Top 10 Easiest Instruments to Play

The Top Ten
1 Triangle

As a percussionist I must disagree with this. Though playing the triangle is not a very difficult instrument there still some difficulties to it. Playing the triangle is not simply hitting it there is a technique to it. A perfect upstroke is required to great a good sound. A steady hand is required to hold the triangle. Moving the triangle may even create fluctuations in the sound for the audience so location is also key. The triangle is not the most difficult instrument but it definitely isn't just hitting a piece of metal.

2 Whistle

I think the writer means Tinwhistle, do they not? It's definitely simpler and easier than the Recorder on account of having only six finger holes. It's a great instrument if you like Irish or african Qwela music. It leads on very easily to the traditional keyless flute, which in turn can lead on to the Classical (old style) keyed flute or even, with a bit more effort, to the modern orchestral Boehm flute. This in turn is relates to the saxophone. All in all the Tinwhistle is a great foundation for learning any woodwind instrument, and still a fine, and rewarding instrument in its own right. It's also cheap and robust and a fine instrument to take on your travels.

3 Kazoo

I think this is the worst, and easy instrument. But anyway, I'd like to ask WHY the guitar, piano, flute, clarinet, and saxophone are on here!? The guitar is simple, but does still take a lot of practice. The piano is easy at first, but if you start playing Beethoven or Mozart music, it's hard. And for the clarinet, flute, and saxophone. They are very tough, because you have blow perfectly to not squeak, go flat, or anything like that. But with the kazoo, ALL you do is blow. It's pitiful!

To all of you who think playing kazoo is easy let me tell you a story: I'm a self-taught kazooist. My life was changed when I found this great instrument. Every morning I wake up at 5 am to practice. I'm first chair kazoo in the New York Symphony Orchestra and even got the opportunity to play for Obama at his inauguration. One day, I lost my kazoo! I thought my life was over. Then, I went to the music store and bought another one which set me back an entire $0.99!

4 Trumpet A trumpet is a blown musical instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family.

Eh, it's not easy. But definitely not the hardest. There are two hard things about it: buzzing (least difficult out of two) and remembering the combination for the notes (hardest of the two). Buzzing is not hard, it just takes time to get used to. In fact, I found the trumpets empogure (dunno how to spell it) WAY EASIER then the other intruments. Seriously, look the flute, or any woodwind for a hard empogure. The same goes for the combinations for notes, but that is actually kinda hard. I only really know four of them. Well, that's all. Is not easy, is not hard.

5 Ukulele The ukulele is a member of the lute family of instruments; it generally employs four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.

So I saw this them went straight to youtube and watched a ton of tutorials and it looked pretty easy! My mom got me one on friday and honestly it is so much fun to play♡ It's super inexpensive for an instrument, holds an amazing tune, light to hold, and it is so easy to pick up! When I first got it, the only thing I had trouble with was tuning it, but after I went on YouTube, I am fine and can tune it in my sleep and it only takes like 10 seconds. I had mine for 4 days and I can already play anything with the chord notes, and I can even play some stuff by ear! This is a really fast fun and easy instrument to learn and everyone should have one!

6 Guitar

I recommend this instrument to anyone. Acoustic or Electric Guitar has a beautiful sound. I been practicing electric guitar for almost 2 years. Every instrument takes practice, duh! But for guitar, once you get a hang of it, trust me, you'll never want to stop practicing, and playing. Electric Guitar has volumes and tone controls, and you can buy pedal effects along with if you like.
The reason why I chose electric is because God inclined my ear to the instrument and I liked it. I thank God for that and for training my fingers day by day. God gave us many talents. You can play any instrument. But without a purpose of playing, your doing nothing. All honor and Glory to God ;-) God Bless.

7 Harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed brass instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues.

I really agree with this. I started playing yesterday and I know 16 songs. It's really fun!

So easy, especially as all of the notes are in the same scale, so anything will sound in tune and in key, or basicly anything sounds decent on it!
No lessons required!

Easy & fun to self teach and play along to songs with harmonica!

