Have you ever wanted to learn how to play a music instrument? Perhaps you have already tried and failed?
Most people, including myself, start on an instrument that is very difficult to get fast progress on.
For example the acoustic guitar. It takes a lot of practice and effort to get even decent on most music instruments.
But I have good news for you: there are actually plenty of instruments that are super easy to learn, because of the way they work and are designed. They also work great for both kids and adults, so you still have a chance to start learning an instrument today.
I would even say that you can learn the fundamentals and start playing music on these instruments in 1 single week of dedicated daily practice. Let’s check out my top 5 recommendations:
Top 5 Easy Instruments you can Learn in 1 Week
- Ukulele
- Melodica
- Kalimba
- Lyre
- Tin Whistle
Let’s go through all 5 instruments now:
1. Ukulele
If you want to play a music instrument and sing at the same time, the Ukulele is one of the best choices. It’s easy to learn chords, and to play strumming patterns that you (or someone else) can then sing on top of.
It is also a small instruments with only 4 strings. It is light, and the nylon strings are easy to pick even for a small child. But it still sounds lovely, and is an excellent choice for rhythm and chord playing.
2. Melodica
The melodica is basically a wonderful mix between a small piano and a harmonica. You blow air into a tube that makes metal reeds inside the instrument vibrate with the pitch of the key you press at the same time.
It is super easy to make a sound, and the keyboard layout makes it very easy to learn any melody. This instrument is perfect if you want to learn how to play the melody of any song you want, in any key you want. Because it has up to 3 full octaves with all notes available.
3. Kalimba
The kalimba is often called a “thumb piano”, because you mainly play it with your thumbs. Instead of strings it has small metal bars that resonate when you pluck them.
In most cases the kalimba is diatonic, in the key of C major usually. This means it is similar to only playing the white keys on a piano. It makes it very easy to learn, as you literally can not play notes outside the key by accident. And as a bonus, the sound is magically beautiful.
4. Lyre
A lyre is basically a small harp that you hold in your hand, and then pluck the open strings with your other hand. Some people even like placing it facing down on a table when they play. This instrument is like the kalimba ,in the sense that it is also a diatonic instrument, meaning the strings are tuned to one key.
All diatonic instruments are very easy to learn, since you can not play any “wrong” notes. It is also a very quit instrument that sounds lovely, so you will not annoy your family or neighbours.
5. Tin Whistle
For some reason most kids in western music schools start with the recorder. But I would highly recommend a tin whistle as your first flute. The reason for this is that the tin whistle is diatonic, so the fingering chart is incredibly easy to learn.
And to get to the second octave you use the same fingerings and simply blow harder. Tin whistles are available in many different keys, but the standard one is in D major.
How to Learn a Music Instrument in 1 Week?
If you pick any of these instruments, you can indeed learn the basics in 1 single week. I know, because I’ve done it myself. These are “easy to learn” instruments after all.
Of course you need more time to become an “advanced player” on any instrument, but the fundamentals on these instruments are very easy to learn. Here’s what I recommend you to do:
- Start with YouTube Tutorials learning the fundamentals
- Get familiar with playing every note on the instrument
- Set a daily 1 hour practice routine with focused practice
- Play for Fun every day (you need the fun factor for motivation)