Top 10 Hardest Instruments to Play

I have played violin for 8 years. I was trained in classical for 6 years and switched to fiddle 2 years ago. Violin is definitely the hardest! It is an art! If your finger is even slightly off, the whole song sounds bad. Vibrato, drones, double stops, extremely fast fingering (faster than electric guitar, AND you have to bow extra fast to it, picking fast is EASY! ) Also, I can play some piano (easy, I never had a teacher either), mandolin (taught myself it and it is similar to guitar with strumming and chords and it is easy) and also flute (taught myself, easy. ) I also play viola and cello. Cello is also very hard! It is hard to go fast on and actually sound good! So I would say violin and then cello. And believe me I have experience! I am a teacher, I play at events, I am starting a local band... You get the point!
I have been playing the wonderful and amazing violin since I was six. I am seventeen now. And I am nearly not as good as some amazing people out there like my favorite artist of all time. Lindsey Stirling, a girl who is just AMAZING at violin, she plays all of classical, fiddle if you please, and... Dubstep. What more could you ask of an instrument that cool? I love to play the violin, and it is for SURE the most difficult instrument to play. You have to keep the bow strait, tune to the exact, you have to keep your fingers in the right places our you sound like a dying cat that is being attacked by a bear. You have to keep rhythm, you have to sit striate, feet in front of you. To make the notes sound even more extravagant, you have to vibrato, and then shift into positions that are very high. Drones, and fast fingering and bowing and double stops and trillings and playing soft as a butterfly's wings then BAM! Louder than a drum in just seconds. You have to be very talented to play the ...more
It is obvious that this survey is completely biased towards the guitar and piano since it is a common instrument to play and people want to protect their dignity. It is very clear that the violin is the hardest instrument to play and I am not biased because I used to practice with the guitar and the piano. For the piano, every note you press is "correct" while the violin can be slightly sharp or flat. Is there a lot more technical difficulty on the violin? Definitely yes (staccato, harmonics, plucking, greater difficulty playing chords, shifting positions to reach insane notes. ) Yes, the piano can be hard to play, but it does not measure up to the violin. As for the guitar, it is quite difficult to play upon a MASTER level, but most people play it to play mainstream stupid stuff like some jack johnson song. Definitely not hard. However, there are two things that make the violin much harder than the guitar: the position the violin is held and the bow. You would be surprised how hard ...more
I have played violin and a flute both. Violin is really hard because you need to find a right pitch, tone and style at the same time. It just annoys me when my friends who are in band (I'm in orchestra now) say that all we need to do is place the finger. Placing the finger is not as easy as it seems. Go up to 10th position and feel our pain. They tell me vibrato seems extremely easy, and many of my friends who have been playing for years cannot master it. Make your bow to sound a perfect staccato is not as easy as it looks, trust me. It's way easier to play it out of tune in violin and also it shows up with a snap, so I don't get why my best guy friend, who plays symbols in our symphony needs to complain. Honestly, all he does is count about 20 measures and play one time and wait again. I really don't know, but is it even possible to play symbols out of tune? I'm sorry if I sound stupid. Honestly, I love band and everything, but they should just quit saying how orchestra sucks, ...more

I have been playing piano since I was five, and I am currently in sixth grade. I have had a quote on quote "graduation" from prison and have mastered my book series, theory, and master's piano. I moved on to college level music, mastered that, and now I play Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and many other composers. I am able to look at something and play it pretty simply or hear something and play it by ear.
All that to say, how did I get that far? Practice!
I practiced for art least an hour, everyday. Piano came naturally to me because of the amount of hours I put into it. Let me remind you, my lessons were once a week for 30 minutes. Practice is the key tot his instrument!
Playing piano is strange. One of my favorites, the original Moonlight Sonata (First Movement) of Beethoven had a lot of stretching my fingers. Yet. The more I practiced, the looser my fingers became. Before I knew it, it cam easy to me, and I was running away in the keyboard. It's like you feet is ...more
I have played piano for 11 years, and it took a tremendous amount of time and effort to get to level where I am now. These are the two main reasons why:
1. There is so much competition on the piano, simply because everyone plays it and that there are many talented pianists. You can almost never find a musician who does not play the piano, and many people who are not musicians also play piano. If you tell people that you play piano, they will not be impressed until you sit down and play. Even so, it's extremely hard to stand out in competitions and eventually when applying for college. For college, you are competing against hundreds, or thousands of prospective students who are at the same level as you or higher.
2. Mastering difficult pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, and Mozart requires all of your concentration. Your tone, interpretation, dynamics, phrasing, tempo, posture, personality, and even the way you carry yourself are things that judges look for. In advanced ...more
When you think of piano, you normally think it's a very easy instrument, right? "I mean, so many people can play it... It can't be that difficult..."
Now, this is where you fall into the trap of the piano. It is very easy to learn as a beginner, but it gets harder and harder to learn, and it is up there as one of the most difficult instruments to master. To be able to play two hands, both the treble and the bass, maintaining perfect coordination of both hands WHILE also needing to keep dynamics, tempo, musicality, etc all in good condition is really not an easy feat.
I have played other instruments before, such as string instruments. The piano is certainly not a difficult instrument to pick up as a beginner, because it really isn't that difficult to hit a key, or several keys. Certain string instruments, on the other hand, require you to position your hand at the perfect spot on the strings to play the exact note. Any higher, it's a flat. Any lower, it's a sharp. Despite ...more
People who say piano is easy because "you just press and it sounds" clearly haven't played up to a high level. You don't just press one note. Every finger in both hands must be independently coordinated- sometimes you are playing triplet thirds against leaping semiquavers between both hands. All while pedalling clearly, memorising these notes and fingerings, controlling the tone of each and every note. Just compare the scores of the hardest piano piece to the hardest violin or horn or clarinet piece and it's not even a close competition except for maybe violin. The amount of skill required to not only play Ravel Gaspard at home let alone perform on a different piano can't be surpassed. People play a few pop songs on piano and conclude it's an easy instrument. That's an insult to true masters of the Piano.

French Horn is definitely the hardest instrument to play. You can play practically every note without any keys down. The Partials are extremely close together. A high F and a high G, notes right next to each other, are the same fingering which means you have to use your mouth to move between them. Which brings in the lip trill, which is awful. My student teacher said it best when he said horn players have to have an ego, if you are the least bit unconfident, you will crack on about every single note. If you have the confidence, you won't crack. You also have to hear the note before you play it or it will be the wrong note/partial. Plus, horn has the tiniest mouth piece ever which are smaller than a bottle's opening. Then horn plays a lot of the wood wind stuff, like trills and running sixteenth notes and thirty second notes, which most of the time has to be tongued by double or triple tonguing. Also, the fingerings for notes in different octaves aren't the same, and we have about ...more
French horn by far is the hardest to play. It took my son many months to even get familiar with hitting the right notes. If you are beginning, it might be best to start on trumpet & get familiar with that before advancing to French horn. His band teacher told him this after a year of playing, laugh out loud. This instrument takes a lot of practice & self-discipline in order to really make the sound beautiful, but you can do it. This instrument takes a lot of lip control & blowing or you will be hitting wrong notes remember, there are only 3 fingers unlike that of a flute or clarinet. If a child gets really frustrated with, maybe switch them to a different instrument or maybe they find blowing into an instrument challenging. In that case you always have strings, drums, or piano. Music is beautiful- just don't give up on it.
