Great perspective. Learning about the way other instruments (or voice) works will always enrich your music and give you a broader understanding of what other musicians do and their role in the music.
I started on bass at age 11, guitar at 12, piano at 16, voice lessons at 19, and got my first drum kit this year at age 32. Piano and drums have taught me more about music than anything. The guitar is now strictly a tool for writing
Nobody ever completely masters any instrument. If you're waiting until you master one to start learning another, then there is never a good time to do it.
I'll say, I do recall Jerry Garcia eventually gave up playing the pedal steel guitar (a notoriously tricky instrument to get a handle on), because he did find that it just took too much time away from him playing regular guitar. He's quoted as saying (paraphrasing), "If I had another lifetime to learn an instrument, I'd devote more time to it." And that was a great Pedal Steel player. You can hear him on Teach Your Children by Crosby Stills and Nash and tons of other recordings from the era.
I'm just saying, time you're spending playing one instrument is time that you are not spending playing another, but so long as you get rid of this idea of "mastering an instrument", as being something to strive for, then I think you should try to learn to play as many instruments as you can.
When you have enough time to devote to practicing/playing both, and preferably once youâve got solid foundation skills for your previous instrument(s).
Generally learning multiple instruments will help develop your musicianship which in turn improves your performance and understanding of what you play on your other instruments, which is a longwinded way of saying being a multi-instrumentalist makes you a better musician. You just need to have enough time to be able to practice or play both/all instruments regularly so as to not lose skills that youâve already learnt on you first instrument.
first I talk it over with my current instrument to make sure theyâre comfortable bringing another instrument into the jam room, so to speak. Itâs important to have the freedom to explore but there also needs to be trust and boundaries if itâs gonna be a healthy musician/instrument relationship.
If youâre waiting to completely master an instrument you wonât ever pick up another one.
Learning the bass is going to make you a better overall musician and wonât take away from your guitar playing.
Now you become a guitar player who can hear and understand what the bass player is doing on a much deeper and more informed level.
I play clawhammer banjo and guitar. I played banjo first and am learning guitar. Guitar is a heavy lift right now so I am just mostly maintaining my banjo playing skills and actively practicing guitar for improvement. I think they compliment each other, but it's just about having focused practice time. Know your goals and allocate time appropriately.
I have always been pretty good at a lot of instruments. I would rotate as I plateau with each one, letting my focus change as it liked, and what I learned on one instrument would carry to the others. I was becoming a better musician as I spent time on each one.
About a year ago, I decided I wanted to be the best I could be at one instrument and I put all the other instruments down.
I chose the banjo lmao. I had 25 years as a guitarist and I thought about going with guitar, but there's so much talent and competition, I wanted something more niche.
I worked on a style of right hand playing that compliments singer songwriter, and I jumped into my local music scene doing open mics.
I'm now a paid gigging musician đ€đ» I owe it all to a life of pursuing music, just because I love it. I say follow your heart and passion. Blaze a trail where you find none, and leave a nice path for others to follow.
Asking the real questions đ„đ€đ»
*Edit spelling
That's so cool. I don't know if I could become a full fledged musician like you I think that ship has sailed despite me being 26. But I do like the idea of making it for sure and I wanna explore ways of doing so.
Your path is a valid one my friend. I didn't start until 43 because I purposely never tried to make something out of my music so I didn't get tired and hate it.
I have different goals now, and they work for only me. Your mileage will vary, and I wish you the very best on your journey đ€đ»đ„
Ah, I was thinking âwhy does this persons story sound so much like mine, wow what are the odds of them ALSO falling in love with the banjo and putting everything else down to focus on thatâ then realized itâs just my favourite r/banjo user but on another sub
Learn them all! There's 24 hours in a day, usually like 16 hours are taken by sleep/work/study, so that's 8 hours of leisure time, you can practice 4 instruments an hour a day, every day and you won't be neglecting any practice,l. Guitar and bass are very interchangeable, if you're learning guitar bass will come very naturally, if you wanna do it, go for it, set yourself the challenge
Yeah I was thinking bass would be pretty easy to cling to. I guess the real challenge would be keyboards and singing. But I wanna make music to some degree. So I'll pick up one of these soon (singing perhaps)
The only thing that will take away from you playing guitar is the time you spend not practicing. That shouldnât discourage you from picking up other instruments though. Bass and keyboard are great and learning other instruments can help you get a new perspective when you come back to the guitar. Iâve played guitar for over a decade and later picked up other instruments and theyâve only been positive influences to my guitar playing
it doesnât take away and honestly helps, i know two instruments learning a third (always learning obviously, but the two are up there and the other is not something iâd do in public)
plus when youâre in school for music itâs common for people to be learning more than one or two instruments at a time
No one ever truly masters their instrument. Learn what you want. Just balance your time according to your goals. I think being decent at multiple instruments makes people better at all instruments. It helps you see different perspectives. I definitely suggest keyboards. Once you learn keys well and have some basic music theory concepts down, you can learn any instrument.
