10 Easiest Musical Instruments to learn for adults

Rick Perdian
5 min readFeb 3, 2021

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The interest to start playing a musical instrument could kick in at any age. While youngsters can easily pick up and learn complicated musical instruments, many adults find it challenging to learn playing the difficult musical instrument when they’re way past their “apt” age. Most of them will pick up an instrument and try learning it until they pass it off for a new hobby while only a few adults will continue with learning and mastering the musical instrument.

We want to tell you that no musical instrument is difficult if you’re willing to learn it in the right way. Playing a musical instrument is infinitely rewarding. It allows you to express yourself and manage stress, enables you to express your buried emotions, boosts creativity, and teaches you discipline and coordination. These attributes are essential in the life of every human being of any age.

10 Easiest Musical Instruments to Learn for Adults

Here is the list of the ten easiest musical instruments recommended for adults.

Recorder

The recorder is similar to the flute but cheaper. For starters, the recorder is a great instrument that can be played by anyone. Many schools teach the recorder to young children to introduce them to musical instruments.

Different recorders play at different pitches: soprano, alto, and tenor, each progressively larger than the last. Once you can play one of them, you can play them all!

Once you master the recorder, you can move on play the clarinet or flute.

Keyboards

Keyboards or the electronic piano may seem like a difficult instrument to play initially, but with persistence and understanding, you can master it in no time.

Electronic keyboards can recreate a wide range of instrument sounds and synthesizer tones with less complicated sound synthesis. It’s designed for both professional and non-professional users. Hence, you can practice it regularly to hone up your muscle memory and better your learning.

Percussion Instruments

A percussion instrument makes sound by strucking or scraping by a beater. Xylophone, drums, tambourine, snare drum, bell, bongo drums are few examples of percussion instruments.

Depending on the instrument, percussion is the most comfortable instrument to learn as you can’t play any wrong notes. Unlike complicated instruments, you need not learn many basics to start well with percussion instruments. A basic understanding can help you start playing with the equipment.

Bongos

Bongos are two conjoined drums, one small with a high tone and one larger with a lower tone. You can get bongos made of different materials, but they are very affordable, whichever you choose to get.

It’s easy to pick up basic rhythms with Bongo drums. After a month of continuous playing, you’ll quickly master the basics. You can swiftly move on to advanced rhythms.

Castanets

Castanets, also known as clackers or palillos, are percussion instruments that are easy to learn. They’re mostly used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, and Italian music. You attach them to your thumbs and use your fingers to produce the clicking sound to play them.

Tambourine

The tambourine is a percussion instrument resembling a shallow drum with metal discs in slots around the edge, played by being shaken or hit with the hand. It may or may not include a drum. The sides usually have “jingles” -small cymbals. You can easily pick it up and start producing different sounds.

Guitar

It may come as surprising, but the guitar is one of the most learned equipment by people of different ages. One of the most used instruments around the world, the guitar has always fascinated people. Hence, if someone is willing to learn a new musical instrument, they’ll pick up guitar nonetheless.

If you can dedicate your time, effort, and patience, the guitar can be your favorite instrument. It’s a bit more complicated than the other instruments; giving up after a few months is quite a common phenomenon.

Violin

Violin is a popular string instrument that has been around for ages. It’s one of the most used instruments in various musical genres, including Jazz, country, metal, opera, and folk music.

It can prove to be strenuous for people with physical ailments because it requires impeccable posture, strength, and balance. If you aren’t up for a complex instrument, you can let go of the violin.

Ukulele

Ukulele resembles a guitar but much smaller and with fewer strings. Ukulele is an acoustic instrument with four strings. It’s pretty easy to learn and play the instrument compared to guitar. It doesn’t hurt the fingertips as much as a full-size guitar.

Once you learn the basic notes, you can smoothly proceed with mimicking or playing different chords.

Harmonica

Harmonica has been around for ages. You must have seen small children fidgeting with it because it’s very accessible and easy to play with. It easily fits in your pocket, and you can practice it whenever you want. You have to adjust your lips and tongue to the correct position and blow air into it to play it. It may take a bit of practice at first, but you can easily create different pitches with persistence.

8 Tips to Learn Music as an Adult

Here are eight tips offered by LiberyParkMusic.com for adults to quickly learn a new musical instrument. You can still pick up your favorite instrument and play it either as a hobby or professionally. Both will take a lot of time and effort, but if you’re willing, you can learn it easily.

1. Choose a musical instrument.

Choose an instrument that you already like or are familiar with. Maybe you prefer the sound of one instrument over another. If so, give it a try.

2. Set Goals

Set realistic goals. You can’t set out to learn an instrument within a month or two. It’s essential to schedule a “music time” to learn a new instrument with your busy life.

3. Consistent Practice

The best way to meet your goals is to practice consistently. Around 30 minutes a session every day or twice a day is sufficient.

4. Practice sections or “Chunks.”

Focusing on learning shorter sections of a piece of music, sometimes called “chunking,” will improve your practice sessions’ efficiency.

5. Use a Metronome

Use a metronome to keep up with the timing. A metronome will keep you honest about your timing — that you’re not slowing down when the music gets difficult, and you’re not speeding up when the music gets more lyrical.

6. Record Yourself and Listen

It’s effective to listen to your playing, so you’d know your progress. It lets you focus on the sound you’re creating.

7. Listen to lots of music.

Listening to much music from the said instrument will help you cultivate a habit of listening and practicing your instrument. It’s essential to keep the interest going.

8. Perform for other people

Perform for your audience. In this case, your audience is your family, friends, and colleagues. It’s fun to play for others and receive feedback. This can also help to build your confidence.

For more information please checkout this infographics.

Rick Perdian is your favorite music travel consultant. Get in touch with us to find the musical instrument of your choice, age, and temperament.

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Rick Perdian
Rick Perdian

Written by Rick Perdian

RickPerdian.com is your ultimate travel and music companion. We offer everything to know about music and traveling, traveling to musical events.

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