@hchavers never says he has to let you play it, just give the ability. But if we go your route, I’m going holophonor from Futurama. Renowned for my skill, and rich off reverse-engineering the holo tech. No spinning wheel gold, but I think I’d still enjoy the music more than adding to my immense fortunes.
@Gypsigirl213 I get my wife a musical instrument of some sort every Christmas. The ukulele from several years back has been by far the biggest hit. Guitar is a little much for her but she can kill it on the uke, although I have to slip in to catch her. She mostly plays it when I’m not around.
@Gypsigirl213 I’m currently obsessed w/ ukulele.
I’ve played a few instruments, including guitar and bass. I bought a ukulele a few years ago and taught myself a few tunes and picked it up to play maybe a couple/few times a year.
Last year I joined a group ukulele class and really caught the bug.
I now play several times a week, at least, have a growing repertoire of songs and feel like I’ve finally found ‘my’ instrument.
Anyway - as far as being easy to learn - 4 strings are definitely way easier than 6, but if you’ve never played a stringed instrument, the hardest thing is acquiring the muscle-memory to get your left hand (i.e., your fretting hand) to make those awkward chord shapes.
As someone who’s been playing guitar for 30 years, my left hand already knew how to do that, so it was very easy for me pick up the uke.
The folks in my class who’d never played a stringed instrument before really struggled with the chords - I felt for them, as I could remember how impossible it seemed to contort my fingers into those shapes when I started playing at 15.
Eventually it becomes second nature, but it does take a lot of time and practice to get to that point.
Luckily, the few basic chords that you can use to play many, many songs are relatively easy on uke.
One of the best things about ukulele, though, is that you can get a perfectly playable one for 50 bucks. $150 will get you a nice instrument that will serve you well for life, or at least until you decide you need that pretty one with the fancy wood finish.
If you already know how to play guitar or violin, e.g., it’s pretty easy to teach yourself uke by watching videos on Youtube, but for absolute beginners, there’s no substitute for actual, face to face lessons, and group lessons can be a lot of fun.
TL;DR - YES! Get yourself a ukulele!
If you’re worried you might not commit to it, then buy a little $50 one - if it ends up as just a bit of kitschy home decor, no big loss; if you catch the bug, you can buy a more substantial one for not much more money.
(Although, $100 rather than $50 would buy you something more enjoyable, tuning and sound-wise, to learn on.)
@Gypsigirl213@RiotDemon lol The two groups I’ve played with bear no resemblance to anything in that vid… for better or worse - No flowers in the hair, no metal and, worst of all, no fucking cupcakes!
@DennisG2014 Thanks for the great info! I learned to play the violin in 4th grade and played it for two more years (stopped when I went into Jr high as it wouldn’t have been “cool”—regrets) and my bio-father has taught me a little on the guitar on and off throughout my life (never got to playing ability), so I guess I’d be starting from scratch. You’ve definitely lit the fire to learn!
@Gypsigirl213 If you can make a couple of chords on guitar without it feeling like you’re asking your fingers to twist themselves into pretzels, you’re way ahead of the game.
The accordion.
My dad used to play it for a band before I was born. We loved it when he played when we were kids. My neice inherited his old accordion after he passed away, got lessons from someone pretty renowned and became pretty good herself. All the accordion players I’ve met were very interesting people… It’s dorky in a cool sort of way.
Finally, I used to play a few brass instruments pretty proficiently, and accordion is such a departure from brass that it intrigues me. Theremin as a second choice, piano as third and flute as fourth for roughly the same reasons.
Given that the Genie is only offering proficiency, I’d go with something hard like violin on cello.
Compared to those, reaching proficiency on guitar is pretty easy.
This is not to say anything about mastery.
@Limewater I had the same thoughts. I already have some level of ‘proficiency’ with guitar, bass and piano (can even play some basic beats on the drums).
If I were to be granted mastery, I’d choose differently, but since the genie is only offering proficiency, I picked the one that’d take me a wish from a genie just to get to ‘proficient’ - trumpet.
@ahacksaw I love a good accordion player, and I’d love to learn to play it myself.
I have good reason to hate the bagpipes, though;
For several years I worked the sound-reinforcement crew (setting up, operating P.A. systems) at a few different Scottish/Celtic festivals in my area (most notably, the Highland Games at Loon Mountain, but a couple of smaller ones too).
The one thing they all have in common is bagpipes playing literally from dawn until well into the night.
Every year, I would hear bagpipes in my head for days afterward - again, I mean that literally.
It was enough to make me hate the sound. I also can’t really stand Celtic music in general, anymore.
To each his own though, of course.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
edit: The Highland Games is where I heard that bagpipes/onions joke, and it was a piper who told it.
@ahacksaw I recently heard a recording of a solo piper followed by massed pipes and a choir performing Amazing Grace.
It was amazing and impressive. Same with some of the Military Tattoos done in Great Britain.