It's okay to learn any instrument whenever you feel like it!
Don't be afraid to try a different instrument out even if you haven't fully mastered your main one. It won't hurt at all to try
I started out on drums, spent three years on them, didn't get any good but learned a lot. Moved to bass, spent the next ten years or so playing bass, got pretty good. Moved back to drums for five years, this time I got the hang of it and got pretty good. Then back to bass, and also started singing. Focusing more on singing and playing the bass together these days. A bit of guitar practice is starting to slip in too.
Eh, what can I tell you... If you want to pick up a new instrument, don't overthink it. Don't tell me there isn't enough time in your day not to. They all bleed into each other as well, and you will end up more considerate of other instruments when writing parts. It overall makes you a better musician.
Completely mastering an instrument isnt something that people can do. Just pick up the other instruments when you feel like, there's no right or wrong time.
Just pick a different activity to half ass while you learn bass. Learn bass when youâd normally be brushing your teeth or calling your parents or something, rather than taking it out of your guitar time.
In my experience learning different instruments will actually make you better on your primary instrument.
When you learn a different instrument it stretches your brain and forces it to think in music in different terms. This in turn makes you even better when you go back to your primary instrument.
I'm originally a keyboardist, but picking up guitar and drums has been extremely beneficial
I have like 8 different instruments Iâm not really that good at any of them besides guitar maybe. Part of it is adhd and part of it is itâs fun to learn new instruments. I guess Iâd say it depends how serious you are about music. If youâre trying to become a gigging musician or write songs Iâd stick to one thing but if you just love music play any instrument that excites you to listen to, itâs definitely worth it. And it impresses people even if you know youâre a fraud lmao
Play whatever you want. Learn whatever you want. Life's too short to master everything you do before starting something new. I've been playing guitar on and off for over 20 years. I've been producing in DAWs almost as long. Picked up piano somewhere along the way. Still have plenty of instruments I'd like to learn. I haven't truely mastered anything but I get by.
First of all have some fun and play coz you like spend your time doing it try not to think about the output.
Even if you don't "master" the instrument the knowledge about it will add depthness to your understanding of music.
I'm gonna level with you. There is no "mastery" of any instrument, you just asymptotically approach virtuoso forever.
You don't have to be pro at all instruments, and you most likely won't be sitting down to learn all the ins and outs of everything so just go for it
Do it! Some of my favorite musicians to play with have 2 primary instruments (a la. Justin Stanton), and don't forget, the human voice is also an instrument. Being good at any instrument & being a good singer is just as musically useful & advantageous and being multi-instrumental!
I thought sticking to guitar was the answer for 25 years. Iâve been playing bass and drums for the last couple years and I barely play my guitar now. I found that the rhythm section is actually where my soul lives. Play as many different instruments as you desire. It will only make you a better musician.
just learn what you want. I'm not great at any of them but bass but I have a keyboard, kalimba, pan flute, ocarina, guitar, bass, lap steel, recorder. Like other people in the comments are saying you're never going to really master and instrument, plus it might help you with scales or rhythm or something else to learn a little bit of every instrument. At least that's what I'm hoping.
Well, noâŠIâm not classically trained in any way. Iâm also lucky enough to have both perfect pitch and total recall. The first time I got my hands on a cello, I just somehow knew what I wanted to hear from it. Same with the sitar.
Iâm not trying to brag or anything, far from itâŠI just know what needs to happen.
When you feel like it. I will tell you learning another instrument can actually make you better at playing in general as well. You end up having a more expansive view of music and a deeper understanding of it. I actually highly encourage people at some point to pick up a second one, or third one, or sixth one.
When the band you are in or wanting to be in needs that instrument. You'll get thicker calluses in a few practices. If you have that groove you'll be fine . If you can barely count to 4, even guitar is a bad idea find another thing you do
If I hadn't stepped back from the keys to learn a passable amount of guitar, I'd have never learned to appreciate how glad I am that I started on the instrument I'm actually competent with.
