Which is the hardest musical instrument to play?

Question

I already know how to play piano. I actually think guitar is harder because I've tried twice and I still can't remember the chords.

Answer 1

According to the Guinness World Book of Records, the French Horn (followed by the Oboe) is the hardest instrument to play.

Piano is one of the most important instruments in the world. It's an instrument that any true musician should at least know the basics of. I don't know how to play the piano. (Or at least well enough), yet I do play the guitar.

When you speak of guitar, what type of guitar do you mean, classical or electric? Believe it or not there is a big difference between the two of them. I play classical guitar and am fond of its basic studies by some of the greatest composers in music history (Fernando Sor, Carcassi, Mauro Guiliani, and J.S. Bach). I don't find the guitar to be a difficult instrument, yet I do know the chords b/c I can't seem to memorize them well. I'm more of the note player. I play the melody rather than accompany it. Why don't you try that instead? Good luck!

P.S.

I play the guitar, the flute, and the oboe. And by far the wind instruments are more complicated. Playing double reed instruments are hard (and expensive...) Yet the flute requires a great deal of technical experience. The guitar, I believe is much easier. Why don't you try learning as many instruments as you can!

Answer 2

In response to what xXxKiraraxXx wrote, the bassoon can actually cover almost 4 octaves, especially if a low A extension is added. Also, since when can you get a playable reed for any less that $8? Finally, the standard German system has only 17 keys (but a few more holes). Out of the instruments I play, I would put the in order like thins (1=most difficult)

1. Guitar (v. hard to progress and become a really good player)



2. Violin (OMG OMG THE TUNING DRIVES ME MAD!!!)



3. Percussion (JESUS WILL PEOPLE STOP SAYING ITS EASY!!! You have to count bars for 10 mins and come in with the most noticable instrument at exactly the right time at the right dynamic or the conductor stops the whole orchestra to shout at you. If you don't think it is technically difficult just watch the percussion final of BBC Young musician (one of my friends was on it!))



4. Bassoon (Most people overestimate the difficulty just because very few people play it. I got to grade 6 in 6 months without having played a wind instrument before)



5. Piano (anyone can bang on it, although actually it takes something special to create the near perfect tone you aim for-yes you can change your tone on a piano, just not as obviously as with other instruments)



THEY ARE ALL DIFFICULT IN THEIR OWN WAY!

Answer 3

Some people have mouths that will accommodate things like the bassoon or the french horn etc.. where others do not. Generally speaking the violin is considered to be extremely difficult because you must memorize eight different positions in which your hand plays, and they are all different. You do not have frets to tell you where your hand goes either. You must move or 'slide' your hand up the neck to the right spot. Also you must hold the bow exactly right as well as everything else or you will not make the correct sounds, where as the wood winds do not require this level of skill to become a advanced player. Not ot mention the violin has 3 or 4 books that are eight inches thick to learn and memorize where woodwinds on have on or two that are not even a sixteenth of an inch thick! Somethings could be hard for me, but not for you. It really depends on the person, but violin is generally considered difficult.

Answer 4

I've always considered the guitar easier than the piano--once you learn the chords, you're set, as the shapes of them don't change from key to key, whereas on a piano, you have to learn different fingerings and note positions depending upon which key you're in.



As for the most difficult instrument, I'd definitely give it to a reed instrument (the oboe and the bassoon are excellent examples from the above answer)--it takes an insane amount of practice (and pain, I hear) to get a consistent sound out of reed instruments.



~Scottie

Answer 5

Well, personally I picked to play the oboe in orchestra because it's one of the hardest instruments and it's challenging.



My brother chose to play the bassoon, which is probably the hardest one of all, even more than the oboe.



I think the bassoon, oboe, and violin are the hardest, while the flute, saxophone, and clarinet are among the easiest.



Don't be turned off of the harder instruments; they may be challenging, but they are rewarding too (and beautiful).

Answer 6

haven't we've been thru this several times in the past month .... piano is difficult but the orchestral strings are harder the precision has to be more precise than a piano and the double reeds are a nightmare to learn (hardest) ..... a hard time on guitar??? you just didn't practice DAILY that is after all a requirement for any new instrument

Answer 7

Well, if you cant play a guitar you definitely cant play the bassoon & the oboe.



bassoons have around 29 keys [differs in every bassoon] and has usually 3 octaves. it can go from very low [bass] to an annoying high pitch [not as bad as the piccolo]. A bassoon is about 1.4m tall and it supported by a strap. it's a double reed instrument lyk an oboe. a reed is a piece of wood that is secured in the mouth piece of wind instruments lyk clarinets and saxophones. a double reed is basically 2 pieces of wood that's stuck together flat at one end and round at the other end, and stuck into a tube in the bassoon or oboe.



the oboe is a freakishly high note instrument, lyk the flute's range, but it sounds lyk a clarinet. the fingerings are just about as confusing as the bassoon's, and the reed is much smaller than a bassoon's, making your face turn red when playing and look as if it's going to explode anytime. the double reed has a piece of cork stuck to it's end thus it is inserted into the instrument unlike which of a bassoon that is connected to a tube protruding from the instrument. it is MUCH smaller than a bassoon, which is like a super large redwood U-bend, and it looks like a mix-breed between a clarinet and flute.



Double reeds are hard to maintain and costs a hefty much too.

a normal reed costs about S$1-S$2 each. however, a double reed may cost around S$25-S$30+.

