Top Tips To Easily Choose Your Musical Instrument

Learning a musical instrument is a fantastic hobby. Instruments can help to improve your coordination, enable you to think more creatively, and are also just a whole lot of fun. People who play music have been proven to perform better intellectually, and are often happier and less anxious. There are an estimated 1,500 instruments in the world so you have plenty of options when choosing your first instrument. Identifying which one is best for you will help to keep you motivated and enthusiastic during the difficult early learning stages.

To help everyone who is feeling a little overwhelmed by all the choices, here are the top tips to easily choose your musical instrument.

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1. Consider Your Favorite Music

The first thing you need to do to choose the right musical instrument is to consider what kind of music you like to listen to. If you are into heavy metal music, then the best choice for you will most likely be an instrument used by a heavy metal band such as a guitar or a drum kit. If, on the other hand, you like electro music, you may want to consider a synthesizer. While no one should ever pigeonhole themselves to one type of music, if you are choosing your very first instrument then you may want to stick to something you know. As you become a more experienced musician you will most likely start to appreciate more different genres of music so then you can add other instruments to your repertoire.

2. Think About Your Practice Environment

Unless you live on a deserted island or you are lucky enough to have your own soundproof practice studio, you will need to consider your neighbors. Hammering out Led Zeppelin on an electric guitar at 3 am isn’t going to make you any friends so your next acoustic guitar may be a wise purchase instead. You will also need to decide whether your home is big enough for your chosen instrument. A full drum kit, for example, will take up a lot of space so if you live in a small apartment you may want to consider an electric drum kit or a different instrument altogether.

3. Identify Which Instruments Suit You Best

Some people are unfortunately just not built for certain instruments and so you will need to consider which instruments you are best suited for. If you are a child or have a smaller physique then you may want to avoid a big instrument like a tuba or a double bass to start out with. You could first become comfortable with a smaller instrument in their respective families like a trombone and a cello and work your way up to the bigger instrument. That doesn’t mean, however, that if you really have your heart set on playing a certain instrument that you should totally rule it out. Just make sure you are comfortable before you spend a lot of money.

4. Decide if You Want to Play With Other People

When some people first start playing an instrument they cannot wait to start jamming with other people. If this sounds like you then you might want to consider an instrument which could be played in a band or in an orchestra. This opens up a huge number of possibilities as there are so many instruments that are perfect for ensemble play. There are four sections of instruments in an orchestra alone so you are sure to be able to find one which suits you. If classical music is not really your thing, then consider an electric guitar so you can start shredding riffs. 

5. Be Realistic About Your Budget

Musical instruments can be very expensive and if you are just starting out or just want to play casually then it may not be worthwhile breaking the bank. Buying a Squier rather than a Strat or an electric keyboard rather than a grand piano will give you a great instrument to practice and develop your skills. If you end up becoming a professional musician or really taking your hobby to another level then you can buy a better instrument in the future. Until you know how to play, you may not even notice the difference in sound anyway so you may as well save your money for a later time.

Playing a musical instrument is so great fun and enables you to develop new talents and skills which you didn’t even know you had. All instruments are fantastic and can create wonderful music but not every instrument suits every player. Take the tips in this guide into account when deciding on your instrument and it will help you to make the right choice.

See Related: An Ultimate Guide on Buying a Quality Musical Instrument

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