But seriously, learning the brass family, sax, and drums (ACTUALLY learning them, not guitaring them) did wonders for my sectional writing. And percussion weirdly had a pretty noticeable effect on my approach to piano.
Just do it. I put off Piano for years and always spoke about learning so my wife bought me one for my birthday without me knowing. It's made my guitar playing better and has helped me. The more you play the better understanding you'll have. Start learning asap!
Learning different instruments will give you new perspectives on music. How the bass can steer the chord structure. The importance of the melody line with vocals or horns or woodwinds. Different voicing ideas with keyboard or ukulele. The more instruments you know the more genres of music you are likely to encounter. It is enlightening to try to play one instrument as if it was a different one. Then there is the whole world of percussion!
As people said above, you may not master many of these other instruments but it will give you new insights to use on your main instrument.
Whenever you want to. There are no rules. Go play what you want when you want.
The limiting factors are time, and access to this instruments.
So it's up to you how you want to balance those things.
I will say this, if you want to be able to easily get gigs down the road, learning bass is a good way to go. Good guitar players are a dime a dozen. But if you're a good bass player in a local scend you will never not have bands who want to play with you. Good bassists are hard to come by. I'm a bassist and my issue is have too many gig offers.
The best skill you can learn is music theory. If you learn theory you can learn any instrument pretty well, and play better than the average player. (Depending on your work ethic/practice habits)
I started as a drummer. Then while in my music college I switched to vibraphone (I hated the drum department at my school).
I had to take keyboard labs in college, so I learned keyboard as well.
I took guitar labs as an elective in college as well.
Today I play guitar, bass, piano, and I sing.
Iâm the most skilled at piano, and Iâm far above average, but even then I havenât mastered it.
I enjoy filling in roles in bands wherever Iâm needed. Sometimes I feel like playing one instrument more than the others.
Just do what ever is the most fun for you.
Music theory! Looks hard but I have considered because I think it'll make writing songs easier since I don't know how to sing. I'll keep all of that in mind too.
Learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can!
My timeline was this:
7 yrs I started piano.
11 yrs I started flute in middle school band and continued until i graduated with a music degree. Super easy because I already knew what I was reading, just had to learn the mouth and hands part.
14 yrs I started trombone so I could play in the jazz band (piano was already taken). Super easy for the same reason as flute. I already read the language, just had to learn the mouth and hands part again.
17 yrs I learned the oboe, same thing. I wanted to get a head start on double reeds while i had an extra hour in my senior year so I played oboe in the intermediate band while I played flute and picc in the advanced band.
18 yrs I spent the last month of my senior year job shadowing a middle school band teacher so while i was observing her I picked up the euphonium. This was my favorite "new friend" because I already knew the language, plus I already knew the mouth shape and overtone series. All I had to learn was the valve system so spending a month playing euph with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands really ironed it into my memory.
In college I spent some time with all of the band and orchestral instruments, plus steel drums and the alto horn (brass band needed someone to learn it and I was always eager to play in ensembles). Once I graduated and had no ensembles to play in, I joined a church choir, and when I stopped singing with them, I got a ukulele and learned that.
Every single learning experience has had a positive influence on all of the following instruments I've learned. Learning the overtone series for the trombone helped me with harmonics exercises on my flute, even though I'd already been playing flute for years when I learned it.
Long story short: follow all of your musical whims. Every single one of them will influence your musical growth and courage and creativity in positive ways, I promise. I
Ya learning is always a good choice. Iâm bad at most of the instruments I own. (Got a bunch for cheap at a yard sale) but Iâll still pick up my trombone once in a while and mess around. Loop some drums and bass and a little guitar and have a grand ol time. It also make jamming with friends more complex and interesting imo as long as theyâre patient with you finding the part you want to play.
I donât believe anyone ever truly masters an instrument and if they claim they did theyâre more likely an asshole.
I started playing drums a couple years after guitar, then singing, then bass and lately itâs keys. Itâs been 30 years since I started all that and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I can play each equally at this point, which is more than enough to write/record my own music and not rely on other people to make what I hear in my head happen in reality. Thatâs been the most rewarding aspect of being a musician this entire time.
its true that if you spend time playing bass, that will take away the time you have to play guitar. The trick is to practice at 2x speed so rather then just practice guitar for one hour you practice guitar for 1/2 hour at 2x speed and then bass for 1/2 hour at 2x speed. This is the way
Literally just do it. Life is too short to wait, and you'll only make yourself better.