I am a French horn player. I have played most of the instruments out there, and by far the French horn was the most difficult to me! However, my mom said I always had a natural thing with French horns, not to mention, all of my family has played the French horn; so I was kinda born into it! I have worked with a handful of major league conductors, and they all claimed that the French horn is the hardest instrument to play! And this is why. French horns have a tendency of close notes, now everyone is probably questioning it. Close notes on a French horn is probably the most hardest, because there are three keys. That's not it, because you have to use your lips to adjust the sound on a small mouth piece, however, on a violin there are strings and they don't have to use your mouth nor a mouth piece! Not everyone has the lips to play a French horn. Most techniques such as, articulation, pitch, rhythm, skill, and much more is probably other difficult and most hardest parts of the French ...more
I am 14 and I played trumpet 4th through 8th grade. My 9th grade year I wanted to try something different and I switched to French horn. I have only been playing it a few months but this is what I have discovered so far. The challenge with trumpet is strengthening your embouchure. Playing the French horn doesn't require as much strength as the trumpet, but the partials are VERY close together and hand position inside the bell is tedious. I will tune my horn, but once I start playing, I will be terribly out of tune just because of a small shift in my hand position. Also because of the close partials, it may take me 2 or 3 tries just to get on the right pitch. This is especially annoying when I need to start on middle C or the E and G right above it. I will admit this is not as much of a problem in the upper range for me. Even though the partials are closer together I can control the pitch better. The French horn requires much more precision than the trumpet.

I feel like this vote is off and too biased. Not everyone has played all of the instruments listed here and wouldn't know what to judge, they would only pick their own instrument, believing it is the most difficult because it might've been the only instrument they play. I've played, oboe, flute, clarinet, as well as piano. I have been playing oboe for the longest and still currently play it. I have to agree that oboe has been the hardest instrument, and especially the hardest instrument to start out with.
Even after playing for 5 years and practicing daily, it is still very difficult. Reeds are always an issue, and the $12 reeds you buy at your music store don't do justice. Most beginning players don't know and will continue to buy those disgusting reeds at their music store. A few go out, venture online and take a look at the custom made reeds online which was what I did. I tried a few online reed makers, ranging from $15 to $25 usually per reed. I never found any of them to ...more
Now, my vote may be biased because I have not played all of the instruments listed, but I do have some experience with French horn, piano, clarinet, and, of course, the oboe. Oboe is by far the most challenging instrument I have ever played. I love it to death, though. To start off with, reeds are expensive. And I mean EXPENSIVE. $15.00 for a reed that isn't very good at all. $25.00 for a good reed. $30.00 for one, singular, great reed. Or $35.00, depending on your seller. Keep in mind that these reeds only last so long, and if you're someone as clumsy as I can be, well, you're going to need a lot of money. Oboes are also very picky instruments. They need the right temperature, the right moisture, et cetera or else they just won't play in tune. Kind of like piccolo. Except the embouchure on oboe is much more complicated than piccolo, which is saying something. And the fingerings are crazy complex. They seem completely random, inconvenient, and all over the place. Oboes also put some ...more
This or French horn. There are far more variables to deal with, especially as an orchestral oboist, that other instruments don't have to deal with to anything close to the same extent. You're expected to be perfect at all times regardless.
The physical effort involved with simply producing a note is crazy.
It's also incredibly difficult to teach - most of the technique is internal and difficult to explain or its something you have to work out for yourself. It's simply possible to just shift a finger, change a hand/bow position etc. It's generally only when the technique gets in the way of playing that it's something you can actually understand how. And what to fix. Even then, it's not obvious.
Oh, gosh! I think this should be number one! I will listen to objections on my opinion. But... This is out of my experience. I do not know the ins-and-outs of the Violin, But I'll have my beliefs. I've been playing for about two and a half years. And although my band director says I'm one of the strongest players out of the entire 80 kids in band lessons, playing the oboe is just summed up to be difficult. Keeping the reed from breaking by keeping it moist is an absolute pain, and when they do occasionally break, they cost about 10 dollars for one, at least at my music store. But the oboe's just too special for me to give up playing it, its got a special sound to it that no other instrument can achieve.

The flute is by far the hardest instrument to play. Don't say it's easy, it's not. I'm in grade 6 and played the flute for almost two years now. I am in first chair and considered extremely gifted, however you have to work your butt off to play it well. The trumpet section in band say "oh, it must be so easy" but they're wrong. I bet the trumpets would pass out after playing one song, that is if they can even get a sound out of it. You have to deal with a dizzy feeling. It requires a lot of talent, hard work, practice, and determination. I stay after school for an hour and a half every Tuesday so I can practice. Then when I get home I practice for two hours. Every day I practice for two hours at home. I get finished with lunch early, then spend 15 minutes in the band room practicing. Believe me, it's very hard. But I love playing it because it's an escape from reality. It feels good, even if you are dizzy. You feel tired yet energized. I want to be a flutist someday. And if you do, ...more
I have been playing the flute for over eight years now. I truly believe that the flute has the hardest and most unique embouchure out there. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that violins and strings have a lot of work ahead of them, but truthfully they don't have to have the right format for their mouth. Also if on other instruments not all but most if you have the fingering and certain harmonics of the instrument down you can play any of the types.
This isn't true with flutes. Every flute has a different embouchure, because of the size of the head joint and the opening to the head joint.
I should know I had to change my flute four times well mine was getting repaired.
Also that is another thing with flutes you have to make sure you take extra care of everything because if you don't have a good well oiled cork in the right position in the head joint you will cause a natural note to actually sound as if it is a flat. If someone picks up a flute for the fact that they believe ...more
Flute need all of the correct articulations, a clear sound, and correct fingerings in order to even get a quality sound. That's not to mention the time put into making all of this happen. You also have to hold in an awkward positioning for long periods of time. The scales are a must learn and the tempo is usually quick and we need to be exact and sharp.
Also not to mention that just because our instruments are small people think that it's easy. We don't get enough recognition. Our instruments are also made fun of just because we have to hold them up and to the side.
I can only wonder how the other instrument players would react to know that we have to use more air than any other instrument... Including the tuba.
The flute is by far one of the hardest instruments to learn and play. Don't believe me? Try playing a sound on a flute. It takes nearly everyone at least about 30 minutes or so to get their first real sound on the flute, and about another four weeks of practice to consistently be able to make a real sound on it, and this is before you have even begun to touch upon intonation, good tone quality, fingerings, reading music, or proper posture. An instrument that take four weeks to simply consistently make a sound on it, and as you get into the high or low registers, you have to have an even more perfect embouchure (mouth positioning and shape) to even make a sound. It takes 2-3 years of hard practice before one even begins to be able to start making a sound on this instrument. Additionally, the flute takes more air than any instrument in a band, except for the tuba, and, in order to be heard in a band, flutes cannot simply play softly, they have to play clearly and loudly when they have ...more

I totally agree, I've played piano for as long as I can remember and it's a very intricate instrument to learn and play well, busting your brain over different melodies, harmonies, rhythms and other multiple voices that go unnoticed by most listeners in the background, and giving your music a personality (sometimes I feel as if I'm my own band or choir stuffed into one person). I can honestly say I've never had the chance to play the organ, but throwing in extra keyboards and having to play even more notes with your feet?! I admire you organ players and I hope to be able to play this powerful instrument someday!