8 Cow Bell

I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!

This is like the triangle. Clamp it to a stand and teach a 5 year old to play it in a day

Timing and loudness. That's all you need to worry about.

9 Piano The piano is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands.

I love playing the piano, I have played it for 5 years now and I still find it very fun. You feel really good when you have a polished piece that you can play to your friends and family; or just to yourself! Piano helps you to learn notes quickly and it works well if you sing to. You can play many songs and sing at the same time or you can simply express yourself through playing! It is an amazing instrument!

It's all about that learning curve. Piano starts out as an easy instrument to learn. If you're just doing basic chords to a 4/4 or even 6/8 (3/4) beat, then it's pretty easy, especially if you're within the key of C. However, after you get past SMP (Sheet Music Plus) level 4, it gets pretty hard. With guitar, it's a moderately difficult instrument to start, but as soon as you master the basics, it's fairly easy to get to a higher level. With piano, this isn't the case. You start off with easy basic techniques that 5-year-olds can master in days. After that, though, you start to reach a level where it's hardly possible for humans to play. Imagine playing 32nd notes in a 5/4 time signature at pp with a BPM of 80. Not to mention the fact that one of your hands can be playing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT melody than the other. That's hard. Easy instrument? No. Easy instrument to start? Yes.

10 Tambourine

I have played tambourine for one week and I can play to any song already. I have 8 years experience with piano, 2 years experience with mandolin, and 1 year experience with harmonica. Because of my experience, I can tell you that all that is needed to play this instrument is basic rythym skills.

Yes definitely one of the easiest. More percussion should be on the list. I tamborine, when attempting to play guitar. Any instrument that requires multiple refined techniques of body parts, including piano should not be on the list.

The Contenders
11 Clarinet

The clarinet is easy to begin on but once you start playing harder pieces it becomes difficult. If anyone things they make a perfect sound on the clarinet they are wrong. You don't just blow. To make a good sound you have to have a trained embouchure and a perfect air flow. Your fingers also have to be light and speedy on the keys, something that takes years of practice. I've been playing for two years. I make a good a sound but it's far from perfect. People playing other woodwind instruments find it very difficult to learn clarinet. But playing the clarinet means that you can pretty much play any woodwind instrument with ease. This is because of the amount of strain playing the clarinet puts on you embouchure. It trains your mouth to become a much better musician than other woodwind players. Also the third register is very hard to learn. The fingering is all over the place. Also to get that high you have to have a very strong embouchure.

12 Recorder

Yes, it's "easy" to play to begin with when you use about four notes, but the recorder is actually very difficult to play well. It takes several years to produce a tolerable sound, play the top notes without squeaking (up to the second G above middle C) and perform dynamics without sending the note out of tune. Anyone who thinks the recorder is an easy instrument never bothered learning to play it properly.

I learned how to play this in 5th grade. We were hardly taught anything, and I still could play very, very well on it. It takes almost no air to make a sound, and they are sold as child's toys. This is definitely the easiest thing you could play.

13 Double Bass

I've been playing for the last 4 years in school. It takes some skill, being able to pluck and shift fast, controlling the bow and the gargantuan instrument itself. But I also took guitar lessons for a while, and double bass was far easier to learn. Vibrato can be difficult on bass too, and glissando can be painful. By the end of All-County last year, my back was aching, my fingers were raw and calloused, and I could barely stand up straight. It takes a toll on your body, yes, and it's difficult to manage, yes, but as far as mastering the instrument goes, it's actually pretty easy.

14 Harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers.

I have been playing the celtic harp (no pedals) for the last 5 years and I find it VERY challenging! One has to think in finger patterns---always putting down 4 fingers before playing the actual notes. And there are many other complicated finger patterns as well. In addition, one is playing different patterns with each hand--often 4 notes per hand and each hand playing different rhythms together as well. As a pianist who has played piano all my life since age 7 with lessons, and with a degree in music as well as being a elementary vocal teacher (now retired), I find harp challenging. When I began, everyone said it would be so easy because harp and piano are similar in many ways--same notation, and using both hands as the harp. A harp is a piano turned on its side. But there's where the resemblance ends! My piano knowledge has been a great help as well as a hindrance as the hand techniques are so different for each one. But... both make beautiful sounds from the beginning and that keeps one moving along---is encouraging because whatever one plays---piano or harp, it will sound beautiful if it is played musically and correctly. I have also played violin for a year in college. Although I loved it, playing correct intonation is a challenge as is the awkward shoulder position and bowing. Each hand is doing something different. I don't know which is harder though--violin or harp.