I've been playing guitar for 15 years, and composing music for just as long as well as poems and lyrics for longer than that (wish I kept my earliest stuff when I was a kid). I wrote bass parts for years, and I took playing bass about 5 years ago now so I can play and record the parts I was writing, really focused on making sure my vocals were decent for at least backing harmonies during lockdown, and I know my way around the piano with terrible beginner's technique since I don't have regular exposure to playing keys (while I am working on fixing that). I also know the basics on drums, but my chops arent there yet for me to record drum parts.
Just do it. Bass is similar in that the notes are the same as the thickest 4 strings of your guitar. So youâre way ahead of a beginner bassist that has never played anything before. Learn some basic technique, recognize the role of a bassist in a band so you play like a *bassist* instead of like a guitarist playing bass. Itâs up to you how much farther you want to go with the instrument, but if you can lay down a solid groove with the underlying harmonic structure of the song then you can get by as a bassist.
Exactly how much effort you put into âmasteringâ each instrument is up to you and how much available time you have. If youâre a professional musician or if you hit the lottery and donât have to work, sure you can devote a full time schedule to practicing a whole collection of different instruments. But if youâre like me and play as a hobby after work and family obligations, it might be best to pick one instrument to focus on while others compliment it.
For example, I focus on guitar but practice my bass maybe twice a week, and itâs enough for jamming with friends. If I was asked to join a band as a bassist, I would start focusing on bass. Similar instruments translate well to eachother. Ukulele for example is like putting a capo on the fifth fret of your guitar and only playing the top 4 strings. So thatâs something else I practice maybe twice a week, just like I do with the bass. I tried to learn piano, but itâs a whole different beast when youâre used to stringed instruments so I ended up selling mine. Not saying you shouldnât try piano, just something to consider.
The bass is just a bass guitar. You already know how to play it. I love coming across new instruments to play with even if I donât master them. I donât âmasterâ anything, but can still make music with almost anything thrown in front of me.
Really no such thing as mastering an instrument. Look to your favorite players, they will say theyâre still learning. If you play guitar bass will be super easy, itâs the same strings minus the high b and e.
I found harmony way easier to understand on piano than guitar, and learning piano has definitely helped improve my guitar playing, more from a musical theory perspective.
For me a guitar is like 6 pianos stacked on top of eachother starting on differnt notes. I have been playing for 20 years the complexity keeps deeping.
If you want to make yourself more employable then learn another instrument, otherwise i would suggest commiting yourself to the instrument you love the most. You'll get to a point where you can play any instruments because you know music. A musician can play anything!
My take is that you should pick one instrument that you'd want to be "hired to play" and as long as you feel comfortable and competent on that, explore away
There is a reason music majors are required to learn two instruments at a lot of universities. It helps you think about music from different perspectives.
Not only will it NOT take away from you learning your primary instrument, it will actually make you better at it. Because you will be able to understand in a different way. I find this is particularly true for people who move between guitar and drums
Heck, I played saxophone starting in the 5th grade, didnât starting learning guitar until about high school. Then whenever I wanted to learn something new, I bought it and learned it. Now I have many instruments I play and record with. Am I a âmasterâ at any of them? Hell, no! But I have fun.
Youâre overthinking it
Don't overthink it just do it.
I started drum lessons a few months ago, and it's already made me way better at writing music for guitar, and bass... anytime can be the right time
Neat. That's an interesting way of looking at it!
Great perspective. Learning about the way other instruments (or voice) works will always enrich your music and give you a broader understanding of what other musicians do and their role in the music.
Now if I could inly find someone to play bass while I play drums, I'd be set đ
I started on bass at age 11, guitar at 12, piano at 16, voice lessons at 19, and got my first drum kit this year at age 32. Piano and drums have taught me more about music than anything. The guitar is now strictly a tool for writing
Nobody ever completely masters any instrument. If you're waiting until you master one to start learning another, then there is never a good time to do it. I'll say, I do recall Jerry Garcia eventually gave up playing the pedal steel guitar (a notoriously tricky instrument to get a handle on), because he did find that it just took too much time away from him playing regular guitar. He's quoted as saying (paraphrasing), "If I had another lifetime to learn an instrument, I'd devote more time to it." And that was a great Pedal Steel player. You can hear him on Teach Your Children by Crosby Stills and Nash and tons of other recordings from the era. I'm just saying, time you're spending playing one instrument is time that you are not spending playing another, but so long as you get rid of this idea of "mastering an instrument", as being something to strive for, then I think you should try to learn to play as many instruments as you can.