There’s the stories about the Scots going into battle being led by the piper. Even up to WW2 when the British forbade it except in rear areas, the commandos led by Lord Lovat on Sword Beach and the taking of Pegasus Bridge were led by his Piper.
Some Germans who were captured said they didn’t shoot the Piper because they thought he was mad.
The pipes carry history with them. Both pipes and history seem to be acquired tastes these days.
Harp. It’s one of the hardest instruments to learn/play, and full-size harps are both expensive to acquire and unwieldy to move around, but gosh they sound pretty.
@jcroxmisox@RiotDemon I sat thru 2 sets by Cheech and Chong at a small club in Denver back in the early 70’s. The entertainment between the sets was a harp player… go figure!
I’m going with HARMONICA from the Other category. I choose the HARMONICA not because I want to participate in Civil War Battle Re-enactments, but because I want an easy to carry instrument that when I play it, no matter how well I play it, I will cause people ahead of me in line (any line) to abandon all hope and flee the scene with haste, clearing my path to the front of the line.
I’d love to be able to play a versatile musical instrument splendidly. But I prob have the wrong sort of hands (too small ), and I doubt I’ll ever even think of committing to the time it takes to become even slightly mediocre.
Here is a lovely, rather more casual than usual, example of a talent fully developed:
Van Cliburn and the FW Symphony play the National Anthem at the Texas Rangers season opener.
April 11, 1994, at a The Ballpark in Arlington.
And here is Van Cliburn performing at the first ever Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, 1958.
He completely wowed the very tough audience and won the competition. Tho the Politburo and Krushchev had to approve allowing an American to win, as this was during the hottest portion of the Cold War.
When it was time to announce the winner, the judges were obliged to ask permission of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to give first prize to an American. “Is he the best?” Khrushchev asked. “Then give him the prize!”
Didgeridoo
/giphy Didgeridoo
@shahnm No fair you took my answer. Seriously though, it takes some mad talent and breathing technique to play a Didgeridoo.
The organ, duh.
@therealjrn I know one of the organists that plays this one.
And this one.
His home organ is a bit more modest, but still pretty impressive.
@blaineg @therealjrn I like to think my organ is impressive, but most would probably call it modest.
@awk I don’t get it. It’s a mixer.
Rumpelstiltskin’s spinning wheel (the genie must provide the instrument in order to fulfill the wish).
@hchavers never says he has to let you play it, just give the ability. But if we go your route, I’m going holophonor from Futurama. Renowned for my skill, and rich off reverse-engineering the holo tech. No spinning wheel gold, but I think I’d still enjoy the music more than adding to my immense fortunes.
harmonica, not that it’s my favorite but it’s super portable
@djslack Jane, stop this crazy thing!
Whatever gets me the most pussy.
@number51 well don’t be catty when you get it.
@number51 @Superllama7 would advise you not to choose the bass.
@number51 Then the catnipaphone is for you.
@number51 I guess that would be a fiddle. Hey diddle diddle and all.
@number51
Use this handy guide:
(I used to play bass and keyboards so I can personally vouch for the accuracy)
@awk Bass and keyboards? Geddy, is that you?
Texas. Specifically? 99/4a.
@wonidejack
The piano. And honestly, nothing else is even close.
I’m going with bass because that guy doesn’t get any attention and that’s about how much I want
The Stock Market. I’m not too bad at it right now, but I’d love to know that I would always win.
Is voice an instrument? Cuz if so, totally voice. I’d start a band
Does anyone play the ukulele? I’ve heard it’s not that difficult to learn.
@Gypsigirl213 I get my wife a musical instrument of some sort every Christmas. The ukulele from several years back has been by far the biggest hit. Guitar is a little much for her but she can kill it on the uke, although I have to slip in to catch her. She mostly plays it when I’m not around.
@Gypsigirl213 I’m currently obsessed w/ ukulele.
I’ve played a few instruments, including guitar and bass. I bought a ukulele a few years ago and taught myself a few tunes and picked it up to play maybe a couple/few times a year.
Last year I joined a group ukulele class and really caught the bug.
I now play several times a week, at least, have a growing repertoire of songs and feel like I’ve finally found ‘my’ instrument.
Anyway - as far as being easy to learn - 4 strings are definitely way easier than 6, but if you’ve never played a stringed instrument, the hardest thing is acquiring the muscle-memory to get your left hand (i.e., your fretting hand) to make those awkward chord shapes.
As someone who’s been playing guitar for 30 years, my left hand already knew how to do that, so it was very easy for me pick up the uke.
The folks in my class who’d never played a stringed instrument before really struggled with the chords - I felt for them, as I could remember how impossible it seemed to contort my fingers into those shapes when I started playing at 15.
Eventually it becomes second nature, but it does take a lot of time and practice to get to that point.
Luckily, the few basic chords that you can use to play many, many songs are relatively easy on uke.
One of the best things about ukulele, though, is that you can get a perfectly playable one for 50 bucks. $150 will get you a nice instrument that will serve you well for life, or at least until you decide you need that pretty one with the fancy wood finish.
