Which Musical Instrument is Recommended for Beginners?

Here is a list of musical instruments to choose from listed in popularity, with the number 1 being the most popular:

1) Guitar

2) Piano

3) Keyboard

4) Drums

5) Violin

6) Cello

7) Flute

8) Saxophone

9) Clarinet

10) Trumpet/Cornet

11) Trombone

12) French Horn

13) Banjo

14) Recorder

15) Viola

16) Tuba

17) Oboe

Will the instrument I choose be affordable?

If you want to buy a musical instrument but don't wont to spend too much money I would choose either a guitar, keyboard, violin, clarinet or trumpet. These instruments are the
cheapest to buy when starting out.

Which musical instruments are easy to learn and which are difficult to learn?

The easiest musical instruments to learn from the list above are: Guitars, Drums and Recorders.

Guitar

The guitar should be easy to pick a few chords and you can almost start strumming and playing a simple tune from your first lesson. It is best advised to learn the classical guitar first as it has nylon strings and will be easier on the fingers than a steel strung electric or acoustic guitar.

Drums

Drums are fairly easy to learn as well. The important thing is to feel the rhythm, once you have this, everything else should be easy to pick up.

Recorder

The recorder is probably the easiest of all musical instruments to learn. Most children at school take up this instrument before progressing on to the clarinet, flute or saxophone which is much more difficult to learn.

The most difficult musical instruments to learn from the list above are: Oboe, French horn, Trumpet and Piano.

The Oboe

The Oboe is probably the most difficult musical instrument to learn. It is very difficult to even produce a sound at first, let alone a musical note. This instrument can take many years to master

The French Horn

The French horn also takes quite a while to get the hang of. The sound is produced not only by blowing, but by creating an embouchure and buzzing the lips to control the air stream, which in turn creates the correct pitch to produce the note. Then the correct valves that correspond to the right pitch have to be learnt. The hand is also used to help the quality of sound by placing in the bell. Wow! Perhaps this is not a great instrument for beginners!

The Trumpet

The trumpet is considered difficult to learn initially because of the techniques needed (similar to the French horn but without using the hand in the bell). The difficult thing about the trumpet is trying to make a nice sound which can take a few years to perfect.

The Piano

Although it is easy to make a sound on a piano, just by pressing any note you sound like a professional, the piano is very difficult when you need to play more than one note at a time. All the above instruments require you to play just one note at a time but with the piano sometimes you need to use every finger and thumb at the same time!
You also need to learn two different clefs, and to learn to read this at the same time is not easy at first.

Will it be a quiet musical instrument or a noisy one?

Do you have neighbours that don't appreciate music? And they live right next to you with thin walls.
Do you want to play late at night or early in the morning
Are you embarrassed that you are not making a good sound yet, or you don't want people to hear what you are playing.

If any of the above is true, you need a quite musical instrument or at least one that you can play with headphones or adjust the sound electronically.

If you want to learn a quiet musical instrument, then choose one of the following: Guitar, Piano, Keyboard, Recorder, Clarinet or Flute.

The Classical guitar is very quite and delicate but not the electric or acoustic guitar which are very noisy when amplified!

You can plug headphones in to a digital piano or keyboard or you can turn the sound down. This is the ideal instrument to buy if you don't want to make any noise. The acoustic piano (also known as the upright or grand piano) is very noisy and should be avoided if you need some peace.

The Recorder is fairly quiet, apart from the high notes, so this instrument would be ok.
The Clarinet is a fairly quiet instrument. It does really depend on how it is played.
The Flute is also quiet but the sound can be a bit piercing on the higher notes.

If I don't choose a popular musical instrument, will I be able to find a teacher easily?

You can find a musical instrument teacher almost anywhere; there are literally tens of thousands in the UK.
You will almost certainly have no problem finding a teacher if you play the more popular musical instruments: guitar, piano, keyboard, drums or violin.

Is the musical instrument of my choice popular or is it an instrument that not many people play?

Please see the above list of musical instruments. They are listed in order of popularity, number 1 being the most popular instrument.

There are a few guides to find out if a musical instrument is popular. Just look at a symphony orchestra or a wind band and count the number of instruments there are and how many there are of each.
You will find that there are lots of violins and percussion (clarinets and flutes in the wind band case) which means that there is no shortage of people learning these instruments. You will also find that there is only one tuba, one oboe, a few french horns, a few flutes, a few clarinets etc. Of course this is only a guide, as some of the other popular musical instruments such as the guitar, piano and keyboard are not normally found in a symphony orchestra.

If you need more information about musical instruments I can recommend visiting http://www.melodi.no the top musical instrument shop in the UK - Melodi.no
Happy learning!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Henry_Howard

Choosing Which Brass Musical Instrument to Learn

Choosing a brass musical instrument to start playing may seem quite a daunting prospect. There are several factors to keep in mind such as cost, the player's physical size and weight capabilities and availability of teachers of that instrument (there are some very good online databases to assist you in finding qualified teachers in your area). The key consideration to bear in mind when choosing a brass instrument is that playing it should be fun! It's a good idea to choose your instrument according to which genre of music you like. For example, if you want to play jazz, there is no sense in learning the euphonium, whereas trumpets are popular in all genres. Some musicians get a kick from playing in an orchestra. Others opt to go solo. It's a good idea for the budding musician to keep in mind at the outset an idea of the general direction he would like to go in. After all, what started out as a hobby may flourish to become a lucrative career, and what better than to be paid for playing the music you love!

Musical Genres

A classical symphony orchestra will usually feature tenor trombones, a bass trombone, a tuba, trumpets and horns.

