How you found the right instrument.

[ZekeWatson]

I don't have any musical background, but I'm very interested in learning. The problem is, I can't figure out what instrument(s) feel right for me. I've been searching for a little over a month now, but I feel like I'm at a loose end.

How has everyone else found their sound?

[alternativesolution]

At 6/5/13 12:06 PM, ZekeWatson wrote: The problem is, I can't figure out what instrument(s) feel right for me.

Before Step says piano, I'm going to say guitar. :3 Though both instruments are pretty versatile. Personally, I'm no expert with either, but they're fun to play around with.

Well, what kind of music do you like to listen to, and if you compose, what kind to you like to make? That can help you figure out which instrument suits your style.

How has everyone else found their sound?

I play several different instruments, with varying degrees of skill... so...I still don't have THE instrument-- and I don't think there will ever be. Still, my guitar remains one of my main tools when it comes to composing stuff.

[alternativesolution]

At 6/5/13 12:06 PM, ZekeWatson wrote: I don't have any musical background

NEVERMIND.

ok, piano it is.

Seriously, piano is your best bet when you don't have any musical background at all. So I recommend starting from there. It's the fastest route, and likely the easiest, as well. Then...you can move on to 'your instrument' of choice. :p

[FairSquare]

I don't think many people have an instrument that instantly 'feels right', specially not without a musical background.
What kind of music do you want to play? Which part do you want to take in that?
Then pick an instrument that you can use to play the kind of music you want to play and which fits in the part you want to take in it.
Most importantly though.. don't think you have a undiscovered super talent for playing an instrument, because you'll suck at first. Learning an instrument takes time and lots of practice, if you want to be good at it.

How i discovered my instrument?
We had to drum a simple rhythm at school, for which we would get a grade. A friend/classmate of mine already was a drummer and saw that i learned it faster than my other classmates.
So, we talked about it, i took a couple of lessons to try it out.. and loved it. Still do.

[Step]

Piano.

[EagleGuard]

Getting a keyboard is probably your best option! It is a very versatile instrument that isn't extremely difficult to learn, and at the same time offers the best options in terms of improvisation and development of musical ideas. Apart from that, the most common of midi-input devices is actually the midi-keyboard. Lastly, basic keyboards are actually quite cheap as well!

[Braiton]

When I listened to music there was always this sound that would call out to me. It turns out it was a guitar. So I decided to learn it. And that's the story of how I found the right instrument.

[PeterSatera]

Me? I say go with the triangle.
THAT SH** IS HARD OKAY!!!

Na, go with piano/keyboard. Plenty of resources and once you get that down making digital music is easier.

[Knoxius]

I love the feel of the bass. Being moved by the vibrations and causing the earth to shake is a good time. I can also get down on a guitar though, simply because I feel it's easier to make "beautiful" music with the higher end. Not to say it's impossible on bass, but I happen to be a slacker.

[SourJovis]

The first instruments I got were harmonicas. I got a lot from my parents on a very early age. Also on fairs with those games you have to pull a chord to get a price, I got a lot of harmonicas. I must've had over 20. My parents also had an electric organ from the 60s or 70s. My dad had it from when he was still in a band. It was second handed then so it's pretty old. Unfortunately it broke down, and was too expensive to repair. I can't tell you what brand or serial number it was, but nothing fancy like a hammond organ, but it was quite an investment I'm told and the thing was huge. For a long time it was stored in the loft behind the Punch and Judy show. I always used it to accompany the shows when it still worked. Like an organ in an old cinema with silent films. My dad also had a crappy accoustic guitar. The E and A snares were baseguitar snares. The D and G snares nylon. The B and E steel. I don't know if that's common or not, but I didn't like the sound. He also had an electric guitar which looked pretty fancy golden coloured with glitters and all. It even had a whammy bar. Unfortunately by the time I picked it up the neck was bend so badly because of the moisture it sounded permanently muted. The next instrument I had was a toy casio keyboard I borrowed indefinitely from a friend. Me my brother and my friends made a lot of songs recorded on tape using that keyboard, my dad's instruments, my brother's tin whistle and whatever we could find for percussion. We also used Mario Paint. Not the emulations, but the actual cartridge. Later we recorded it with the computer when we had a free version of Sony Acid that came with the cd-rom writer. We combined the live vocals and instruments with loops and samples we cut into pieces to create our own things. We bought loop based programs like Magix hip hop and techno maker, which were pretty bad, but it cam with more loops we could take samples from, and effects we could used like equalizers, reverb, a virtual turntable and such. Then I got my first midi notation program from a friend of the father of a friend of mine. Music write plus it was called. I used the midi from my parents pc soundcard, as well as the build in sounds of the motherboard, which was even worse but produced a distinct lo-fi sound that i was quite fond of. I used as well the Yamaha Soft synth that came with the pc version of final fantasy VII, and the upgrade of VIII. A much richer sound than that of the sound card. Later I bought Propellerhead Rebirth (before they made Reason), which was a virtual Roland TR-808 and two TB-303s without sequencer. Impossible to operate, just like the real deal, but such a great sound. Then I bought a much more expensive Casio keyboard. I was quite disappointed with the sound, but it taught me how to play keys which was useful. Then I bought Reason 1, because I saw it at a fair, and it was made by Propellerhead, the same creators of Rebirth. I've been using and upgrading it ever since. At some point I had a version of Cubase that I got from a daughter of a friend of my mother. It was a nice program but glitched up all the time, so I stuck with Reason. Later I bought a Yamaha psr-3000 because i wanted a better keyboard but couldn't afford a Tyros. Because I wanted to better record the keyboard I bought a Tascam us-122 mkii, and a sennheiser microphone to record vocals and other things. That's pretty much where I'm at now.