Seperates rhythmical patterns at once, varying not only by hand, but by leg or even fingers. Coordination to where the keys are mastered to pianist level, then adding the feet, then understanding the stops, how to arrange them, the ability to leap out and change them during performance, understand the thumb tabs, and the toe tabs, what the different keyboards do, and how to arrange the different voices. You have several keyboards to manipulate, with both hands and feet, literally dozens to hundreds of voices to order, volumes to maintain. Piano allows for some allowances on hitting keys slightly, try that on an organ and the note will play and ring out through the church, allowing for no error. The keys must be depressed properly or a harsh chopping sound will burst from the pipes. I could go on.
Having only ever played one instrument beside the organ (piano), I don't know how accurate my opinion is. But I think the organ is pretty dang tough. I've been taking lessons for a year now and feel like I have made very little progress. You are doing all these different things at once: right hand, left hand, pedals with both feet, the volume pedal, switching stops in the middle of it. To put it simply; you have to really coordinate. I really enjoy playing it, but it is so tough. I definitely think it is way harder than piano (which I have been playing for four years now.) In fact, I probably would've given up by now if I wasn't so stubborn. Maybe I just don't have the skill for it, but I know I'm not the only one who thinks it's hard. I know people who have been playing it for years and say they are still learning. The organ is a beautiful instrument, though, and I hope to one day play it well enough to do it justice.
I'm a brass player, and some of my experience with the other instruments on this list is minimal at best. All I know is: I play the French horn proficiently, I can make a sound on the flute after a while, I can't make a sound on an oboe, and I'm decent at jazz piano. I also took organ lessons for a year, and for me it's the hardest instrument. Reading piano music is hard enough when you have to coordinate two staves and two clefs with two hands, but now you have to ALSO use both of your feet, and often play a different keyboard with each hand. Even if the music is simpler like a hymn and only has two staves (because the pedals will just be playing the lowest line), the coordination necessary to pull it off is maddening. In addition, while with piano you can let the natural decay connect notes when using the pedal or when they're fast enough, with organ you must hold the keys down for the entire duration you want the note to sound. As a result your key changes have to be very quick and ...more

I think it's telling what obscure instruments, such as the bagpipes an oboe end up on this list.
I wouldn't say the pipes are the hardest. With good instruction and a the obligatory practice, it is possible to become a very competent piper in a few years. The pipes only have nine notes, and there are not dynamics or rests, so in a way they are a very simple instrument to play.
But the pipes are incredibly hard to break into. They're not like a trumpet, clarinet or a piano where you can play simple beginner tunes full of minims and crotchets. You're straight onto quavers and semi quavers. Even slow tunes like Amazing grace have short notes. This is made worse because pipes don't handle crossed notes well at all. So fingering has to be perfect from the start. Because there are only nine notes, pipe music is decorated with embellishments - groups of up to six grace notes played very rapidly after each other. They require skill and precision to play properly.
Then ...more
This is very disgraceful that bagpipes are only number 6. As my instructor said a long time ago they are either 1 or 2 for the most difficult instrument. I've been playing the pipes for 12 years now and I still wouldn't say I've mastered it. In so many of the other instruments above this 12 years is a really long time to master something. I'm basing this off of getting to top end level. There are so many embellishments involved with learning the bagpipes and these are some of the hardest out there. Those are also unique to the bagpipe itself. Yes it has only 9 notes but add embellishments to it and it becomes a lot harder. If you add the drones that actually covers the whole entire scale of a piano cause the drones are each an octave lower than each other and the chanter. The pipes take a lot of air and maintenance. It is definitely a very delicate instrument and very difficult. Any change in blowing can make it go out of tune and you sometimes have to play for 20+ minutes non-stop. ...more
There is no way that this is the 8th hardest instrument. I understand the top two (french horn and violin) as well as oboe at 4th, but piano at 3rd?! Guitar at 7?! Flute at 5th?! Even the Harp should be higher! Bagpipes are definitely in the top 5 if not top 3 hardest instruments. With bagpipes you learn on a practice chanter for a while then once you master the chanter you move on to the full bagpipes. The pipes require more mechanics to get them to sound right than any other instrument. Then once you learn the mechanics you have to recall what you learned on the chanter and apply that to the pipes. It takes a long time to learn and there is no way that it's the 8th hardest instrument.
Bagpipes are definitely one of the hardest, for reasons stated. I'll say as someone who has only been playing for 2 years on the pipes (3 on practice chanter) that I'm amazed at great pipers-YouTube "gordon duncan" or "stuart liddel" and you will see what I mean. No doubt that any instrument takes years to master it (meaning play it very well); my partner used to play the French horn and yeah-that is very hard instrument to play. For pipes, I'll say that you first have to learn how to play the tune on the practice chanter, then jump and play it on the bagpipes (whole nother instrument) then if you play in a band, have to memorize it again with the band. The goal of a pipe band is to sound like one large bagpipe (sometimes they through harmonies in there too). Put that and have to march in sync and it takes lots of concentration and practice.
Keep in mind that the slightest over blowing or under blowing will put the drones and/or chanter out of tune. Additionally if you don't ...more

Cello is hard but has a rich, pleasing sound. Each instruments have their own challenges and such, but the cello has two major difficulties that combine into a very hard technique to master: playing the right notes in tune while having it in a upright position leaning against your front while sitting down. This requires a special form of hand and arm that can't be fully extended, unlike the violin/viola and can't be bent fully, unlike the bass. The cello also requires a bow stroke that extends your arm in a 90 degree angle but folds in like a wing while coming down. I've played all string instruments, as a symphony conductor, but I think the cello is the hardest of all. I majored in oboe, though, but other than simple techniques and sound enhancement there wasn't much to it. The violin requires a lot more technical efforts that take a while to master, and the cello even more than the violin.
In my opinion, the cello is among the hardest instruments to play. As previous commenters have mentioned, cellists must move their fingers great distances to reach notes that violins and violas can play with ease. Although the string bass player does have to move their fingers more than the cellist, their part tends to be very easy because of this. Many times, the cellos will be given the counter melody or harmony part in a piece of music, meaning that they have to play similar rhythms to those of the violins and violas. However, they have a much harder time with shifting, which makes their part more difficult. Another aspect of the cello that makes it difficult to play is tuning. All bowed strings except string basses have large tuning pegs held in place purely by friction. The basses have large tuning pegs with gears. Why, you might ask. Well, this is because there is more pressure on the strings of a bass then on the strings of any other bowed string instrument, as the strings of a ...more
Every instrument is hard, the piano is easier at first, because it sounds good and tuned when you press a key, to produce sound with a cello is difficult, not to mention the correct pitch. The cello has the widest range of the string family and the same or similar difficulties as any string players have. Nonetheless, even though the piano must be easier, the music pieces they have to play can be very complex, so, is it really an instrument more difficult than another? It depends on what you want to play. Twinkle twinkle little star is harder in a cello than a piano, playing chords is also harder, but, playing two melodies at the same time, is something unique and also difficult.
