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What is the simplest musical instrument to learn?

The piano is arguably the easiest musical instrument for kids to learn and there's a ton of easy songs to learn. It's a great way to introduce children to music, mostly thanks to the simple, logical layout of the keys.

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In this article, we wanted to know what is the easiest instrument to learn. It didn’t take long before we realized this is far more complicated than we first thought! After a lot of research, it appears to come down to three things:

your age

how much time you have to spend practicing

your natural musical ability

With those three things in mind, we’re going to look at what is the easiest instrument to play. To make things easier, we’ve grouped them by adults and children. Before you go out and buy any old instrument, it’s best to consider a few things first. First, you need to think about the music you like listening to. For example, if you like heavy metal, buying a bassoon is probably not going to meet your tastes or inspire you much. Secondly, are you willing to learn to read music? You can learn to play some instruments, like bass, guitar, and drums without having to learn to read much sheet music. On the other hand, taking up piano, flute or violin means being able to read music is a must, which requires some additional learning. Thirdly, consider your musical goals. If you want to be in a band, drummers and bassists are always highly sought after, whereas if you’re going to play by yourself a ukulele, guitar or harmonica will suit you more. If you want to play classical, obviously don’t buy a hurdy gurdy, go for something that will fit into an ensemble or orchestra well.

1. Ukulele

The ukulele is a four-stringed instrument that is typically strummed using your fingers in a lively, simple style. A surprising number of songs can be played on the uke too, and the ukulele is by some distance one of the easiest to learn. In the last few years, it has experienced a massive surge in popularity. Why? Because learning to play one is so much fun. It’s also social too. You sometimes come across huge ukulele meet-ups where groups of ukulele players gather for a strum-along en masse! You don’t need to learn a heap of chords either. Some of the best ukulele songs are played with just two or three simple chords. As for types, there are four: the soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone, each with its own characteristics. The soprano is the one you most commonly see and tends to be the most popular (often because it’s the cheapest). Getting yourself a uke teacher, or getting lessons from a friend who already plays, is the best way to fast track your learning. Many guitar teachers also teach it.

2. Guitar

If you’re looking for something a little more versatile than a ukulele, and maybe a bit more substantial, a six-string acoustic guitar might be the right instrument for you, or even an electric guitar (get a short-scale one if you have small hands). Guitars are in plentiful supply too, as many a person (especially men for some reason) feel it’s a badge of honor to have learned the guitar. Most don’t get past first base though and for this reason, you’ll find there are literally tons of decent used guitars in circulation. You can find a total bargain if you know what to look for when buying a used guitar. Picking up the basics is slightly more frustrating than the ukulele though. Beginner guitar chords, and especially barre chords, tend to require more dexterity in the fingers. However, once you’ve memorized a few chords there are a ton of easy guitar songs for you to learn. If you wish to take it further than that, you can work on more advanced stuff such as alternative picking techniques, music theory (such as scales and modes) to help you with soloing and improvision. There are plenty of superb online guitar schools to help you learn too. If you plan to really put the hours in, it’s worth investing in an ergonomic guitar chair so you can endure longer practice sessions. How about the bass guitar? Well, a lot of people try out the bass guitar with the hope that it will be easier than the guitar. In a way this is true: there are only four strings. However, the strings on a bass are much thicker, and the frets are wider apart. The bass suits some people, whether it be because they enjoy the sound of the low notes, or the length of the neck (which suits some larger framed bodies and thicker fingers). You’ll know if the bass is right for you as soon as you pick one up.

3. Banjo

If bluegrass is your thing, and you’ve always admired people like Earl Scruggs, the banjo might be ideal for you. The most common type of banjo for beginners is the five-stringer, which is right in between the number of strings on a ukulele and a guitar. Just like with guitar, it is easy to pick up a few simple chords that will let you play accompanist parts on a banjo. There are plenty of easy songs to learn for the banjo too. If you wish to progress to the stage where you are ripping out banjo solos, it will obviously take much longer. It is, however, slightly harder to find a banjo teacher than a teacher of more familiar musical instruments.

