One Instrument or Multiple Instruments?

[kayla]

I had a discussion with a friend last night, and we were talkin about playing multiple instruments as compared to just one. My question was, would you rather be very proficient with one instrument or a novice in multiple instruments?

personally, i would like to be very proficient with one. i play guitar and i want to understand it from music theory to being able to tear it down, rebuild it and know what i'm doing.

when i first started playing music, i noodled around with different things. from bass, to guitar, to banjo etc etc. but at one point i had a defining moment where i knew that i was to play guitar. anyone else have that sorta thing happen?

thoughts?

- kayla.

[Hawk]

Proficient in at least one, but play more than one. For instance if you have piano background it helps with guitar or drums or any other instrument. Playing more than one instrument really opens your mind to other ways of thinking, even about your main instrument.

[RobTheDrummer]

I'm proficient in multiple. I have a bunch of drums and cymbals.

[bassist_25]

Proficient in at least one, but play more than one. For instance if you have piano background it helps with guitar or drums or any other instrument. Playing more than one instrument really opens your mind to other ways of thinking, even about your main instrument.

Bingo.

There's a reason why every music major is required to reach a certain level of proficiency on piano, regardless of his or her primary instrument. But perhaps I'm biased. I'm a visual learner, so piano makes actually seeing the relationship between melody and harmony easy for me.

[Mysterytrain]

Another great thread on Rockpage!

I believe you can only chase one rabbit at a time. But that depend just how far you want to go in music, I guess.

I apply that to guitar and the band. I feel that if there is time to noodle around on any other instrument then I should be practicing my guitar. Specifically, electric guitar. If I ever become truly content with my playing style then I may move onto another instrument.

I went through a phase where I wouldn't touch anything electric. I've played mandolin in a bluegrass band for a few years. (Eldorado Valley Ramblers) Messed around on banjo, too. When I went back to my strat it felt exactly like what I was meant to play.

I totally agree though that playing other instruments help with songwriting and melodies. But once I leave the back porch I want my strat in hand.

As for a band... I feel that one is enough and try to stay focused on keeping it fresh. I am blessed that Mt has a wide range of styles to play off of and almost any style is welcome in our band.

I've been playing solo acoustic shows but I keep it pretty simple. Humming and strumming cover songs with a cheat sheet for the lyrics. Pretty mindless approach and I like performing. It also provides a fresh break from singing and playing all original material. But, I'd drop it in a heartbeat if I had to.

I respect Jason and guys like that who keep their styles separate. Ya gotta feed your passions, right?

Back to the point, I think where musicians go wrong is thinking if I have ten guitars I'll be able to play better. If I play five different instruments I'll be able to play better. If I have a bigger amp, more effects, etc

My advice, find the instrument you feel the most comfortable with and get practicing!

[Mysterytrain]

I'm proficient in multiple. I have a bunch of drums and cymbals.

[Mysterytrain]

Proficient in at least one, but play more than one. For instance if you have piano background it helps with guitar or drums or any other instrument. Playing more than one instrument really opens your mind to other ways of thinking, even about your main instrument.

Bingo.

There's a reason why every music major is required to reach a certain level of proficiency on piano, regardless of his or her primary instrument. But perhaps I'm biased. I'm a visual learner, so piano makes actually seeing the relationship between melody and harmony easy for me.

Yep. Just listen to Brett Finelli. That dude can play every damn instrument he gets his hands on. He is amazing on piano.

[Jim Price]

I seem to be focusing on two main instruments these days, hand drums and uke. But I'm dabbling in harmonica and guitar as well. I hope to keep improving with all of them, but the drums and the uke are the main focus right now.

I'd like to get proficient enough with all of these that I can get some song ideas out of my head and into the open. And I have a few other musical ideas I want to toy with, but need to get my skill levels up to the point where I can bring those ideas to life.

I agree with the idea of at least being familiar with a few other instruments, so you can understand how other instruments work into the mix and gain a more complete understanding of how different components fit together. The wider your knowledge and experience level, the better.

[lonewolf]

There's no reason why a person can't become proficient in more than one instrument--it all comes down to time & effort.

I have found that keyboard is a good choice for a 2nd instrument for several reasons, including:

1) A lot of composition is done at a keyboard and later transposed to other instruments for the final product.

2) You get a better understanding of the bass clef than you do with instruments that are limited to the treble clef, such as guitar.

3) You can simultaneously play bass and melody

4) With today's synthesizers, you can get virtually any sound you want at a touch of a button.

[kayla]

lots of good points on here! my thing is, that a few years ago i was dabbling with different instruments, not sure what i wanted or where i was going. i went out to see a local band, and there was a moment in a particular song (which is now tattooed on my arm) that the sound of the guitar moved me so much emotionally, that it was in that moment i knew i wanted to play guitar and nothing else. sounds kind of cheesey, but its the truth.

it probably is a good thing to know how to play other instruments and be able to read music or whatever. but i guess i'm the odd one of the group ha, i just wanna play guitar.

- kayla.