I play the cello and have the opinion that stringed instruments are more difficult to play than all others. All musical instruments are a challenge and good performance will not be easy. However, stringed instruments require two techniques that set them apart. The first is intonation: your fingers must be in the proper place to get a good sound, and the second is shifting: moving your hand up the fingerboard to play the desired notes. Combined, these two important techniques will make stringed instruments quite a challenge to play. In addition to this there is vibrato and things that must be done with the bow to get a good sound out of the instrument.

I play the flute, however I plan on playing piccolo as well in ninth grade. My mom played piccolo, she told me how difficult it was, I've met people who play piccolo, my best friend from band camp told me how difficult it was, and you know what? I'm not going to tell you that flute is harder, because I got the opportunity once to play it, and it is difficult. To all piccolo players, I appreciate your hard work, I adore the sound of your instrument, I was honored to play piccolo once for 5 minutes last summer, and yes, it should be above flute. You are all amazing and overlooked by many. When I tried out piccolo, the small keys weren't a problem, I actually liked them since I have small hands, I had to use a thinner air stream and like twice as much air as the flute. Kudos to you for staying strong when playing such a difficult instrument!
I play the flute, but I have to play the piccolo in one of my songs in band, because it has a solo. It is so hard because it requires SO MUCH air. It is so hard to play high, and I have to play way up high in the third octave, and it's hard to get the fingerings right because you hands are packed together. It is also so hard to tune. I am constantly out of tune. I have band first period so I put the piccolo together about 10-15 minutes before band and try and tune it. Even if the instrument is in tune how much air you blow affect how sharp or flat it is, so I still am almost never in tune. It also causes you to lose so much air, I almost passed out during band once. So I say piccolo is hardest to play.
I play several instruments - the flute, guitar, piano, and alto sax, just to name a couple - but out of all of them, the piccolo is definitely the hardest to play. It's like the flute... But worse. Since it's so tiny, it is so loud, meaning that the smallest intonation difficulty is blatant. And of course, there's the fact that even getting the notes out is always a struggle. You guys thought playing the flute was hard? (Which oddly is rated higher than piccolo) Right. Multiply all the problems, guys, and you get this little package. Air support? You need tons of it, like triple that of a flute. And then the air stream itself needs to be miniscule or you will be greeted by a terrible shriek that makes any dog howl.
Maybe the piccolo is not the hardest instrument, but it most definitely is harder than some of the instruments above. Seriously, guys. You must be kidding me. Why is the flute, drum, and piano rated above the piccolo? Just because they're common doesn't mean they're ...more
I say piccolo is the HARDEST to play. I play the piccolo (and flute, of course); it has its similarities and differences. Piccolo is the loudest instrument in the band/orchestra. It is the smallest, yet it takes the most air. The fingerings are the same. I highly recommend you use alternate fingerings for extremely high notes, such as the high Ab. High notes are stupid hard on piccolo. Notes on the piccolo are absolutely nothing compared with flute. You need very good lung power to play piccolo well. If you play with not enough air, you will be flat. If you play with too much air, you will have a sharp tone, so it's hard to find that "in-between" stage. This is all thanks to a different embouchure. It is shrill to the ears, so make sure you have your earplugs handy. I cannot compare flute/piccolo to other instruments, considering the fact that those are the only instruments I play well. Fingers are tightly packed, as well. I guess piccolo is recommended for those with smaller hands ...more

Wow, I'm stunned. I thought trumpet would be up there with #1 being the hardest. I have played and performed on several instruments in my life: accordion, piano, drums, guitar, bass. None of them has been as hard as the trumpet for me which I recently started about 3 months ago (just to see how far I could go on it). Having my musical background I was able to pick up the mandolin and violin and within three to five months I was able to play something for people and entertain in a pro situation (with fiddle tunes, no classical). However, acquiring a usable range and stamina to play something performance worthy (solo) on the trumpet, as far as I can see at this time, is long way off for me -- perhaps years.
I guess I agree that violin and piano is probably the hardest at a advanced classical level. But, the trumpet is the hardest from the get go -- just to produce a pleasing sound! It's NOT an instrument you can pick up and start jamming on within a few months for sure, at least ...more
Nope: trumpet is definitely the most difficult. The violin and the piano are both physical instruments; you use your fingers instead of your mouth (something much easier). There is a reason why some people learn trumpet for upwards of 10 years and yet can never get even close to a master's sound and pitch, while you see so many Asians (yes, I'm being a stereotype-labeling person) mastering the piano or the violin in 5 years. Especially in high school; the students in Chamber Orchestra can put out the EXACT same sound, with varying levels of 3 years of experience or 8. Go to the marching band, and the trumpets' sound vary VASTLY. Many adults who have played the trumpet are still limited to the same range that they possessed when they were in college or high school. In addition, one who plays the trumpet gets a lot more tired (and a lot more quickly too) than one who plays the violin or the piano. Those two people (violin/piano) can quite literally play a piece for 10 minutes straight - ...more
The trumpet is easily one of the hardest instruments. First off, they have the lead role in many bands and songs and have to have good tone, range, embouchure, technique, and more, since they stand out in the band. Second, you have to move your three fingers swiftly, and combined with the tonguing, the active kicker slides (if you use it), endurance of your lips, the ability to play high notes, staying in tune, blending, and more, it makes the trumped an extremely tough instrument. It is not hard to do at first, but once you get started, it goes uphill from there. Finally, there are so many styles and uses for trumpets to explore, such as jazz, marching, Latin, rock, symphonic orchestras, and other things like bugling.
I'm shocked the trumpet isn't in the top ten. I've been playing it for 6 years now, one of the best in my high school, and I still don't have a good range and struggle with keeping a good tone. Every note you play on the trumpet is out of tune, so you constantly have to adjust your embouchure. Also, it's a pain to play with braces more than any other woodwind or string instrument. Finally, you actually have to build up some muscle in your lips to play higher notes. The trumpet does only have 3 keys, but don't let that fool you. You can play an abundance of different notes from those 3 keys, but you have to be able to master your air and embouchure to do so.

