What makes it difficult and why?

the violin, because of the tuning , but also the piano is hard at first because you have to master the whole hands - together thing.

That's a difficult question to answer

In real terms all instruments are as difficult as each other to play well, or professionally, but in general terms I suppose any instrument that requires YOU as the player to actually produce the intonation of a particular note. Instruments of the violin family fit into this as they have no frets in the fingerboard - the player must place their fingers in exactly the right place to achieve correct intonation. Producing a nice tone from the bow arm is also a feat in itself.

In the woodwind I would say the oboe is probably the most difficult to play, partly because producing a nice tone through a double reed is something even advanced players have to keep working on. A bad reed is also a bad thing - even for good players bad reeds can sound awful. People also think that on woodwind instruments you simply cover the holes and blow, but that doesn't necessarily produce a good note. The pitch of any note can be altered slightly by changing the shape or pressure of the embouchure, so once again the player is having to listen to their tuning.

Brass instruments require the lips and mouth to effectively act as a reed, but of the brass family the trombone is perhaps the most difficult as it has a slider instead of valves. It requires accurate positioning to produce good intonation.

OK, so I've mentioned about three instruments here. What do others think?

the violin. I gave up violin because of it's difficult fingering and it hurts my finger.

QUOTE (sammy @ Dec 16 2004, 02:24 PM)

the violin. I gave up violin because of it's difficult fingering and it hurts my finger.

[QUOTE] Then you're pressing too hard. Mind you, it does hurt some of the time. (I love that symbol)

all instruments are difficult. but out of mine, i'd say piano and french horn.

QUOTE (sammy @ Dec 16 2004, 10:24 PM)

the violin. I gave up violin because of it's difficult fingering and it hurts my finger.

Agree.

I agree with amanda L! All instruments have their own difficulties!

Personally, I found violin the hardest out of flute, piano and violin.

Of course, double bass must be hard because of the sheer size of i! We have one in the crridor of our music department, I tried but when I put my first finger on the little spot thing my second finger was nowhere near the second and had to move my whole hand down about an inch to reach the next note...

I play double bass and it's not that hard to produce a sound once you get used to how hard u have 2 press......
The Flute although it's fairly easy to blow once you get the hang of it actually loses the most air because you blow sideways across it, not into it like the oboe or clarinet

i heard that violin is difficult but so is piano as there are 2 clefs to read

and chords?? T______T

Piano... as i was told by some of my friends, and my teacher who know both piano and violin. combining their view & my own... a few reasons
(1) piano itself is a big intrument to be covered by 10 fingers;
(2) the resulted sound is determined once the note is hit, no chance to change;
(3) big chords;
(4) coordination & independence between each fingers, both left and right hand.

this is our combined view, pls dont shoot me

I started piano early, so for me piano is....so-so
However, i heard from my friends that most strings instruments require more patience and practise, and in the beginning it was.....ergh, terrible noise pollution for the whole family.
And one more thing, especially for young violin learners, the violin had to be changed when you gradually grow up, different arm length, so if you couldn't find some used violins, it'll be quite costly.
No offence on strings, but that's just my view

Pipe Organ!
(ie: an organ which has a full pedalboard, lots of stops and a volume pedal).
Why is it difficult? The music looks like a score - Right and Left hand, Right and Left FOOT!!!
Not only do you have to play hands as in piano (however, a different touch than piano is required) but both toe and heel of each foot need to be able to play notes, sometimes simultaneously!
On top of this you have page turns and stops to manage, and sometimes manual change (bigger organs have more than 1 manual ie: keyboard). If you are lucky another person can help with the stops and page turns.
Simply balancing on the stool can be tricky!
I've dabbled with lots of different instruments, and I can see why the organ is "The King".

I think the piano accordion must be one of the hardest instruments to play! Just like the piano, you have to play with both hands in two different clefs. On one side you've got a keyboard while for the left hand you have to push heaps of little buttons. In addition to this, you've got to push and pull the bellows, making sure you don't run out of air in a middle of a note or in the middle of a phrase!

It all depends on what you are good at or horrible at. If you have a bad embrochur or weak diaphram then wind and brass will be very challenging. If you have slow fingers then piano and strings will be challenging. If you are weak in the arms or have bad rhythm don't play percussion. If you are afraid of your voice....don't sing. I for one won't sing.
I believe that the pipe ogran would be very difficult considering the piano isn't easy and it is allot more work than that.
And I believe that the cornet woudl be very dificult due to the necessity of pitch-perfection and relaly good embrochur.
And of course Violin is and isntrument that requres speed and accuracy as well which cannot be simple....although I never played it....or the other two for that matter.

HOWEVER the most difficult instrument will always be the instrument that you hate learning.

I Feel that the Church Organ is the hardest instrument, because you can have up to 5 parts to think about (2 in RH 2 in LH and 1 FT) and you must NOT look at your feet either

I think all string instruments are hard to play because even when you've moved a mm out of place it's out of tune plus you can't see all the keys like on the piano so you have to really know your fingerboard -a piece of black wood.

i think all insterments are diffcult but i'llput what i think of the sections:

Strings: vilion: it can make such a horrible scratchy sound! plus no frets and i have big fingers so i would never be able to play! ive tried my friends vilion and my fingers just get in the way! and harp apperently it hurts your fingers and it v. heavy

Woodwind: oboe: the double reed (cant think of anything else)

Brass: (well i would say this but this is what my music teacher said) French horn: soooo much tubing! and trombone no vavles!

persussion(sp): kit: ive tried it i just cant control both my hands and feet doing different things at the same time!

Other: organ: both hands and using feet aswell as reading in at least two keys!


p.s if ive got anything wrong about an insterment sorry! please correct me! i can only play brass.


p.p.s this long text needs some smileys!

piano definitely...but once you've mastered it you can pretty much play any instrument you want...reading wise!!
also play trumpet and at grade 8 standard you have to have so much stamina, unlike a lot of other instruments it can be actually physically exhausting!! and i'm not talking about an achy arm from playing the violin lol!!

Well I'd say piano is when you first start to play 'cos you've got to read bass and treble clef but you couls say that you only have to play the note and it's there but with other instruments you have to blow and get the right fingering. Also violins because loads of violins sound really squeaky when you play them so you've got to get the tone right (no offence to any violinists not everyone is bad of course). Well apparently french horns are supposed to be hard but I've never tried one so I don't know why.

I think Piano is one of the easier instruments to play. I don't remember having any difficulty in starting it right from the beginning.

QUOTE (musicbox @ Jan 14 2005, 05:33 PM)

Well apparently french horns are supposed to be hard but I've never tried one so I don't know why.

its because of all the tubing. the bigger the horn the more tubing and the harder it is. its hard to control