The 2 most common instruments in music by far, is the piano and the guitar. If you never learned an instrument, you may wonder which one will be best for you?
Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of each instrument:
Piano – Advantages
- Can Play Bass line + Chords + Melody in the same performance
- Clear Layout (Left to Right = bass to treble)
- Best Range of all Instruments (88 keys)
- Great for Developing your Music Theory Knowledge
- Digital Pianos can Sound very close to an Acoustic
- No Fuzz (no string buzz or tuning issues)
- Incredible Dynamic Range (ppp to fff)
- Have Pedals to Spice up Your Performance
- Lots and Lots of Sheet Music available
Piano – Disadvantages
- Requires Great 2 Hand Co-ordination
- The Black Keys makes Scales Harder
- No Expression Techniques (no vibrato, note bends etc.)
Guitar – Advantages
- Amazing for Rhythmic Chord Playing
- Tabs & Chord Charts are Easy to Find
- Easy to Learn “Shapes” for Chords & Scales
- Lots of Expressive Techniques (Bends, Vibrato, Muting)
- Skills can be used on Steel, Nylon and Electric Guitar
- Portable instrument (especially with a case)
- Fun to Explore different tunings on (for advanced players)
Guitar – Disadvantages
- Requires Great Finger Stretching & Strength
- Needs to be Retuned a Lot
- Strings need to be changed fairly often
- The Fretboard layout is hard to learn
Which Instrument should you Learn First?
I always recommend everyone to start learning the instrument that is most appealing to you. Because regardless of what instrument you want to learn, you will have to practice a lot.
And practicing becomes so much easier if you have the motivation and dedication you get from your “dream” to be able to play that instrument with skill.