While I agree a piano might be one of the hardest, the guitar requires you to manipulate strings to produce notes. A guitar is harder than most strings because it has 6 string where most others have only 4. I don't think hitting notes with precision like on a violin really count as hard to do. Once you get good at any instrument, you should be able to hit a note perfectly without thinking about it. With a guitar it might not be as noticeable when hitting a note slightly off, but anyone that's any good considers this unacceptable. The violin has a small neck making it easier to play faster, so anyone who thinks needing to play fast is a valid argument is wrong. Some of the best guitarist play just as fast and have to move a longer distance across a neck and stretch their fingers farther. Guitars have all the same elements like vibratos. Most of the people who are voting for the violin seem to know nothing about the guitar and just think because it's an instrument they play it should be ...more
I am voting the guitar to be the hardest instrument to play. I do not have piano lessons, but can play many songs on the piano. So why is the guitar harder than the rest (it should at least be 2 on the list)? My guitars have 22 frets each, meaning that they can play 138 notes. That's a lot. Then we move onto chords. There are endless possibilities with chords, as they all come from the main chords - C A G E and D. So only five chords to learn, then everything will be easy? Think again. There are over 400,000 chords that you can play on the guitar. That's a heck of a lot. There are so many different styles of playing, so many different tricks to learn. You have to have dexterous fingers, and need to have a lot of skill to play the guitar. You can make people feel happy, sad, angry - the list goes on. And it's all with one instrument. The guitar isn't just an instrument that you can pick up and play. You can't say that because you can play a simple riff ( for example e, f, g and then ...more
I have played the violin, tuba, and the electric guitar, and I have found that the electric guitar is definitely the HARDEST instrument to play. There's the acoustic guitar, and the acoustic is harder at the beginning, but it should take a shorter time to master acoustic because it doesn't have as many tricks as electric. There are... Like dozens, maybe HUNDREDS of different styles, techniques, etc. On an electric guitar. I don't think the violin should be at the top. Have you ever seen a guy shredding ultra fast on a violin? There is also only one style to master on the violin: classical. Only a guitar has the difficulty of shredding, tapping, multiple styles and lots more. 24 frets and 6 strings is a LOT harder than an instrument with 4 strings. The only other instrument that might have the same difficulty as the guitar is the piano since there's so many buttons on that thing.
I'd say that electric guitar has a very high difficulty to learn. I've been playing for 3 years now, and the only reason I'm as good as I am is because I locked myself in my room for 3-4 hours a night. Once you get past the burning callouses and dents in your fingertips, there is still a very huge world of things you haven't learned. In guitar, the string arrangements are yet confusing at first, and hard to get a grasp on. Keep in mind also that guitar chords take form in shapes almost, and you have to have to have good muscle memory to do, unlike the piano, which all you do is separate your fingers more accordingly. And there are so many different scales you can use to solo, different chord forms, chord progressions, and picking techniques that affect the difficulty.

I've been playing the clarinet for 5 years now and its pretty difficult because you need to find a good reed, you need A LOT of air, you need to be able to articulate notes, change dynamics, and much much more. It's a complicated instrument. Its definitely not easy.
It kind of annoys me that clarinet is so low on the list of hard instruments to play. Violin is the hardest to play apparently which I do not believe but I wouldn't know because I only play the clarinet. I also think that clarinet is harder to play than the piano. To play a note on the clarinet you have to blow enough, hold the clarinet right, have your mouth right, and much more. But for piano all you have to do is push a key. Sorry for my rant.
Many people say it's really hard to play, but like anything, you need to practice. Don't forget, no one's perfect right off the bat! I've been playing for 5 years and it's not nearly as hard as when I first picked it up. Posture and breath stamina are key. When playing, you need to keep a steady airflow, trying not to puff your cheeks. Posture will help a lot with this, opening up your lungs and help you breath easier. To keep from squeaking, make sure all the pieces are lined up. Having the mouth piece slightly off could cause it not to sit flat on you lips and squeak. Although the clarinet does break into 5 pieces, it doesn't take too long to put it all together. Also remember, this is so its easier for you to carry around. In the end, I highly suggest trying it out, and not just because I personally love it. As you get better, it really has a beautiful sound and an amazing addition to any band or orchestra. Good Luck!
Honestly, many people make jokes about "Oh hey lets go play the clarinet and derp around! " It is actually a difficult instrument. If you look at a picture of one, you will see 6 holes on the front and 1 on the back. You will also notice a ton of keys. These have multiple fingerings for each. Also, saxophones have an octave key. That means that if they are playing, for example, low G, if they press the octave key they will go to a high G. On a clarinet, we have a register key. If we play a fingering for low G, it turns into high D. You have to go to a completely different fingering altogether.
Not to mention that you have to have your mouth in the exact right position on the exact right spot. If you have your mouth in the wrong spot on the mouthpiece, you will either squeak or have no sound coming out at all. It is an underrated instrument for being difficult.
I've played the clarinet for about 2 years now. I am very good at it but it can take me weeks before I get a song just perfect. I auditioned for my 5th grade honors band and when I got the songs I felt very intimidated. One of the songs was very hard for me. It was William Tell Overture. I couldn't if my life depended on it, play that fast. So when the concert came I just played as fast as I could but I failed with that song miserably. And even though I didn't squeak, there were some squeaks in the concert. You never know when you going to squeak. It's always a hit or miss with squeaks. And if you don't squeak and your your hand placement is off you won't make a sound at all. And since clarinets are quiet instruments, you need to be spot on. Clarinets are one of the hardest instruments I've played in my life.
Bassoons are by far the most difficult instrument to play. Very few people play the bassoon and finding teachers or help at all is almost impossible unless you live near a university or a big city with an orchestra. And unlike other instruments (except oboe and bag pipes) we have to make our own reeds specialized to our instrument! Buying reeds is also expensive ranging from $10-40. The tools to make reeds range to $400! Oh and don't forget that there are many different fingerings for each note! F Sharp has 17 different fingering. You have sensitivity points on the reed depending on whether it's a low, middle or high range note. Once you get past second octave G you start using 'Flick Keys" that you play with your left thumb, that's 9 keys for 1 thumb to continually flick for each note. There is no octave key, a bassoonist has to learn specific flick keys, thumb keys and half hole patterns to jump octaves. All bassoons are hand made and there for have different quirks depending on the ...more
I play oboe. My friend plays bassoon. Oboe is up on that list, and for good reason, but I think bassoon is harder. They have to deal with all of the wooden instrument humidity problems and double reed issues, but along with all of this, they have thumb keys. Oboe just has the six main holes and about ten keys that play all of the notes. Bassoonists have to push different keys with their thumbs. I don't really want to know how difficult that is, seeing as I'm still figuring out which of the four keys on the bottom of a clarinet is which. They also need to have a seat strap to keep their instrument up and must hold it a certain way so that the weight of the instrument doesn't injure their hand. According to my friend, at a rehearsal, a fellow bassoonist broke her hand from the pressure the instrument was putting on it. All oboists have to do is worry about never putting the instrument down if it might be stepped on or fall, which bassoonists also need to consider. Coming from a fellow ...more
I have played the bassoon for a year now. I taught myself through music books because none of my band teachers knew how to play it. I also play piano, guitar, violin, cello, and saxophone, and I can say that the bassoon is by far the hardest instrument of those. The double reed and complex fingerings make it difficult to not only play the right note but play in tune as well. The double reed requires a firm embouchure that's hard to maintain without slipping. Each note has a completely different fingering that can be altered by how much you cover the hole. Producing a good quality sound from the bassoon requires every finger to be spot in place, your mouth to be tight, and a strong stream of air that will die down quickly. Even then, the note will be out of tune even if everything is perfect, so you adjust. Each note has a different feel. Overall, it's a heavy tree trunk that can't seem to produce a decent sound. Definitely the hardest instrument by far that I've come across.