[robinhood]

I seem to have a little bit of ADD with instruments, but I don't let it get too outta hand. I started out with one instrument, my voice. I was in choir for 9 years in grade school and I have always loved to sing. I'm not quite sure what it was, but when I got my first guitar, and tried to teach myself to play, I got frustrated pretty easily and I didn't quite feel like it was what I was meant to do. I owe a lot to the guys who said to me, "hey you already help haul gear for us, since the bass player quit do you wanna play for us?" Even though we weren't together very long, I'm thankful because they put a bass in my hands, and it just clicked with me. I've loved it ever since. I picked up the mandolin because I've always loved listening to it, and wanted to just dabble in it. And now listening to all this blues has made me wanna pick up the harmonica, which I'm digging pretty well, but my main instrument will always be my 5 string. And now being in the rhythm sharks is helping me get better and better, its amazing. Even though I may be a little hesitant and nervous at first I love playing with other people because I always seem to learn something. So I guess my take on this topic would be to have one main instrument, but not be afraid to dabble here and there, you never know what may happen

[Jasaoke]

Proficiency, I mean real proficiency, with one instrument will make it easier to learn others. If you learn MUSIC first, you can adapt that base knowledge to any instrument. This is why piano players can learn other instruments so readily. Whereas if you learn only one, your knowledge becomes straight-jacketed to that instrument.

So, to answer the question, I would prefer to be a novice at several instruments, because that will lead to a mastery of music.

I think it's important to play other instruments, if for no other reason than to explore their sounds. Some chord inversions just don't 'work' on some instruments. There are reasons why certain instruments often appear together. or not. Approaching anything form different points of view is always a good idea.

Besides, why wouldn't you want to learn all you can about something you love?

[VENTGtr]

Piano is definitely beneficial. I used to be a lot more "slightly competent" on it and would love to get better, just no time at all to do it. I agree with Paul and LW that knowing keyboard's layout helps with every other instrument.

I also agree with Jasaoke that knowing ANY instrument other than your "primary" would help, though.

THAT being said, I just got a trumpet...and that can't be good for anyone...

[kayla]

THAT being said, I just got a trumpet...and that can't be good for anyone...

[Gallowglass]

There was a time (during my intense "free jazz" period) when I was trying to learn clarinet and saxophone in addition to playing guitar. I soon realized that ever learning to play like John Coltrane was seriously out of the question. I eventually felt like I was only taking time away from an instrument that (hopefully) someday I might actually be somewhat competent on in order to learn instruments that in reality I might only ever be mediocre at best. I dropped them in favor of devoting more time to the guitar.

What I did take away from that experience though, was learning a little bit about the natural phrasing of those types of instruments. I learned that I didn't necessarily need a horn in order to play the same type of musical lines. From studying that music I learned to think in a different way that I can still apply to my main instrument, the guitar. I've also made a point of transcribing music that I like that was written for a different instrument. There are a lot of blues harmonica riffs that sound great when played on guitar.

I do still noodle around on bass. Almost all the material I wrote for the Black Sun stuff started out as bass jams. I think it's funny that when a guitarist plays bass everyone says "oh, he plays bass like a guitarist", but when a bass player starts out on bass and plays like a guitarist people often think he's awesome and incredibly innovative. Jack Bruce comes to mind. It makes me laugh.

I still write and work with a keyboard sometimes. I like the layout of the instrument and the ability to call up a bunch of cheesy synth patches. If I had a piano I'm sure I would play it all the time.

[songsmith]

I struggled on guitar-only for about 10 years before I realized I was never going to be any good at it. I have small hands to begin with, and had my left index finger re-attached at the first knuckle, so I just don't have all the tools. I get my point across, and I think rhythm guitar is pretty hard to be good at, too... but I'll never be lead guitarist.
I've played harmonica since '86, and picked it up because you didn't need good hands, and because it's easy to play. Once I figured out that nobody at the time was doing locally, I put more time into it, and pushed it a little harder. That said, I've never really put THAT much effort into it, and haven't practiced a note in years, other than ostage.
The lap steel thing happened because I bought one at a yardsale for $25, before E-bay made them cost ten times that. I just noodled until Blind Jonny Death invited me to sit in, and I figured I'd better up my game. Mandolin happened the same way, I bought a 60-yr-old tater bug from Wally Archer for a few dollars, then had to get a better one because it was fun.
Dobro came by way of lap-steel, but I honestly don't actually PLAY dobro in the traditional sense. I play lap-steel blues and country licks on a dobro, influenced by rock guitar and harmonica. Even an average REAL dobro player can make me look foolish, by playing standard dobro techniques. However, I've really worked at not sounding like other dobro-players. Sometimes it's hard NOT to play standard stuff.
Bass happened because I had a bass and somebody needed a bassist, which is the standard way to get into bass, I think.

I prefer playing the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none route. One instrument informs the next, and you carry your melodic sense through all of them. I forgot my harps one time, and played my normal harp solo on one song, with the dobro, pretty much note-for-note. I was pretty impressed with myself for that, but it was short-lived... the guys chewed me out for forgetting the harps in the first place.
Do what makes you happy! You never know when it'll come up necessary.

[riksylvania]

Playing other instruments really helps you understand all of the other instruments in a band. Every guitar player should learn to play drums and bass and really learn how to play in a groove and to play dynamically, even if it's real simple.