[SkyeWintrest]

Depending on what you're planning on doing, I'd recommend different things.

First of all, are you planning on making music or improving if you already make music?
If so, DEFINITELY pick up keyboard if you haven't already. The piano roll is used in most any DAW, and keyboards are just useful with regard to recording midi data in almost any given situation. I've heard people play the entire star wars theme on the keyboard by themselves as well as play realistic electric guitar with absurd riffs.

Otherwise, what kind of sound do you like?
Look for an instrument that fits the sound you like and go for it. There are some really cool-sounding instruments out there, though they might be harder to find/learn.

Another question to ask is how fast you want to be able to play your instrument.
Guitar and piano are typically known as the easiest to pick up (I'd personally go with piano because you can actually see all the notes easily as well as feel them - there's an easy pattern to them, easier than sheet music), so that's nice. However, other instruments have their own quirks and can sound better.

Do you find yourself tapping your fingers on everything or singing your favorite music?
If so, try to pick up drums or train your voice.

That's the best I can give. Might be a little bit disjointed, but hopefully it's clear enough.

Oh, also - don't ever expect to get really good at an instrument in a year, two years, or even five years. It takes time and practice - the more practice and effort you put in the more you'll get out of your instrument.

[midimachine]

yeah, piano or guitar bro. or get singing lessons if you have some natural ability in that regard. cello and viola are also good classical instruments for beginners, or so i've heard.

my first instrument was alto sax and it was 0% fun to learn as an 11 year old, although i started listening to a lot of rockabilly/jazz lately and it made me regret selling it because i could've been fucking amazing at it if i actually practiced and stuck with it to this day!

[BlazingDragon]

I'm going to repeat what others have said and suggest piano. It is easy to start out on and has plenty of benefits. For one, you can play melody and harmony and therefore can be a one man band, unlike a melodic instrument such as trumpet in which you'll typically play with other people. It has a huge range, uses both treble and bass clef, and I think that the visual layout makes learning chords and music theory easier than on other instruments. Besides, there are pianos all over the place and plenty of opportunities to play/accompany. It and guitar are probably the two most practical instruments to learn first.

My dad is a piano teacher and all nine of my siblings play the instrument to some extent. It was natural for me to pick up on it since we had three pianos in the house when I was little and plenty of resources around to learn it.

[Knoxius]

At 6/5/13 10:23 PM, SkyeWintrest wrote: Do you find yourself tapping your fingers on everything
If so, try to pick up drums

Don't forget to be creative about the approach. Our band's drummer also happens to play a bit of bass, and he simply applied the rudiments learned from drumming to his bass playing, and by god he's come up with some of the sickest tap and slap lines I've ever heard. Just a simple paradiddle on bass would make Les Claypool proud.

[samulis]

When I was young, I was lucky and I got to go and try a few different instruments at the school- trumpet, trombone, flute, etc. just to play around. I instantly gravitated to trombone and I've loved it ever since... coincidentally my uncle and his father both played and taught trombone.

If you have a chance, go see if you can try a few instruments out or something if you are still in school and can convince someone to let you do that. If not, proper piano is never a bad thing. However, there are other instruments that are very accessible and affordable, such as recorders, beginner guitars, and electric keyboards.