I've been playing bassoon for 5 years now and I have to say that it's the hardest instrument to learn. I switched from clarinet, but I also play piano, guitar, and saxophone. When I first started bassoon, I had to teach myself because there aren't many good players around to help me and my own band teacher had never fully learned herself! After 5 years, I've started giving lessons and it's reminded me how difficult it was to start. My student struggles daily with switching octaves, stretching her fingers, remembering the fingerings, and especially not sounding "honky". I still haven't mastered the bassoon, but I can assure you it's the hardest instrument because it takes years to figure out simple things such as fingerings and breathing.

As a 50 year old terrible guitarist I started playing drums about a year ago because it has been relatively easy for me to keep time in my head and on the guitar. I quickly found that that I had a knack for the drums and immediately enjoyed playing them. As I have progressed it is clear to me how difficult the drums really are to play well. I agree with everything said here about how difficult it is to play drums. Although I have listened to thousands of songs over and over now that I play drums I can really appreciate the incredible skill of so many "professional" drummers... Even on types of music I hate. That's another thing... On the guitar I would not think about trying to play styles of music I don't care for but that is not the case with drums. I would recommend the drums to anyone with an interest in playing instruments. Yes they are difficult and impossible to master but compared to some other instruments way more fun! Plus it can be a very good workout!
No instrument can be mastered. It is just not possible, but drumming us by far the hardest instrument to play. Drums have been around forever, anybody who hits anything in time could basically call themselves a drummer. People have been hitting things to a pulse forever, from all time periods, and from all parts of the world. This makes drumming not only one of the oldest musical forms, it makes it one of the most widely played the most widely played. You don't see some guy in the streets of Dubai, or a tiny village in Ecuador playing the Bassoon. Drumming ranges from very subtle and complexed brush strokes for jazz, and advanced double bass riffs for heavy metal to playing a marching snare drum in the cadets (one of the most widely acclaimed percussion groups in the world), or playing bells in a concert band. That's right bells, if you play bells you're playing piano except with sticks. ( right now piano is the #3 hardest instrument to play on thus list right now making drums at ...more
Playing the drums is much hard than you think. There is a lot more to it than hitting things. There's a STYLE to things, if you can believe it. And there's also an actually proven and true way to hold drumsticks! Did you know that, everyone who points with their fingers on the stick? And then again, there are multiple kinds of drums. If you're counting keyboard and auxiliary percussion instruments, you've got at least 400 instruments to learn. If you think drums are easy, please take the test my percussion teacher use to give me. Please explain to me what a snare drum is, how to tune it, how it works, and name every part of the drum in thirty seconds. Go! And if you can do that, then I'm impressed. Now get out your rudiment book and play swiss flamdragadiddle inverted cheesy taps with the eighth note at 180. After you've done that, you can say drums are easy. Thank you.
On a standard drum kit alone there are too many styles to count, which means another way of playing the instrument entirely. A professional metal drummer may play a lot of straight blast beats and have incredible speed, but they could possibly be lacking the independence and high level syncopation of a Latin or Jazz Fusion drummer, and vice versa. This is just one of the many things such as technique, groove, dynamics, and all around feel of playing drums that make it such a uniquely impossible instrument to master! There is just so much to learn and so many different ways to play, and as a reminder, that is still just with a drum kit, and not all the other forms of percussion.
Honestly it should be much higher than #14 due to the fact that we can never really get it perfect ALL of the time, you have to constantly keep your ears in check with the band to see if you're really playing the right note because sometimes we'll play just a little bit above position 3, or maybe just below position 6. Keep in mind the things we have to do all at once while playing trombone, we have to make a right buzz, tongue right, may I mention slurring is EXTREMELY hard, constantly be adjusting our slides and tuners, requires quite a lot of air. after playing I always find my chest sometimes hurt, and my lips feel close to numb.
Buzz the right pitch with your lips, place the slide at the length that best amplifies that pitch and allows it to resonate, make fine adjustments with the slide hand for tuning purposes, and articulate with the tongue... All simultaneously.
Like the orchestral string instruments, the trombone is not a fixed-pitch instrument and requires constant tuning adjustment on the fly. The trombone takes a great deal of air and playing it is a very athletic endeavor indeed. This instrument is incredibly challenging to play both musically and physiologically.
People think the trombone isn't hard. Well it is, I've been playing piano my entire life starting at the age of 4 with lessons, because I've gotten so used to piano I was so alienated from the idea of actually having to move your lips a certain way just to make it the proper pitch and tune considering with piano you press one key and boom music happens if you match the right notes. Going into trombone for my band option was actually quite an adjustment, I found it fairly difficult, especially with making the right buzz and even more especially considering the trombone although played in bass clef can go pretty high and pretty low. It was also extremely difficult to me as never before has my body experienced such a lack of air just to complete 4 bars.
Just as I read above about the trumpet, it takes a lot of skill to even make a nice sound from the trombone. The trombone has the added learning curve of having to hold the slide at the correct length in order to get the tuning right. Trombonists are constantly moving the slide ever so slightly to get the note perfect which is an arduous task that neither trumpet nor French horn have to accommodate for. Trombone should be in the top 5, after learning it after piano and guitar, trombone is much harder, especially to even learn the basics.
As a beginner violist, I still have a lot to learn, but I can tell you now it's NOT an easy ride! Violists often need bigger hands and fingers that can spread far because playing the viola is pretty hard and it has different strings then the violin! Viola's also need more pressure applied to the strings then the violin and especially the bows! I held a cello bow and compared it to the viola bow and it was super light! I was surprised because you'd think a cello bow would be heavier! And I could be wrong but I was shocked! And I have absolutely nothing against Violins or cellos but I think the viola just might be a little harder then them.
I don't find violas hard to play, it's just frustrating to be in the viola section (Because you're the laughing stock of the whole ensemble). When we were picking instruments for strings many, many years ago, I remember the teacher giving pros and cons about the instruments, but I'm sure she said something like "There usually aren't many violas. But you have to learn a whole new clef! Moving on the cellos..." Then I started reading the note above the written note on the staff for my treble clef instrument, and I just got so confused. And now someone who I know who is already having a hard time learning Alto clef is going to have to learn treble, and their probably not going to do that well. Basically, Alto Clef is horrible. If you have problems with the finger board, get a violin outfit strung as a viola (It's what they do in school strings groups)
The viola is definitely harder than the violin, why is it number 9? This is because the steps between notes are slightly larger and harder to reach if you have small hands. I started playing in 4th grade, and now I'm in 11th grade, and I have loved it. The alto clef was the first clef I ever learned, so it wasn't hard for me. I can play Hoffmeister's concerto in D Major just fine, and overall, I can play pretty well. But, the violins always get the fun and challenging parts which I always want, instead of two pages worth of offbeats... I chose the viola in fourth grade because it wasn't the generic, everybody-plays-it instrument. I wanted to go for interesting, and something new. I still love the viola though because each viola section I have joined has been laid back, fun, and usually humble. We are usually the masters of bad puns... Whereas, sometimes I can see some of the violinists' egos from 100 miles away. Also, with all the competitiveness, I would hate the stress of playing ...more
I play viola and piano. I started playing piano first, starting in first grade. Piano is played in the very well known clefs of treble and bass clef. When I decided to start playing the viola at the end of fifth grade, I learned that I had to learn that I had to learn a totally new clef-the alto clef. I never even knew there was such thing as the alto clef until that moment! Speaking of that, I didn't even know there was such thing as a viola until I was midway through fifth grade! All I hear about is violins, violins, and more violins! Why doesn't anyone know about violas? I think some people who play the violin chose to play the violin because they have never heard of a viola! People who aren't in orchestra, or don't know anyone in orchestra will not know anything about violas;when those people look at an orchestra they only see the viola section as another part of the violin section. I don't get how violas aren't at the top of this list, really! Violas are really hard because you ...more

The harp has all the complexity of a piano (two staves, multiple notes in both hands), but the additional plucking action really sets it apart from piano - you have to be on the note and prepare before plucking. Then, seven pedals, each with 3 positions to control the accidentals. But you have to time them exactly right so you don't get buzzing, and if you're doing them fast then you have to release them on the spring rather than putting them exactly where you need to. You have to build up your callouses on your fingers by playing a lot. Painful! And controlling the timbre of the strings is really hard too - I can hear how I want it to sound, but its hard to make it happen. There are 47 Strings! Violins have 4! Why is harp number 11 on the list - its only because not many people play it and vote for it! It should be number 1! (I played piano and oboe before starting harp, but now I just play harp because It's SO CHALLENGING! (But good).
