recently added a Washburn Rover to my collection:
http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbas...6/1/477261.jpg
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Washburn-Rover-Travel-Guitar-?sku=511819

At $150, which includes a case and strap, it's a bargain. It sounds decent, plays very well and fits in an overhead compartment. :thumbsup:


Here's a video review/tour of the Rover:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ohs6_washburnroverro10_music