Learning a musical instrument has excellent benefits, such as relieving mental stress, developing good reflexes, and improving muscle memory. Playing an instrument is suitable for anyone of any age, but people often tend to shy away from learning as they grow older, usually caused by a myth that you can only develop musical skills at a young age.
There’s a common misconception that learning a musical instrument becomes impossible once you reach a certain age, or it just gets awkward to start something new later in life. While developing skills at an early age does help in faster learning, it doesn’t mean that you can’t pick up a new interest in learning music later in life.
The question is, where does one start? Learning any instrument and developing a more profound interest and understanding takes time, energy, and practice. The following instruments will welcome you into a world of exploring your musical talents and develop a solid foundation for taking the next step in your musical journey.
Guitar
A musical instrument that everyone is familiar with and knows about, the guitar is a lot of people’s first introduction to musical instruments. While the guitar may be one of the harder instruments to learn at first, it’s one of the most rewarding as a constant practice of chords and accurate strumming patterns can get you playing a song in no time. You can find a course in almost all youth music classes, and every guitar course is designed to take you from a novice to a pro.
There is a reason why the guitar is so popular among the masses as its versatility and range allow you to blend into any genre that you’re a fan of. While it may take decades of practice and education to become a professional guitarist and understand complex guitar tablature, getting started at first may give you a lifelong appreciation of the instrument.
Harmonica
The harmonica (also known as a mouth organ or a blues harp) is one of the easiest and most portable instruments to learn. This instrument is extremely popular amongst the jazz and blues fanbase, but it can fit appropriately into several genres like the guitar.
There are several reasons why you would want to play the harmonica; it fits right into your pocket so you can take it wherever you go, you don’t need to know a lot about music to learn it, and most importantly, whatever note comes out will be in key. Also, it’s hard to sound false while playing the harmonica. Finally, it requires a bit of practice from your end, and before you know it, you’ll become an instant hit in any blues or jazz bar.
Ukulele
Over the past few years, the ukulele has grown in popularity because of its small size compared to a guitar. In addition, the four nylon strings on a ukulele provide a bright and high-pitched tone that allows you to play several songs in no time.
Learning the ukulele has many benefits; it introduces you to the world of string instruments, it doesn’t take up a lot of space, and the fret size is smaller, allowing you to hit notes more accurately. In addition, since the size of a ukulele is considerably smaller than a guitar, it helps those with smaller hands to play with more fluidity and ease.
Piano
The piano may seem daunting at first for a lot of people wanting to learn an instrument, but it’s honestly one of the most rewarding instruments out there. The reason why the piano is so popular is that it is easily identifiable. For instance, if you listen to a symphony of several musicians, it may be hard to distinguish between a trombone and a trumpet, but the piano’s sound can be heard.
Playing the piano has many health benefits; It reduces anxiety and stress, improves your memory, sharpens your focus and concentration, and it expands your aural skills. In addition, the fundamentals of the piano can take your music to greater heights, and its popularity means that there are several resources to help you get started.
Drums
If you’ve been enthusiastic about music from an early age, the chances are that you’ve probably thought about becoming a drummer at some point. A drum set is one of the most common types of percussion instruments, and it provides a fun experience for anyone starting.
The drums are considered the backbone of most genres, and a drummer provides a melody and a rhythm for the rest of the band or musicians to play along with. Having control over a song’s beat is a huge responsibility, so developing good muscle memory will take a bit of time. But, as with every other instrument, a few practices will get you learning the rock beat in no time.
The only disadvantages of learning the drums are that they take up a lot of space (especially if you have a 5-piece set), and they are incredibly loud, especially if you give them to an energetic 5-year-old. However, the development of electronic drumkits over the years has been able to control the noise by simply using headphones. Unfortunately, this only allows the drummer to hear what they’re playing and no one else unless they’re connected to external speakers.
Conclusion
Many factors lead you to pick up an instrument. The easiest way is by getting inspired by your preferred genre. This comes from listening to your favorite solo artist, band, or musical group.
There are plenty of instruments out there that are easy to learn apart from the ones mentioned above. No instrument is out of reach for you; something difficult for someone else might be easy for you.
The key to mastering any instrument is practice, dedication, and patience. There are plenty of physical and online resources available to help you on your musical journey, and before you know it, you’ll be a music enthusiast, and learning and creating new music will come naturally to you.