Answer 8

I'm guessing a woodwind insturment... although who knows. Each insturment has good and bad things about it. I suppose woodwinds might be easier because they probably stay in one clef the entire time, but then again you have to remember hand positions. I suppose from an outsider's POV harp would be hard... I dunno. I play the harp and I guess I got used to certain things, like position in general (elbows, hands, shoulder, feet etc). But the harp is more like a piano on its side, plus you don't have to remember how to play notes in a certain key, like in the key of G you just move the F pedal and all the f's go sharp so there's no worries. Plus the strings are color-coded. Red C's, blue/black F's.

Answer 9

Piano is a lot harder to play than guitar.



I play (in no particular order) guitar (both acoustic and electric), bass-guitar, drums, and synth keyboard.



I've never learned how to play classical guitar. I'm mainly a rock guitarist (especially when it comes to playing hard rock and heavy metal). But I can also play some blues and country, although I'm not very good at playing those 2 styles.

Answer 10

Piano is the hardest, hands down, in so far as playing top the highest levels. It is not the hardest to play some chords on and singing along, and the guitar chords are easy too, once learned. I play both, and the cello, and have some wind expertise.



The piano requires great technical mastery for two hands at the highest levels, with all sorts of difficult acrobatics. The violin is smaller, and only one hand has to finger notes, while the bowing, though complex at times, is not nearly as difficult as two hand mastery like a piano over several feet width.

Answer 11

I would have to say that Deez Nuts is the hardest instrument to play! I mean, think about it....10 key pads, each with their own independent slide. Not to mention, the partials on that **** is crazy!

Answer 12

I'd say that French Horn and Oboe are the hardest... and sound terribe unless you perfect them- then they are phenominal and beautiful. I play flute, and people say I'm really good. I also play various saxophones, piano, guitar, and PICCOLO. Piccolo was HECKA hard to learn, but incredibly fun. But once I learned it, i sound great.



Basoon and other double reed instuments tend to be the hardest, amongst the French Horn...



Harp seems really hard too... and piano is tough...



Guitar... sorry, doesn't macth these toughies, but it is tough.



Flute/saxophones... eh, sound great.. but it isn't that hard to.........

Answer 13

A recorder. Like seriously, you have to cover those blasted holes entirely to get the correct sound and not a pitch that is totally different.



Or maybe a harp. I don't really know the technicality of it, but it looks hard. A billion little strings; do they each have a note, sharps, or flats, as in a piano? No idea.

Answer 14

violin is known as the hardest instrument to play b/c even if you know the fingerings, to get the right sound and pitch takes at least a year of learning. even then, your just a beginner.

Answer 15

i played the violin for 6 years and wanted to play the piano but i cant. i think its the hardest thing ive ever tried to play

Answer 16

it depends for everyone, none of the musical instrument is difficult to play actually. for me i find guitar very easy to play while the violin is quite hard, i know nothing about piano...

all these musical instrument is for everyone depending on their abitility. we are given different ablility all of us... (in case you haven't notice.) we can play this instrument well, and find other instrument difficult. how about the creation of these instruments? if it is hard to play, why are these instrument created???...... (somethig to think about)..

Answer 17

Bagpipes, no doubt! It is almost as painful to learn as it is listening to someone learning. Listening to a bad piper is the worst form of torture! Piano and guitar are child's play in comparison.



A close second is Bassoon and third is Oboe. French Horn is also very demanding on the embouchure, like the Oboe and Bassoon.

Answer 18

The voice is the hardest instrument to master, hands down. It's because it's the only one where there is no instrument outside of yourself. It's the only one that's all you.



But in orchestral thinking, string instruments(violin, viola, cello, bass, harp. Anything without frets) are the hardest. Because wind instruments have certain fingerings to get out certain notes. Strings don't have anything once you get past open strings.

Answer 19

I would say the glass harmonica, I heard not many people play it. Still, I don't know if it's hard or not ... I've never tried :P

Answer 20

Piccolo, Bassoon, Harp.



probably organ.. or piano..



idk..



But i do think that Most String instruments are easier to play because they dont need air support, and phrasing, and stuff like that.



and woodwind instruments also need to have the right pitch, and they have harder hand placements.. exspecially the larger ones.



but i do agree with that one person saying that getting the right sound for a string instrument is really hard, but.. yeah.

Answer 21

I've heard that the Oboe and the Bassoon are incredibly difficult to play.

Answer 22

Umm.. a harp maybe because you have to reach for the higher strings and you might not know what string to pull.

Answer 23

violin is hard

considering you have to hold the string in just the right spot or if you dont itll sound like a 2 year old is playing it

Answer 24

Violin. There's so many things that you can do on it.

Learning bowing styles, plucking, vibrato, dinamic contrats in the bow, etc.

Answer 25

classical guitar



I play various brass instruments and french horn in not that hard after you have played trumpet and trombone I actually think trombone is harder

Answer 26

of the instruments I've played, guitar

bass guitar is my favorite because It's easiest for me to play

Answer 27

I can't possibly consider the guitar being hard.

my penis is harder most the time

Answer 28

I hear that french horn is very hard due to the tiny embouchure and the overtones...

Answer 29

i would think the harp. i would never be able to remember all those strings.

Answer 30

A tuba, i cannot seriously carry that thing.

Answer 31

the mandolin is hard well at least for me