[samulis]

When I was young, I was lucky and I got to go and try a few different instruments at the school- trumpet, trombone, flute, etc. just to play around. I instantly gravitated to trombone and I've loved it ever since... coincidentally my uncle and his father both played and taught trombone.

If you have a chance, go see if you can try a few instruments out or something if you are still in school and can convince someone to let you do that. If not, proper piano is never a bad thing. However, there are other instruments that are very accessible and affordable, such as recorders, beginner guitars, and electric keyboards.

[Kajenx]

Get a dumbek, or some other kind of hand drum. They're so much fun and easy to pick up. You can graduate to melodies on a whistle or a ukulele, and then from there to something complicated. :D

Or piano, but that's expensive, and the cheap keyboards are crappy...

[ArcadiaDiv]

At 6/5/13 12:06 PM, ZekeWatson wrote: I don't have any musical background, but I'm very interested in learning. The problem is, I can't figure out what instrument(s) feel right for me. I've been searching for a little over a month now, but I feel like I'm at a loose end.

How has everyone else found their sound?

First I want to say that I feel like I'm starting a firestorm here but I almost completely disagree with the general consensus. Even though we're musicians, we don't know you as much as you. A little over a month is not enough time to decide if you found the instrument right for you. My suggestion is to pick ONE (notice the caps) instrument you have a strong interest in playing, get a teacher (don't pick just any teacher either and for heavens sake don't teach yourself), and stick with it for a couple months at least. Keep in mind though that to properly assess if you like the instrument, you have to practice. You can't just go to the lesson and not practice, which is easy to do if you are just now learning. That's more or less how I found my sound.

Also, practice does NOT make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. I'm not going to explain why right now because I want to see if anyone knows why.

ps: Sorry if this is a little too "in your face"

[TroisNyxEtienne]

At 6/10/13 09:35 AM, ArcadiaDiv wrote: Also, practice does NOT make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. I'm not going to explain why right now because I want to see if anyone knows why.

ps: Sorry if this is a little too "in your face"

I don't know what you mean by perfect practice, but I'll say this: having done my grades in piano, and done them well (read: distinction), I can attest that each person's practice style is going to vary. One person's playing is going to be slightly unorthodox. Another's is going to stick to the T in the score. Just as long as he understands the purpose of music, and doesn't sit there playing like a robot, he's on his way -- and the mistakes, falls and failings are for each person to face. If we don't face these mistakes, falls and failings, we'll never know what it's like falling all the way to the bottom and then scraping our way up to the top.

That being said, OP: many people vouch for the piano because with it, you have a lot of musical foundations at your fingertips, quite literally: chords, rhythm, melody. You can get a solid grasp of all three, and in general, people who have learnt the piano transition a little easier to other instruments. There are exceptions, of course, but I'm just saying 'in general'. And I'm not saying this because I'm a pianist myself -- the piano is by no means my top favourite instrument, even though I use it often.

I've had a passion for drums since I was 3, and I finally have a drum which I can play (well, a bodhran, but still).

What are you leaning towards? What do you have a natural tendency to do? Sing? Tap on stuff? Appreciate the melody? Like the chords or riffs? Or simply appreciate every moment? Although it's not a 100% measure, it can help you determine what instrument you could try out.

[Onsta]

I personally started with guitar in the 5th grade because my older brother was in a band and their guitarist was a cool dude. It took along time for me to actually have a passion for it, but I stuck with it and mostly just played it like a toy (which I highly recommend for learning any instrument). On the other hand. If you plan on making edm or plan on using any DAW definitely go with a MIDI keyboard though. I feel like I have crippled myself by not taking piano lessons/ owning a MIDI keyboard.

[midimachine]

At 6/10/13 04:05 PM, Onsta wrote: I feel like I have crippled myself by not taking piano lessons/ owning a MIDI keyboard.

you really haven't! i pretty much never use my keyboards unless i'm recording audio from them (which means i sequence the notes on the computer and then send MIDI to the keyboard haha)

although i've noticed there's a disconnect between fretboard and piano roll for some guitarists which makes it hard to transcribe by ear into a sequencer. so maybe some piano knowledge would help in overcoming it?

[Onsta]

although i've noticed there's a disconnect between fretboard and piano roll for some guitarists

Exactly the flow of producing is much slower for me than I think it should be

[gridcrawler]

I'm pretty sure most people on here would say either piano or guitar. Same for me, I'm all for both.