As a professional harpist, I'd say that the harp is VERY challenging to play. First of all, you have to play a different note pattern on each hand simultaneously which can be an extreme challenge for some people. Next, when you play the harp, finger placement is very picky. You don't ever use your pinkies while playing and you place your four fingers down on strings before you even play them, which can be especially difficult when it comes to playing faster and more advanced songs. Lastly, when you play the harp, you almost have to multitask. In addition to using both hands simultaneously and keeping track of finger placement, you may also have to deal with levers or 7 pedals with 3 settings too. Playing the harp isn't as easy as it looks.
I have been playing the celtic harp (no pedals) for the last 4 years and it is very challenging---despite my having played the piano since I was 7 years old and am now retired. I have a degree in music, am a professional singer, and have taught elementary school vocal music. When I began harp, everyone said it would be easy because I play piano. Yes and no! With harp, one has to "place" all 4 fingers down before playing so one is constantly looking ahead--unlike piano. The finger patterns are very different from piano and hand techniques different as well--so sometimes I have to block out my piano hand technique so I don't try to use it on the harp. Like piano, one is playing different patterns on each hand--simultaneously and that's where being a pianist helps a lot. With both piano and harp though, if one plays musically and corrrectly, then even the simplest piece will sound beautiful and that's one's incentive to keep on practicing!
Belongs near the top of the list. Maintaining correct hand position, correct articulation to produce good tone, anticipating and pre-placing before playing the strings... Much more difficult on the harp than the piano, for example, although you can play nearly the same music. You do need to understand music theory because you can expect to do your own transcriptions and arrangements of things you hanker to play. Not so many composers want to write for us because a best seller might sell, maybe 50 copies.
While I agree that other instruments may be harder to play, the 5-string banjo is definitely in the top 10. Because you have to memorize rolls, different ways to play the same chords, it is one of the hardest instruments to play. I have played bagpipes, harmonica, acoustic and electric guitar, and the bugle, and I am convinced that the banjo is the hardest of these. If you mess up a note, there is no way to hide it, because it is so noticeable; therefore, you have to perfect hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, and basically play perfectly, all while making sure you are wearing your finger picks the right way.
Banjo is the top number one hardest instrument to play. You have to learn how to play a chord different ways for each key. You have to learn many rolls, really get down your timing (which takes forever, but the person how has timing down the most in the world might be Earl Scruggs), and you have to learn a song different for each key. The most important is... Your fingers can't all be doing the same thing at once. Two have to be on the body while three are on the strings. The technique is impossble and you sometimes have to go the opposite of what people clap (the beat). All in all, the banjo is the hardest instrument in the world to play!
Banjo is absolutely the hardest instrument in the world to play. Managing multiple rolls per song while managing multiple chord combinations in the same song, by itself makes it much more difficult than any other string instrument. Not to mention the off beat timing that is required for many songs. Absolutely the hardest.
The 5-string banjo should up there higher in the list than guitar, for sure in my opinion. The speed and timing is so important. And with many hammer on and pull offs required in playing one song is staggering. And having to memorise all these things and nail the timing, takes immense skill
Although I believe the violin is the hardest instrument to learn, as I've witnessed that firsthand the difficulty to master the violin, I voted for classical guitar. I have got experience in abundance with different musical instruments. I have played the clarinet and recorder, but I did not find that all too difficult. I study classical guitar and piano, and I can assert, that by far, that the piano is much easier to play than classical guitar. Playing Bach pieces on the classical guitar is much more difficult than when I endeavour Bach on the piano. It takes much more effort to play, for instance, Variations on a Theme of Handel (op.107, Giuliani) on the guitar, as opposed to the ease of studying the Harmonious Blacksmith on the piano. CLASSICAL guitar is difficult, I'm not talking about popular music, insipid chord-stroke-music stuff. The mistake people making when they assume that the "classical guitar is such an easy instrument to master", is that they think of the guitar used for ...more
I don't believe that the classical guitar is the hardest instrument, but it deserves a special mention. Come on guys, why vote electric guitar over the classical guitar? The Classical guitar is the root of all guitars and mastering this guitar will mean mastering every other guitar in a couple of months. In no way is the electric guitar any harder than the classical guitar, if anything it's easier. With the electric guitar, you are restricted to a plectrum, with a classical you hold 4, or 5 depending on your style, being your fingernails, which constantly have to be taken care of.
The guitar is a miniature orchestra in the right hands. Consequently the bottom musical line along with the top (melodic) line and inside notes (defining the harmonic content of the music) are all played with the fingertips of the left and right hands simultaneously. The tone and volume of each musical element has to be performed in a balanced beautiful manner. Otherwise the music is lost. The slightest imperfection (which there are many when performing on any instrument) can be caused by any mishap (the slightest movement of a single fingertip). Yet the music must be continued in a manner most convincingly. This is what makes mastering the classical guitar so difficult. Most do not know this because they simply play classical music on the guitar. They don't necessarily do just to JS Bach's music.
I tried playing classical guitar which a friend lent me before buying an electric guitar (I ended up buying a Yamaha pacifica). The classic guitar was so much more awkward to play than the electric. With the electric guitar the guitar is much more thinner so your not leaning over the front of the guitar to find where everything is all the time. I initially started playing guitar by playing with Guitar Hero/Rock Band, I know it's not the same but it does have the basics there. I then had a go with my friends classical guitar before investing in a proper electric guitar myself. The electric guitar I've been learning on I've been using Rocksmith on the PC. At times this can be quite hard, and usually I find myself playing in the bass emulated mode as a bass guitar is far more easier as with bass you only have four strings to deal with and very few chords. I'm getting quite good at Moonlight Shadow by Mike Oldfield in bass (one of my favourite Mike Oldfield tracks) but I keep looking at ...more
Simple as can be
They are so easy!