4. Drums

Drums and percussion instruments such as the Cajon are fun but can be frustrating at the start. The fact that you need to develop ‘independence’ in your limbs can cause many a cool person to lose their temper, but at least you have the kit to bang and take it out on.

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Of course, this is a noisy instrument to take up, but a set like the Yamaha DTX430K (possibly the best electronic drum set available at the moment) can be used with headphones or an amp set to a reasonable volume. Once you get started with your basic rock beat – you can play along to pretty much all rock songs. After you have that, you can progress at a pace that suits you. Remember, there are all sorts of drums out there (check out our list of drums to see them all). Don’t just limit yourself to learning the drums, especially if you’re into Latin or world music which incorporates a lot of percussion instruments such as the conga, bodhran, or djembe.

5. Harmonica

Some people love the bluesy, folky sounds of the harmonica.

Bob Dylan, Captain Beefheart, and even David Bowie have made use of one. But is it easy to pick up?

Well actually, yes pretty much. The highly portable harmonica is played by both blowing and drawing in breath, and the notes go along in a logical order: from C to D to E to F to G, etc. It’s easy to follow harmonica and getting started requires no previous skills. However, like with all musical instruments, developing a superior technique and level of musicianship will take time, effort and commitment.

Easy Instruments to Learn for Children

So, we’ve covered some of the simplest instruments for adults, but what are the key considerations for children? Well, this is an entirely different matter as children tend to have shorter attention spans, smaller digits and are slightly less dexterous, depending on their age of course. First, the very worst thing you can do is force your child to study something they don’t enjoy, it will put them off music for life. To avoid this, make sure your son or daughter is enthusiastic about it before you go buying an expensive instrument or paying for a half years’ worth of music lessons. When children are young it’s also a good idea to encourage them to make their own music, even if it’s just bashing together two saucepan lids! Secondly, you may also want to consider which teachers are available in your area. If you live in a small village, there might not be a drum teacher for miles around, whereas if your children want to learn the piano or guitar, experts are usually more widely available. If you live in a city finding the latter shouldn’t be as difficult. Thirdly, remember that some instruments are louder and more irritating than others. Your kids will probably love messing around on a drum kit, but the neighbors (or you!) definitely won’t appreciate it.

But, which do we recommend? Here are our top five for kids.

1. Piano or Keyboard

The piano is arguably the easiest musical instrument for kids to learn and there’s a ton of easy songs to learn. It’s a great way to introduce children to music, mostly thanks to the simple, logical layout of the keys. All the notes are easy to visualize with sharps and flats in black and everything else in white. Taking up piano also means your child will learn to read both bass and treble clefs, which is a skill that guitarists, violinists, and flutists, etc. often miss out on. Children find the physical side of playing piano or keyboard pretty easy too, as the keys are simple enough to press down – nothing like as bad as the guitar, for example, where fingers get sore at first until calluses have formed. Some keyboards even come with light-up keys to help teach kids chords and scales. On a practical level, finding a piano or keyboard teacher won’t be hard, it’s likely that schools will offer lessons after class or during their lunch break. Pianos are not cheap to acquire, and they take up a fair amount of space (not to mention upkeep). There are plenty of budget keyboards that will do just fine though.

2. Drums

Most children love drums because they’re incredibly physical instruments. Getting kids to use up all that energy productively is often something that parents struggle to deal with, so in that way, drums are perfect for your little one. Of course, a full-size adult drum kit is going to be way too big for younger children; however, there are plenty of well-made kids drum kits out there that still sound pretty good. Although drums are quite hard to grasp in terms of skill and limb coordination, they’ll allow your child to pick up rhythm and groove exceptionally well. This is also an advantage if your kids ever decide to take up another instrument later on in life. Having drum lessons will mean they develop a fantastic ear for timing and music composition in general. As well as this, finding a drummer is hard work for most bands, so when they’re ready to join a group they’ll be highly sought after. Just remember, drums are a large piece of kit and can be expensive, as well as loud. There’s always the option of an electric kit with a headphone jack if you have grumpy neighbors or cherish peace and quiet. Just be aware that drum teachers can be a little harder to find than say guitar or piano experts, so make sure you know there’s someone available nearby before you go buying an entire kit.