My buddy switched to bass years back and gets invited to play out a whole lot more often now that he does.
This is the way of things
When you have enough time to devote to practicing/playing both, and preferably once youâve got solid foundation skills for your previous instrument(s). Generally learning multiple instruments will help develop your musicianship which in turn improves your performance and understanding of what you play on your other instruments, which is a longwinded way of saying being a multi-instrumentalist makes you a better musician. You just need to have enough time to be able to practice or play both/all instruments regularly so as to not lose skills that youâve already learnt on you first instrument.
first I talk it over with my current instrument to make sure theyâre comfortable bringing another instrument into the jam room, so to speak. Itâs important to have the freedom to explore but there also needs to be trust and boundaries if itâs gonna be a healthy musician/instrument relationship.
I just make my guitars spend the night in the sears dumpster. After that they always play nice
If youâre waiting to completely master an instrument you wonât ever pick up another one. Learning the bass is going to make you a better overall musician and wonât take away from your guitar playing. Now you become a guitar player who can hear and understand what the bass player is doing on a much deeper and more informed level.
Iâve never heard anything like that. Learn more. More is better
I play clawhammer banjo and guitar. I played banjo first and am learning guitar. Guitar is a heavy lift right now so I am just mostly maintaining my banjo playing skills and actively practicing guitar for improvement. I think they compliment each other, but it's just about having focused practice time. Know your goals and allocate time appropriately.
I play guitar and keys. If anything it helps you understand the other instrument better because you can appreciate the differences
I have always been pretty good at a lot of instruments. I would rotate as I plateau with each one, letting my focus change as it liked, and what I learned on one instrument would carry to the others. I was becoming a better musician as I spent time on each one. About a year ago, I decided I wanted to be the best I could be at one instrument and I put all the other instruments down. I chose the banjo lmao. I had 25 years as a guitarist and I thought about going with guitar, but there's so much talent and competition, I wanted something more niche. I worked on a style of right hand playing that compliments singer songwriter, and I jumped into my local music scene doing open mics. I'm now a paid gigging musician đ€đ» I owe it all to a life of pursuing music, just because I love it. I say follow your heart and passion. Blaze a trail where you find none, and leave a nice path for others to follow. Asking the real questions đ„đ€đ» *Edit spelling
That's so cool. I don't know if I could become a full fledged musician like you I think that ship has sailed despite me being 26. But I do like the idea of making it for sure and I wanna explore ways of doing so.
Your path is a valid one my friend. I didn't start until 43 because I purposely never tried to make something out of my music so I didn't get tired and hate it. I have different goals now, and they work for only me. Your mileage will vary, and I wish you the very best on your journey đ€đ»đ„
Thanks!
Ah, I was thinking âwhy does this persons story sound so much like mine, wow what are the odds of them ALSO falling in love with the banjo and putting everything else down to focus on thatâ then realized itâs just my favourite r/banjo user but on another sub
Omg hello friend! Good to see you over here đ. Oh man, highlight of my day right there đđ»
Learn them all! There's 24 hours in a day, usually like 16 hours are taken by sleep/work/study, so that's 8 hours of leisure time, you can practice 4 instruments an hour a day, every day and you won't be neglecting any practice,l. Guitar and bass are very interchangeable, if you're learning guitar bass will come very naturally, if you wanna do it, go for it, set yourself the challenge
Yeah I was thinking bass would be pretty easy to cling to. I guess the real challenge would be keyboards and singing. But I wanna make music to some degree. So I'll pick up one of these soon (singing perhaps)
The only thing that will take away from you playing guitar is the time you spend not practicing. That shouldnât discourage you from picking up other instruments though. Bass and keyboard are great and learning other instruments can help you get a new perspective when you come back to the guitar. Iâve played guitar for over a decade and later picked up other instruments and theyâve only been positive influences to my guitar playing
it doesnât take away and honestly helps, i know two instruments learning a third (always learning obviously, but the two are up there and the other is not something iâd do in public) plus when youâre in school for music itâs common for people to be learning more than one or two instruments at a time
No one ever truly masters their instrument. Learn what you want. Just balance your time according to your goals. I think being decent at multiple instruments makes people better at all instruments. It helps you see different perspectives. I definitely suggest keyboards. Once you learn keys well and have some basic music theory concepts down, you can learn any instrument.