15 Flute The flute is a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening.

Flute is hard for some people and easy for other people. Since I am a flutist, I have experienced everything, and I'd say it's in the middle. And I disagree with the "crazy sheet music" thing. Yes, they're are, a lot of different fingerLINGS, but that's how it is with every instrument. Look at clarinet. You also have to have correct embouchure, yes, but that is an essential part of playing the flute and if you look at clarinet again, you'll see that you'll have to be careful about specific things, like not drop the reed so it doesn't get chipped, and if it does, you won't be able to make a sound. You can't drop the mouthpiece of the clarinet, otherwise you won't be able to make a sound either! You see, if you dent the flute, you can still make a sound. Think before you speak.

16 Rainstick

Even though this might seem easy to use, it might be hard to make the right rhythm or go to the right beat.

All you have to do is rotate a stick. Definitely one of the easiest.

17 Bongos

Bongos are a very fun instrument to play and very easy.
Bongos can be hard when doing solos because it needs very fast hand movement.

Not even kidding this takes almost no skill.

18 Maraca

This is extremely easy I don't know how this is not #1 because all you literally do is shake.

It's not easy, if you play freely it is, if you're in an orchestra, it is not.

19 Saxophone The saxophone is a family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet.

I have been playing for 1 year, the tenor sax, and it is very simple. I can play most pieces at sight, and the fingering is probably more logical than brass instruments (except for sharps and flats.) it is probably the easiest of the woodwinds, as it is easier to get a sound. Your fingers don't have to be that long, and although my teacher recommended an alto, I still do the tenor, even though I am small. Your eumbochoure has to be perfect though, otherwise your G's will squeak and you have to relax your lip otherwise it will be sharp. But other than that, it is easy, as long as you want to play it.

20 Tin Whistle

Okay the tin whistle is actually kinda hard if you literally want a song to come out. It just takes some practice though.

21 Bass Guitar

The electric bass is not an easy instrument to learn. If you branch out beyond rock and country, you'll learn that there's much more to this instrument than just playing the roots of the chords.
Also, the fewer strings makes the instrument more difficult because you must move horizontally along the neck to reach higher tones. Guitarists have the luxury of being able to move vertically because of their extra strings. Plus, the fret spacings on a bass are much longer than a guitars which means more stretching.

22 Drums

Drums might look easy to play but its actually pretty hard. This isn't a "how to hold the drum stick" argument. If you don't hit the drums in the middle and just slightly on the rim, it can screw you up. If you don't hold down on the bass pedal after using, it can screw you up. People commenting that they're easy really should try to play a song on the drums (it shouldn't take that long, considering it's "easy").

A few YouTube tutorials and about four hours of practice, and I can play well enough that I can jam with them without holding anyone back. Maybe it's because I'm already used to playing music, but it was insanely easy to pick up.

I think all the people attacking the simplicity of learning the drums are a little defensive of their craft. Half the peoples argument on difficulty was "You have to hold the drum sticks in a specific way" LOL

23 Slide Whistle
24 Ocarina

Easier than flute because you don't have to learn embouchure -- you just place your mouth on the mouthpiece and blow. Easier than recorder because you have much less range -- fewer notes to learn and worry about.
Be sure you pick the "transverse ocarina" -- the one that looks like a sweet potato! It's the easiest.
"Pendant ocarinas" are the competing alternative. They have only 6 holes (4 on top and two thumb holes on the bottom). These are harder to learn because there is little relationship between the fingering pattern and the scale.

25 Stick Dulcimer
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