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If your child is really young, why not start them off with a homemade drum? They’re easy to make from household objects and fun too.

3. Ukulele

Perhaps you have a younger child who wants to play a stringed instrument?

If so, a ukulele is a fantastic place for them to start, before progressing on to guitar or bass. Ukuleles have nice, soft nylon strings, so kids usually find it easy to play notes correctly and get a nice tone out of one too. However, ukuleles are not designed for playing classical music – more so for blues, country and popular styles – so make sure your child doesn’t want to do classical grades before buying one. Having just four strings also makes the ukulele less complex in terms of theory, compared to a guitar. A reduction in strings means scales and chords become simplified, with less confusing ninth and seventh notes coming into the mix. Ukuleles come in a variety of sizes but they’re all relatively small, compared to a guitar or bass, so younger kids won’t feel uncomfortable or have to stretch while playing. Another bonus here is that ukuleles are pretty cheap in comparison to stringed instruments like violins; even high-quality models cost less than $300. As well as this, they’re relatively quiet and portable, so you’ll have no trouble carrying one to lessons. With that in mind, finding someone to teach your children shouldn’t be a problem either.

4. Recorder

There’s a reason the recorder is so prevalent in schools – it’s a fantastic way that young children can learn about rhythm, creative thinking, and music theory. The recorder was made famous by the German composer Carl Orff, who wrote lots of music specially designed for children. He believed the soprano recorder would make a great teaching tool and wasn’t wrong! The thing that makes recorder so easy is its simplicity; there’s no strings, reeds, or bow needed – all you need to do is blow. The sound itself can then be manipulated easily by little fingers, by placing digits over the holes. So, it’s not likely to get your kids as frustrated when they try and hit a note, compared to say violin or guitar. However, to fully grasp the recorder, plenty of focus is still required, as the breath itself can change the recorder’s overall tone. Recorders are also small, making them the perfect size for youngsters (or for traveling for that matter) and are affordable in comparison to something like a drum kit. So, it might worth buying one even if your kid isn’t entirely sure they want to get into music, who knows, after a bit of playing around they might want to start having lessons. On that note, schools usually teach recorder in class so you shouldn’t have an issue finding a teacher either.

5. Violin

Violin is last on the list because, unfortunately, it isn’t that easy for children to pick up the correct fingering and tone. However, learning to produce the correct intonation on a violin will significantly improve your child’s musical ear. As well as this, the violin is an excellent way for kids to develop dexterity and finger independence, not to mention theoretical know-how (the violin is played in the treble clef, so after a little practice, your child should be able to read music too). Violins are relatively small and lightweight, so smaller body types should feel comfortable enough playing one and carting it off to lessons. It’s important to make sure your kid is enthusiastic about classical music, as most violin teachers will play and conduct exams in this musical style. However, it’s good to introduce your child to the wide range of easy violin songs (such as Gershwin’s Summertime) that you can play. It’s also worth remembering that initially, a beginner violinist will sound very out of tune and even screechy, so be patient when they start practicing and make sure they start out on a suitable violin for beginners.

Summary

Whether it’s for you or your child, there isn’t a correct choice when it comes to picking your first instrument; the best advice is to go with the one you like the sound of the most – the rest is sheer determination and patience. However, if your kid is full of energy and can’t sit still, they’re bound to love bashing some drums, whereas if they’re quite young or small, a ukulele or recorder is a fun, yet cheap alternative that they’ll feel comfortable playing. The keyboard is very diverse if you have a child that wants to be able to play their favorite songs and a bit of classical from time to time. Why not go all out and bring up the next little Mozart and buy a violin? With the right guidance, it’ll be worth it in the long run. Who knows, he or she could become the next Hilary Hahn! PS. If none of the instruments on this list float your boat, try something a bit leftfield like a xylophone, a clarinet or bongos.