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Assuming you can play one instrument well and want to play another one which has been most challenging

For me, it’s guitar to keyboard


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Interesting video however I don't agree with their ratings, but I doubt that I am alone.
I had no problem with the French horn or the guitar but I will never be able to play the drums. I just don't have the coordination to play them, and yes I did try.


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The biggest challenge is learning your first instrument. Because it requires both music practice and theory. Reading charts, understanding timing, becoming familiar with music theory, and more.

The next instrument requires learning articulation, but the foundation has already been established. YMMV wink


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What a poorly researched video. It's rightly getting excoriated in the comments.

Here is an article with the same title, but at least it has the right reasons why the instruments are difficult.


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Hardest to play?
Bagpipes

In my whole life I've never heard someone play them and sound good!


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The hardest instrument to learn to play is the one you are trying to learn to play.


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Originally Posted by rharv
Hardest to play?
Bagpipes

In my whole life I've never heard someone play them and sound good!


Bagpipes are a weapon of war.
A lot like Scottish food.


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Originally Posted by mrgeeze
Bagpipes are a weapon of war.
A lot like Scottish food.
grin grin grin


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Originally Posted by AudioTrack
Originally Posted by mrgeeze
Bagpipes are a weapon of war.
A lot like Scottish food.
grin grin grin

It's early morning here, and I could crush some Scotch Eggs right now. Just sayin'...


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Originally Posted by DC Ron
Originally Posted by AudioTrack
Originally Posted by mrgeeze
Bagpipes are a weapon of war.
A lot like Scottish food.
grin grin grin

It's early morning here, and I could crush some Scotch Eggs right now. Just sayin'...
Though those aren't actually scottish.

Now cranachan ... that's a proper Scottish dish!

(Despite my name, I'm mostly English.)


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Cranachan probably tastes a heck of a lot better than haggis, with or without the accompanying bagpipes music...


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Originally Posted by AudioTrack
Cranachan probably tastes a heck of a lot better than haggis, with or without the accompanying bagpipes music...
Indeed.
I've also heard that bagpipes taste awful and I have no idea how one plays a haggis, though I think they may be related. laugh

FWIW, I do actually like the sound of bagpipes played well, though played poorly they are truly awful.

Bagipes are one of the three instruments I've seen in the Larson(-esque?) "Welcome to Heaven/Welcome to Hell" cartoons, the others being banjo and accordion.


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WHAT?? Scotch Eggs aren't Scottish?! What about Scotch Tape? Hopscotch?

I did Google "top 10 Scottish foods" (or similar) prior to my previous post. Number 7 was "whiskey". Almost snorted my OJ through my nose...

Spent two weeks in Rue, Scotland many years ago. Some of the genuinely nicest people ever. My major food memory is ordering a hamburger upon and arrival and realizing it was lamb...as was most every red meat dish. Except for the venison. But that was quite nice. Picked up some nice wool sweaters, too.

Anyway, my vote for hardest instrument is the sitar. Supposedly easy to learn the basics, but difficult to master.


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I’ve felt that switch too, and the biggest help for me was practicing super slow with hands separate. Once each hand felt steady, putting them together got way easier.

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I ended up treating it more like a chill way to get my fingers moving than a full-on teacher. The synthesia piano review really lines up with how I used it, and pairing it with something that actually explains the why behind the notes made it way more useful. It’s great for keeping practice fun without overthinking things.

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Any poorly made instrument is hardest to play. Aside from that, I've been playing guitar for 45 years and I'm still a novice because my coordination is so poor. I cannot strum both directions and my playing always sounds sloppy. I use the guitar for writing songs but not for recording. That's why Band in a Box revolutionized my being able to make music out of the songs I write.

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Originally Posted by Gordon Scott
Now cranachan ... that's a proper Scottish dish!

(Despite my name, I'm mostly English.)

According to ancestry DNA I am mostly Scottish, with English and Irish thrown in . . . I had never heard of Cranachan until this post but I'll be giving the recipe a try this weekend . . .

As for the hardest instrument, I taught myself guitar, bass and mandolin. I am trying to teach myself banjo right now and it is the hardest instrument I have ever tried to learn.


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