I haven't been playing the Tuba for that long, but I did originally play the Baritone/Euphonium. The Tuba is one of those instruments that you have to use a lot of air and you have to focus on tonguing a lot more. Being someone who has asthma, it's a bit more harder to play the instrument. The Tuba is a lot more difficult than people think. After playing the Tuba, sometimes I have to make sure I don't pass out haha. It is similar to the Baritone but different. There are plenty more notes and partials on a Tuba than a Baritone. Th partials are always the trickiest things to master. Especially getting those high notes is hard, but the low notes can be just as hard.
17 years I have been playing instruments and I have a music degree at The University of Illinois and I have found that the Tuba is one of, if not the hardest instrument. My reason is the amount of air that you have to push through it is monstrous. All Tubas I have played have been like this and it's even worse with the 4th Valve Tuba since it gives extra resistance. The fingers and articulation when you play has to be spot on. The rhythm and tempo need to be precise since Tubas influence the Band's tempo extremely. I have heard many teachers tell their students to listen down to the Tubas and Low Reeds and this is true since they do provide tempo to Trumpets, Picolos, Flutes, Clarinets, and Oboes.
Tuba is a great instrument, but it is hard to play. Not only is it hard to find a DECENT tuba playing instructor, it is hard to find online classes, help, or sheet music. We are also laughed at for the way it sounds. It takes lots of air to play correctly and loudly enough. It is not very fun it play whole notes either, and actually very hard to do the oompah part in marches without the band director complaining. Double buzz, cleaning, low notes, and high notes are another big problem. Let's not forget that this is one of the biggest insturments out there. Very hard to carry at times. As a FEMALE tuba player, I get judged people say my playing is worse. This is a great but very hard instrument. Don't think it is easy because it seems comical.
Been playing tuba for close to four years now, and I would definitely say that tuba is one of the more tricky to learn instruments out there. The rest of the band can goof off while doing breathing exercises, but if we want to be able to play above a mezzo, then breathing simply is a must. Articulation is very difficult, and at a high tempo, it is incredibly difficult to have notes come out cleanly. (The fudging chromatic scale). It is also incredibly difficult to begin on, since all notes sound like farts until you get to a level where air is steady enough to tune. (At which point it sounds unbelievably beautiful.)
Definitely mallets percussion are not easy, your hands do not touch directly the instrument, there is a lot of horizontal movement involved, the parts are standing far away from you and your eyes are looking simultaneously to the keyboard, the part and the conductor. It requires advanced drumming skills plus the ability of improvise, understand harmony, playing notes. While you get a saxophone, you don't need to look at your fingers, you can just look at the part, and you make one note at the time. You can feel the instrument with the fingers. However, saxophone holds different obstacles, like any other instruments it is hard on his own way. There are no easy instruments out there. Just play and play and spend hours enjoying it. Don't worry about the outcomes they will come. That's the secret. Play and play and enjoy it. And if for one year you can take a sabbatical, take your instrument and play it all day for 4-6 12 hours a day. Even fooling around with it, you will learn. The more ...more
Imagine a piano. With a pedal. Add in all of your percussion skills. Now imagine reading piano music, but only being able to plsy in your periphiral vision. THIS IS HARD.
Doesn't percussion include vibraphone?
Harder than marimba
I plan on playing quad drums for my highschool band. From what I see, it doesn't look like it's all fun and games. I was expecting quads to be higher up there.
Quads are extremely hard you have to play crazy rudiments along with them on diffrent drums. The are very hard to match there heaven in very unstable
HA! Jesus Christ this is the hardest instrument I have written and seen written for. I've written in five clefs for euphonium (not including Treble transposing down a major ninth) and I have seen a piece call for the widest octave jumps: a B0-F5, or a four and a half octave jump, or it's entire harmonic series skipped in one jump. I have not even seen a piano go that wide on an octave jump. I don't remember who wrote the piece, but whoever plays it will die. It's a very mellow instrument. Also, do not call the horn that a euphist is holding a "baritone" as you will have a sousaphone bell in your face very soon. From experience, might I add.
Agree with the last comment. I have a Euphonium and it only has three valves. Very similar to th Baritone horn, but the baritone is cylindrical, and the Euphonium is conical (cone-shaped). This instrument takes LOTS of air to reach higher notes which is especially difficult for someone with athsma like me. laugh out loud The bigger mouthpiece size means you have to move you lips more than you would a trumpet or French horn. Not only do people hardly know what this instrument is, but they also underestimate its power. Low notes have a tendency to sound "blatty" if you're not careful. You also have the issue of it being able to play in either bass or treble clef. Very confusing since I started out playing clarinet and ended up playing euphonium in bass clef. Each of these instruments can have a different appearance, feel, tone, and you may have to hold or position the fingers differently where the valves are. Sometimes has a 4th valve which is one more valve to worry about and it can be ...more
Well the sound is one of the most beautiful in the whole orchestra. The softness of the instrument is very delightful. As said it is easy to begin on an euphonium, but mastering it is another case. The way of perfecting this is not only done by practice. One also has to master the fundamental way one plays on a normal instrument, and then be better than the best. Playing the euphonium is not just playing an instrument, it is a lifestyle.
This instrument should have been #5 or #4. The euphonium is definitely a brutally difficult instrument to play, but not as hard as French horn. My mother told me that I am not as great on euphonium than I am on piano but like the piano, it starts out pretty easy, just buzz the instrument, push the fingers at the right time, and you play a song, in beginning band, you are typically one of the most easiest parts most of the time, which is the bassline with tubas. For trumpets, it may be easier for them to switch to euphonium because it has the same fingerings in concert pitch as the trumpet but an octave lower, and because a bigger mouthpiece makes it easier, right? Well, shouldn't I mention that once you get higher in level, you have to have the ability to double tongue, triple tongue, play glissandos, memorize the different fingerings for each octave because of articulation and trills, often times transposition, cover fast or crazy licks from different instruments, have a greater ...more
Should be in the top 2! Mallet percussion instruments take so much talent to play, take piano music, and make it more difficult. Two mallets is hard enough on any of these mallet percussion instruments, (except the tubular bell/chimes) other times you have to play with four mallets, and occasionally with six! I don't see any reason for any other instrument to complain that it's hard, these mallet percussion instruments take the cake. I've played for four years, I can play with four mallets, and it's still very hard. Now if you ask me to play 8th notes at a tempo of 200, I'll be pretty good at it, if you make me play with four mallets, I'll struggle, and six mallets are just plain insane! I've seen few songs with the need for three mallets in either hand, but I'll tell you, they look almost impossible to play..
Marimba should be higher up on the scale. Take a piano, make it big, then put mallets in the player's hands. Now you have a marimba and a soloist. Doing slow things on this instrument is pretty easy, but the faster you go, the harder it gets. I've been playing for 4 years now and I can barely move the mallets fast enough to play 16 notes. Now make it four mallets, I give up.
Marimbas are a form of mallet percussion, which is harder than you think. You have to concentrate on 2 things: the notes AND the dynamics. Not to mention keeping your eye on the conductor or drum majors! And 4 mallets is just perplexing! It is fun to play, but it is NOT a piece of cake.
I play marimba and it's like playing the piano only a little bigger and you have usually two mallets to hit the notes with its like a xylophone. It's not too hard I started in 4th grade and I'm in 9th grade now I can play with four mallets so it's not that easy.