Choosing the Right Music Instrument for Beginners

Factors to Consider When Choosing an Instrument

What to Consider When Picking Your First Instrument

There are many factors to consider when choosing a musical instrument: Interest and passion, physical considerations, budget, and noise level are all things that should be considered. Learning how to pick the right instrument can be challenging. When starting your musical journey it's important to choose a musical instrument that excites and inspires you. Learning music should be fun and exciting so picking an instrument you like is one way to peak your interest. For some, the appeal of the electric guitar can be enticing. With so many shapes and finishes, there is an electric guitar to suite just about anyone's tastes. That being said, the piano is also quite an appealing instrument due to it's popularity and versatility. Like the guitar, the piano can play both melody and harmony, making it extremely versatile.

In terms of physical considerations, it is important to choose beginner music instruments when starting out. Factors such as instrument size, weight, and breath control can all be determining factors. The acoustic or electric guitar is a great instrument for kids since it comes in a variety of sizes from junior to full size. The junior size is ideal for small children. The same can be said of the ukulele. It's small compact body size makes it one of the best musical instruments for beginners.

Budget is another important consideration when starting with an instrument. Music lessons can be expensive and some people want to spend as little as possible on instruments to cut costs. The cheapest instrument is the voice. For this reason, singing is a fantastic first choice for music lessons. Another affordable option for choosing a musical instrument is the recorder. The recorder is a fun instrument to learn and has the exact same fingerings as a saxophone but at a much lower cost. Other affordable instruments are the ukulele and guitar. On the flip side, a piano or keyboard is expensive. The same can be said of a drum set. For this reason renting these instruments is a good option for people. They can see if they or their children are going to stick with the instrument before investing a fair amount of money. Maintenance is another consideration when choosing a musical instrument. Drum sets need skin replacements and sometimes hardware replacements. Drum sticks break quite frequently. While a keyboard has no maintenance costs, an acoustic piano needs to be tuned regularly and this is expensive. Guitars and ukuleles have a low cost maintenance. Strings need to be replaced regularly but are fairly inexpensive. Some guitars need a setup but this is not too expensive. The voice and recorder require no maintenance and are therefor the cheapest instruments to learn.

Noise levels can be a problem for beginner-friendly instruments such as the drum set or acoustic piano, especially in shared living spaces. Rubber mute pads can be purchased for drum skins and cymbals and filling the bass drum with pillows or large blankets can also reduce some of the sound levels. That being said, the drum set is still quite loud even with the mute pads. One solution is to go with a digital or electric drum kit where you can adjust the volume levels. The acoustic piano can also be a loud instrument, especially when playing forte passages. One solution is to go with a keyboard instead since you can adjust the volume levels. A keyboard will never feel the same as an acoustic piano so there are some trade-offs so to speak. The guitar, ukulele, and recorder have very reasonable noise levels so there usually are no issues for sound.

Popular Beginner-Friendly Instruments

Top Instruments For Beginners: Where to Start?

The best musical instruments for beginners are: voice, piano, drums, recorder, ukulele, guitar, and violin. These instruments are often recommended due to their popularity, visual layout, accessibility and adaptability to different music genres, simplicity and ease of learning, low cost and simple playing technique, and the benefits of early string instrument learning. The piano is an awesome instrument to start with. The visual layout of the piano keyboard is quite intuitive. The piano keyboard is literally black and white making it fairly easy to find the music notes. The versatility of the piano makes choosing a musical instrument that much easier. The piano is capable of playing both melody and harmony. You can accompany other musicians by playing chords and arpeggios or simply play your favourite melodies on the piano. The guitar is also a great beginner-friendly instrument since it is quite accessible and adapts really well to different music genres. The guitar can play just about any genre of music. Like the piano, the guitar can play both melody and harmony making it a very versatile instrument. The ukulele is also a great instrument for kids. Starting with an instrument such as the ukulele is a good first step. The simplicity and ease of learning make the ukulele one of the best instruments to learn as an introduction to music. The recorder is a good choice when wanting to learn a wind instrument. The recorder is quite compact and can be carried just about anywhere. The low cost and simple playing technique make the recorder an attractive option for beginners new to music. The violin can be an excellent choice for an introduction to music. The benefits of early string instrument learning are many. Development of hand-eye coordination, body movement, and ear training are all great benefits to learning the violin.