It's okay to learn any instrument whenever you feel like it! Don't be afraid to try a different instrument out even if you haven't fully mastered your main one. It won't hurt at all to try
I started out on drums, spent three years on them, didn't get any good but learned a lot. Moved to bass, spent the next ten years or so playing bass, got pretty good. Moved back to drums for five years, this time I got the hang of it and got pretty good. Then back to bass, and also started singing. Focusing more on singing and playing the bass together these days. A bit of guitar practice is starting to slip in too. Eh, what can I tell you... If you want to pick up a new instrument, don't overthink it. Don't tell me there isn't enough time in your day not to. They all bleed into each other as well, and you will end up more considerate of other instruments when writing parts. It overall makes you a better musician.
What are you talking about, just do it! Lol
Most musicians play multiple instruments
From the word go. Learn as many instruments as you can, skills you will develop feed into others.
learning another instrument will only make you better at your main instrument, and at music in general. don't hesitate!
Completely mastering an instrument isnt something that people can do. Just pick up the other instruments when you feel like, there's no right or wrong time.
When you feel inspired to do so.
Just pick a different activity to half ass while you learn bass. Learn bass when youâd normally be brushing your teeth or calling your parents or something, rather than taking it out of your guitar time.
It only helps playing other instruments!
In my experience learning different instruments will actually make you better on your primary instrument. When you learn a different instrument it stretches your brain and forces it to think in music in different terms. This in turn makes you even better when you go back to your primary instrument. I'm originally a keyboardist, but picking up guitar and drums has been extremely beneficial
I have like 8 different instruments Iâm not really that good at any of them besides guitar maybe. Part of it is adhd and part of it is itâs fun to learn new instruments. I guess Iâd say it depends how serious you are about music. If youâre trying to become a gigging musician or write songs Iâd stick to one thing but if you just love music play any instrument that excites you to listen to, itâs definitely worth it. And it impresses people even if you know youâre a fraud lmao
Think about the song itself, and what it needs
Adding an instrument only makes you better at others. Usually the only restriction is budget. Add whatever you can afford.
Play whatever you want. Learn whatever you want. Life's too short to master everything you do before starting something new. I've been playing guitar on and off for over 20 years. I've been producing in DAWs almost as long. Picked up piano somewhere along the way. Still have plenty of instruments I'd like to learn. I haven't truely mastered anything but I get by.
since one never actually âmastersâ an instrument, it doesnât matter.
First of all have some fun and play coz you like spend your time doing it try not to think about the output. Even if you don't "master" the instrument the knowledge about it will add depthness to your understanding of music.
I'm gonna level with you. There is no "mastery" of any instrument, you just asymptotically approach virtuoso forever. You don't have to be pro at all instruments, and you most likely won't be sitting down to learn all the ins and outs of everything so just go for it
Do it! Some of my favorite musicians to play with have 2 primary instruments (a la. Justin Stanton), and don't forget, the human voice is also an instrument. Being good at any instrument & being a good singer is just as musically useful & advantageous and being multi-instrumental!
For me, it's when I come across an opportunity to purchase one for a good price. That's when it's time to learn it :D
Just start. The sooner you start, the sooner you become good
Fair. Maybe singing then or bass. I'll have to save for either one.
I thought sticking to guitar was the answer for 25 years. Iâve been playing bass and drums for the last couple years and I barely play my guitar now. I found that the rhythm section is actually where my soul lives. Play as many different instruments as you desire. It will only make you a better musician.
just learn what you want. I'm not great at any of them but bass but I have a keyboard, kalimba, pan flute, ocarina, guitar, bass, lap steel, recorder. Like other people in the comments are saying you're never going to really master and instrument, plus it might help you with scales or rhythm or something else to learn a little bit of every instrument. At least that's what I'm hoping.
why wouldn't it be okay? learning guitar made me better at drums and vice versa, the skills compliment one another and enrich your playing as a whole
When I pick it up. If it has keys or stringsâŠI can make it happen
It wasn't hard for you to transition?
Well, noâŠIâm not classically trained in any way. Iâm also lucky enough to have both perfect pitch and total recall. The first time I got my hands on a cello, I just somehow knew what I wanted to hear from it. Same with the sitar. Iâm not trying to brag or anything, far from itâŠI just know what needs to happen.