A traditional brass band will incorporate a soprano cornet, euphoniums, a bass trombone, a flugelhorn, baritones, tenor trombones, tubas, cornets and tenor horns.

Big bands used in swing and jazz will usually incorporate trumpets, tenor trombones and a bass trombone.

Solo instrumentalists are used in a variety of music genres, from pop to folk to blues.

Brass Instruments Types

There are two families of brass musical instrument in modern music: valved and slide.

As the name suggests, valved instruments use a set of valves which the player operates with his fingers. Valves are usually piston valves, but may be rotary valves as in the case of tubas and horns (rotary valves require special care, for example they must be cleaned by an expert - see the cleaning section for further details). Most modern brass instruments are valved instruments, including the flugelhorn, cornet, trumpet, euphonium, French horn, tuba and tenor horn.

Slide instruments incorporate a slide to change the length of tubing, and thus raising and lowering the note. Trombones are the main family of slide instruments (bar the valve trombone, which is mostly used in jazz pieces).

Bugle

The bugle category of brass instruments incorporates bugles, trumpets, flugelhorns and cornets. There are subtle differences between these instruments in appearance, sound and playing technique. Buglists are sought after by brass bands, particularly military bands.

Trumpets

The trumpet is a popular choice of brass instrument. It is ideal for the beginner. Trumpets are used in a wide variety of music genres, which should help to keep learning interesting. Trumpets are convenient to transport and store and are relatively inexpensive.

Flugelhorn

Like the trumpet and cornet, the flugelhorn belongs to the bugle family of brass musical instruments. It is similar to the trumpet but its sound is slightly sweeter. Flugelhorns are widely used in a variety of music types, from classical to traditional brass band music, and are very popular in jazz.

Cornets

The cornet is similar to the trumpet, but with a slightly more melodic sound. Cornets are ideal for beginners because they are more compact than trumpets, which makes them easier to hold. Cornets are a vital component of a traditional brass band but, like the trumpet, their musical range is extensive. Cornets are relatively inexpensive to buy.

Euphoniums and Tubas

These instruments can be enormous and tend to be quite expensive. However, euphoniumists and tubist are becoming few and far between and so are always in demand. Tubas can be so big that you may struggle fitting it into the boot. Euphoniums are smaller scaled and have a wonderful range. These instruments are elementary to the classical symphony orchestra and the traditional brass band.

French Horn

A french horn is both a beauty to behold and a delight to the ear. A good French horn will be quite expensive and challenging to learn. French horn players quite a rarity. No classical orchestra would be complete without half a dozen, however, meaning that players are much in demand.

Trombone

Despite this instrument's impressive range, trombonists are becoming an endangered species! Though the trombone is a reasonably priced instrument, its slides are very delicate and must be handled with great care. The trombone is easy to learn and there is great demand for trombonists to play in classical, swing, jazz and traditional brass bands.

The great news is that if you shop online for Brukte Instrumenter you can find unbeatable deals at great prices!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lindsay_Coope

Turbonegro - Deathpunk From Norway

Turbonegro is a band that comes from Oslo, Norway and they are known for their unique musical style, which they call "deathpunk." This style is essentially a combination between heavy metal, glam rock, and hardcore punk music. Some of the music groups that the band says has influenced their style includes the Rolling Stones, The Dictators, Black Flag, KISS, AC/DC, and names in Norwegian rock like the Raga Rockers.

The history of the band actually goes back to the end of the 80's. They came together in late 1988, early 1989. They got together in Olso, Norway, and their initial line up included Happy-Tom (Thomas Seltzer), Rune Gronn, Tor-Kristian Jensen, Vegard Heskestad, Pal Erik Carlin, and Pal Bottger Kjaernes. This lineup recorded the Turboloid 12" EP as well as the debut single - Route Zero. These were the only releases that the original lineup actually recorded. The band would lose a couple members in unique ways, which led them to a disaster on tour, and a reformation of the band in 1990. However, the group did not really find much success during the early 90s.

Finally in 1995 the Turbonegro began to get a new look as well as a new sound. They came out with a look that included wearing denim and moustaches, and along with the new look they had, they came out with a new sound as well. The new sound was apparent on the singles they released in 95, Bad Mongo and Denim Demon. In the summer of 95 they came to the U.S. on a second try at a tour, and they did manage to play at 11 shows.

Over the next few years, the band went through many different changes. Several people left the band, some were asked to leave, which has put the band through many different changes in just a few years. The current line up that the band has today includes Happy-Tom playing the drums and bass, Thomas Dahl on drums, Hank Von Helvete doing vocals, Pal Pot Pamparius on keyboards, guitar, and percussion, and Euroboy playing the lead guitar.

Today the musical style of the band has brought them quite a few followers across the world. With their unique "deathpunk" sounds and lyrics that go out of their way to attack being "political correct." The group has been praised for their "punk" style, and many feel that they have updated punk and brought it to a new level, bringing together shock and humor.

One feature of the fan base of Turbonegro is their special band fan club, known as the Turbojugend, which means Turbo Youth. The band wanted to have a fan club of their own, just like Kiss has their Kiss Army. The fan club actually started as a joke, but it went on to become a huge following. The first chapter was in Hamburg, Germany, but today there are chapters of Turbojugend all across the world. They wear special denim jackets that sport the log of Turbonegro as well as "Trubojugend" and their chapter name on the back of the jackets.

Check out melodi - the online word on music, culture, interviews, bars, clubs and bands. You'll see pics and video of exclusive events and interviews from the music scene, including a review and live pics of Indie band Brukte Instrumenter.