Matching Personality and Learning Style to an Instrument

Finding the Perfect Match: Your Personality and a Musical Instrument

Different instruments can suit various personalities and learning styles. For social learners, instruments such as the guitar, piano, or voice are popular in group settings. Students can play duets on the piano and duets, trios, and quartets on the guitar. They can also sing in choirs or small ensembles. Group settings are a great way to socialize with other musicians while learning how to play or sing with one another. For those introspective learners who like to play and practice alone, instruments like the recorder, ukulele, and violin are a good choices. These solo instruments work well for playing solos. Each of these instruments is small (violins and ukuleles come in a variety of sizes), making them easy to handle. For active learners, drum set and percussion is the way to go. Learning rhythms while getting your body involved is really fun. Percussion is definitely for those who enjoy rhythm and movement. For technical learners, choosing a music instrument such as the trumpet or clarinet is a good way to go. Both instruments involve detailed techniques for producing the right embouchure or holding the instrument correctly. When choosing the best musical instruments for beginners a musical instruments guide is a great place to start. Not only do they describe different instruments but they also can offer beginner musician tips such as how to hold the instrument or how to tune it.

Age and Learning Curve Considerations

Age and Learning: Is There a Perfect Time to Start?

Age can definitely have an impact when starting with an instrument. For this reason, it is important to choose beginner-friendly instruments like the piano, guitar, ukulele, recorder, drum set and percussion, and the voice. Adults have larger attention spans than young children but may have reduced memory capacity. Also, adults are larger than small children and therefore, will have an easier time handling a larger instrument. For teens and adults choosing a musical instrument like the guitar or piano offer a balance of challenge and reward. For seniors, easy instruments to learn are the piano and singing. Both instruments can be easy on the body. For young children, easy-to-handle instruments like the ukulele, recorder, piano, and percussion are all great choices to start learning music. The size of the ukulele and recorder make it ideal for young children since they are small and easy to handle. Percussion instruments are really fun and usually quite small. Instruments such as the clave, triangle, cowbell, and shakers are all very small and can be held easily by a young child. While the piano is quite large, the keyboard layout is quite intuitive. There are literally black and white keys and the black keys are grouped in groups of two and three keys. Ultimately, there is an instrument for just about any age. While getting an early start to music will give young children a head start, teenagers and adults can progress faster since they don't have the physical restrictions young children do. It should be noted that it's never too late to learn an instrument so seniors should definitely consider learning an instrument. There is no perfect time to start learning.

Commitment and Progression

Commitment to Learning: Sticking With Your Choice

Staying committed to learning is an absolute must if you are going to progress. It is important to remember that Initial difficulties are part of the learning process so try not to get discouraged. Regular practice is essential to your progress on the instrument you choose. Once you choose your instrument you are going to want to stick with it by practising regularly. Here are some beginner musician tips for practising:

Choose the same day and time
Use a timer
Track your progress

Choosing the same day and time when you practice makes it easier to remember to practice. Getting into a routine is an easy way to stay on track. Making practice part of your daily routine just makes things easier all around. Another great beginner musician tip for practising is using a timer. When practising technique it is a good idea to use a timer. A timer ensures that you spend the right amount of time on each technical exercise. A timer is a great tracker! Tracking your progress with a practice log is another great tip. Recording what you practice when you practice will help keep you on task for the week.

Conclusion

Your Musical Journey Begins Here

When you start your musical journey remember to choose an instrument that appeals to your interests, one that is going to get you excited about learning. Keep a budget in mind and try and stay within that budget when making your instrument choice. Think about the physical considerations when making your choice. Noise levels should also be considered. Going the digital instrument route where you can control the volume is a wise choice for some people. Choose an instrument that matches your personality and learning style and in some cases choose an age appropriate instrument. Finally, make sure you stay committed by practising regularly. It's always a good idea to make an informed choice. Just remember to start your musical journey with enthusiasm!