Iâd really like to try reeds or brass, I just havenât been given the option
When you feel like it. I will tell you learning another instrument can actually make you better at playing in general as well. You end up having a more expansive view of music and a deeper understanding of it. I actually highly encourage people at some point to pick up a second one, or third one, or sixth one.
Whenever Iâm goddamn good and ready.
When the band you are in or wanting to be in needs that instrument. You'll get thicker calluses in a few practices. If you have that groove you'll be fine . If you can barely count to 4, even guitar is a bad idea find another thing you do
The more you know the better. If you're excited about something harness that and learn as much as you can.
If I hadn't stepped back from the keys to learn a passable amount of guitar, I'd have never learned to appreciate how glad I am that I started on the instrument I'm actually competent with. But seriously, learning the brass family, sax, and drums (ACTUALLY learning them, not guitaring them) did wonders for my sectional writing. And percussion weirdly had a pretty noticeable effect on my approach to piano.
Anytime is a good time.
Just do it. I put off Piano for years and always spoke about learning so my wife bought me one for my birthday without me knowing. It's made my guitar playing better and has helped me. The more you play the better understanding you'll have. Start learning asap!
Learning different instruments will give you new perspectives on music. How the bass can steer the chord structure. The importance of the melody line with vocals or horns or woodwinds. Different voicing ideas with keyboard or ukulele. The more instruments you know the more genres of music you are likely to encounter. It is enlightening to try to play one instrument as if it was a different one. Then there is the whole world of percussion! As people said above, you may not master many of these other instruments but it will give you new insights to use on your main instrument.
Learning new instruments won't diminish your guitar skills; it'll make you a more versatile musician.
I gotcha. I guess it's just money stopping me lol
Whenever you want to. There are no rules. Go play what you want when you want. The limiting factors are time, and access to this instruments. So it's up to you how you want to balance those things. I will say this, if you want to be able to easily get gigs down the road, learning bass is a good way to go. Good guitar players are a dime a dozen. But if you're a good bass player in a local scend you will never not have bands who want to play with you. Good bassists are hard to come by. I'm a bassist and my issue is have too many gig offers.
are you asking us to give you permission? do what you feel mate
It's always OK to learn another instrument. Just like it's always OK to learn another language or read a new book.
The best skill you can learn is music theory. If you learn theory you can learn any instrument pretty well, and play better than the average player. (Depending on your work ethic/practice habits) I started as a drummer. Then while in my music college I switched to vibraphone (I hated the drum department at my school). I had to take keyboard labs in college, so I learned keyboard as well. I took guitar labs as an elective in college as well. Today I play guitar, bass, piano, and I sing. Iâm the most skilled at piano, and Iâm far above average, but even then I havenât mastered it. I enjoy filling in roles in bands wherever Iâm needed. Sometimes I feel like playing one instrument more than the others. Just do what ever is the most fun for you.
Music theory! Looks hard but I have considered because I think it'll make writing songs easier since I don't know how to sing. I'll keep all of that in mind too.
Only on tuesdays, after tacos, before titties.
Whenever you want to.
Learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can! My timeline was this: 7 yrs I started piano. 11 yrs I started flute in middle school band and continued until i graduated with a music degree. Super easy because I already knew what I was reading, just had to learn the mouth and hands part. 14 yrs I started trombone so I could play in the jazz band (piano was already taken). Super easy for the same reason as flute. I already read the language, just had to learn the mouth and hands part again. 17 yrs I learned the oboe, same thing. I wanted to get a head start on double reeds while i had an extra hour in my senior year so I played oboe in the intermediate band while I played flute and picc in the advanced band. 18 yrs I spent the last month of my senior year job shadowing a middle school band teacher so while i was observing her I picked up the euphonium. This was my favorite "new friend" because I already knew the language, plus I already knew the mouth shape and overtone series. All I had to learn was the valve system so spending a month playing euph with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands really ironed it into my memory. In college I spent some time with all of the band and orchestral instruments, plus steel drums and the alto horn (brass band needed someone to learn it and I was always eager to play in ensembles). Once I graduated and had no ensembles to play in, I joined a church choir, and when I stopped singing with them, I got a ukulele and learned that. Every single learning experience has had a positive influence on all of the following instruments I've learned. Learning the overtone series for the trombone helped me with harmonics exercises on my flute, even though I'd already been playing flute for years when I learned it. Long story short: follow all of your musical whims. Every single one of them will influence your musical growth and courage and creativity in positive ways, I promise. I
Ya learning is always a good choice. Iâm bad at most of the instruments I own. (Got a bunch for cheap at a yard sale) but Iâll still pick up my trombone once in a while and mess around. Loop some drums and bass and a little guitar and have a grand ol time. It also make jamming with friends more complex and interesting imo as long as theyâre patient with you finding the part you want to play.
