Learning to Play Piano Doesn't Exclude Someday Learning Other Instruments

Hey, how about learning to play sax or trumpet or even drums. Think any of them are right for you?

Because learning any instrument is akin to learning a second language, you need to decide if you want to play popular music, classical, jazz, or even new age music and see if the instrument fits in with the genre. Some, like the harpsichord with rock and roll, or the piccolo with gospel just don't fit, obviously.

Take the tenor saxophone, for example. This instrument has been heard in an amazing variety of musical disciplines in everything from early Motown to the most refined classical music, from big band jazz to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Clearly, this is a universally loved instrument.

The guitar is another easily moldable sound that is an integral part of nearly every type of music you could name. In the form of bass guitar, which originally emulated the double bass fiddle, this pillar of the small ensemble will always be in demand. Can you imagine ANY rock and roll band without the bass guitar?

In classic acoustic or even hollow bodied jazz forms, the guitar has evolved to be everything from a sidebar to the sole instrument for generations. A competent guitar player will always be in demand.

Should you consider an instrument like the French horn or even a woodwind such as the bassoon, your choice will most probably limit you to an orchestral environment to play in, which is where you'll find music written specifically for these instruments. There has been the occasional jazz French horn player, but because this horn is especially difficult to play, most are found in traditional classical environments.

Don't forget the drums when you are considering a field of music to enter. Actually, the area of percussion is filled with much more than just the drums, and includes timpany, bells, cymbals, bongos, and even the xylophone.

The piano is a type of percussion instrument mixed with tonality, which makes learning the piano a journey to unbelievable depths. There is a reason it is beloved the world over. The piano is a timeless instrument worthy of all the hype, pomp and circumstance.