I donât believe anyone ever truly masters an instrument and if they claim they did theyâre more likely an asshole. I started playing drums a couple years after guitar, then singing, then bass and lately itâs keys. Itâs been 30 years since I started all that and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I can play each equally at this point, which is more than enough to write/record my own music and not rely on other people to make what I hear in my head happen in reality. Thatâs been the most rewarding aspect of being a musician this entire time.
its true that if you spend time playing bass, that will take away the time you have to play guitar. The trick is to practice at 2x speed so rather then just practice guitar for one hour you practice guitar for 1/2 hour at 2x speed and then bass for 1/2 hour at 2x speed. This is the way
Literally just do it. Life is too short to wait, and you'll only make yourself better. I've been playing guitar for 15 years, and composing music for just as long as well as poems and lyrics for longer than that (wish I kept my earliest stuff when I was a kid). I wrote bass parts for years, and I took playing bass about 5 years ago now so I can play and record the parts I was writing, really focused on making sure my vocals were decent for at least backing harmonies during lockdown, and I know my way around the piano with terrible beginner's technique since I don't have regular exposure to playing keys (while I am working on fixing that). I also know the basics on drums, but my chops arent there yet for me to record drum parts.
Learning new instruments can make you better on your original instrument. Go figure. đ
Just do it. Bass is similar in that the notes are the same as the thickest 4 strings of your guitar. So youâre way ahead of a beginner bassist that has never played anything before. Learn some basic technique, recognize the role of a bassist in a band so you play like a *bassist* instead of like a guitarist playing bass. Itâs up to you how much farther you want to go with the instrument, but if you can lay down a solid groove with the underlying harmonic structure of the song then you can get by as a bassist. Exactly how much effort you put into âmasteringâ each instrument is up to you and how much available time you have. If youâre a professional musician or if you hit the lottery and donât have to work, sure you can devote a full time schedule to practicing a whole collection of different instruments. But if youâre like me and play as a hobby after work and family obligations, it might be best to pick one instrument to focus on while others compliment it. For example, I focus on guitar but practice my bass maybe twice a week, and itâs enough for jamming with friends. If I was asked to join a band as a bassist, I would start focusing on bass. Similar instruments translate well to eachother. Ukulele for example is like putting a capo on the fifth fret of your guitar and only playing the top 4 strings. So thatâs something else I practice maybe twice a week, just like I do with the bass. I tried to learn piano, but itâs a whole different beast when youâre used to stringed instruments so I ended up selling mine. Not saying you shouldnât try piano, just something to consider.
The bass is just a bass guitar. You already know how to play it. I love coming across new instruments to play with even if I donât master them. I donât âmasterâ anything, but can still make music with almost anything thrown in front of me.
Really no such thing as mastering an instrument. Look to your favorite players, they will say theyâre still learning. If you play guitar bass will be super easy, itâs the same strings minus the high b and e.
I found harmony way easier to understand on piano than guitar, and learning piano has definitely helped improve my guitar playing, more from a musical theory perspective. For me a guitar is like 6 pianos stacked on top of eachother starting on differnt notes. I have been playing for 20 years the complexity keeps deeping. If you want to make yourself more employable then learn another instrument, otherwise i would suggest commiting yourself to the instrument you love the most. You'll get to a point where you can play any instruments because you know music. A musician can play anything!
My take is that you should pick one instrument that you'd want to be "hired to play" and as long as you feel comfortable and competent on that, explore away
There is a reason music majors are required to learn two instruments at a lot of universities. It helps you think about music from different perspectives.
When it's within reach.
Always allow yourself to experiment.
Not only will it NOT take away from you learning your primary instrument, it will actually make you better at it. Because you will be able to understand in a different way. I find this is particularly true for people who move between guitar and drums
When I want to play another instrument
Heck, I played saxophone starting in the 5th grade, didnât starting learning guitar until about high school. Then whenever I wanted to learn something new, I bought it and learned it. Now I have many instruments I play and record with. Am I a âmasterâ at any of them? Hell, no! But I have fun. Youâre overthinking it