If you already know how to play guitar or violin, e.g., it’s pretty easy to teach yourself uke by watching videos on Youtube, but for absolute beginners, there’s no substitute for actual, face to face lessons, and group lessons can be a lot of fun.
TL;DR - YES! Get yourself a ukulele!
If you’re worried you might not commit to it, then buy a little $50 one - if it ends up as just a bit of kitschy home decor, no big loss; if you catch the bug, you can buy a more substantial one for not much more money.
(Although, $100 rather than $50 would buy you something more enjoyable, tuning and sound-wise, to learn on.)
@DennisG2014 @Gypsigirl213 ukulele group you say?
@Gypsigirl213 @RiotDemon lol The two groups I’ve played with bear no resemblance to anything in that vid… for better or worse - No flowers in the hair, no metal and, worst of all, no fucking cupcakes!
On a scale of
whattothe fuck- how many email notifications is @carl669 getting for these?@DennisG2014 Thanks for the great info! I learned to play the violin in 4th grade and played it for two more years (stopped when I went into Jr high as it wouldn’t have been “cool”—regrets) and my bio-father has taught me a little on the guitar on and off throughout my life (never got to playing ability), so I guess I’d be starting from scratch. You’ve definitely lit the fire to learn!
@Gypsigirl213 If you can make a couple of chords on guitar without it feeling like you’re asking your fingers to twist themselves into pretzels, you’re way ahead of the game.
The accordion.
My dad used to play it for a band before I was born. We loved it when he played when we were kids. My neice inherited his old accordion after he passed away, got lessons from someone pretty renowned and became pretty good herself. All the accordion players I’ve met were very interesting people… It’s dorky in a cool sort of way.
Finally, I used to play a few brass instruments pretty proficiently, and accordion is such a departure from brass that it intrigues me. Theremin as a second choice, piano as third and flute as fourth for roughly the same reasons.
Banjo
Saxophone
I trap the genie in a bottle and sell it to an aspiring musician.
Given that the Genie is only offering proficiency, I’d go with something hard like violin on cello.
Compared to those, reaching proficiency on guitar is pretty easy.
This is not to say anything about mastery.
@Limewater I had the same thoughts. I already have some level of ‘proficiency’ with guitar, bass and piano (can even play some basic beats on the drums).
If I were to be granted mastery, I’d choose differently, but since the genie is only offering proficiency, I picked the one that’d take me a wish from a genie just to get to ‘proficient’ - trumpet.
@DennisG2014 @Limewater don’t be that guy…
Bagpipes. One, because I love them (really!), and two, because they’re so effective at clearing a room.
@ahacksaw so are other gas vapor bags (or maybe its just mine)
@ahacksaw You know the difference between bagpipes and onions?
No one cries when you cut up bagpipes.
@DennisG2014 That’s a good one, though I liked it better when it was about the accordion.
@ahacksaw I love a good accordion player, and I’d love to learn to play it myself.
I have good reason to hate the bagpipes, though;
For several years I worked the sound-reinforcement crew (setting up, operating P.A. systems) at a few different Scottish/Celtic festivals in my area (most notably, the Highland Games at Loon Mountain, but a couple of smaller ones too).
The one thing they all have in common is bagpipes playing literally from dawn until well into the night.
Every year, I would hear bagpipes in my head for days afterward - again, I mean that literally.
It was enough to make me hate the sound. I also can’t really stand Celtic music in general, anymore.
To each his own though, of course.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
edit: The Highland Games is where I heard that bagpipes/onions joke, and it was a piper who told it.
@ahacksaw I recently heard a recording of a solo piper followed by massed pipes and a choir performing Amazing Grace.
It was amazing and impressive. Same with some of the Military Tattoos done in Great Britain.
There’s the stories about the Scots going into battle being led by the piper. Even up to WW2 when the British forbade it except in rear areas, the commandos led by Lord Lovat on Sword Beach and the taking of Pegasus Bridge were led by his Piper.
Some Germans who were captured said they didn’t shoot the Piper because they thought he was mad.
The pipes carry history with them. Both pipes and history seem to be acquired tastes these days.
@duodec This is my favorite comment ever. Thanks.
Harp. It’s one of the hardest instruments to learn/play, and full-size harps are both expensive to acquire and unwieldy to move around, but gosh they sound pretty.
@jcroxmisox harp you say?
@jcroxmisox @RiotDemon I sat thru 2 sets by Cheech and Chong at a small club in Denver back in the early 70’s. The entertainment between the sets was a harp player… go figure!
@RiotDemon That’s totally awesome. His rhythm is bothering the crap out of me but adore the concept
VAN MURALS! GROUND SQUIRRELS! SPIT CURLS! AWESOME!
Harmonica. Fits in pocket - ready to go.
Lol, all ready to vote other, explain in the comments, but there it is Theremin.
A zither
Maybe it’s only the devil and not a genie that can grant proficiency, but the holophonor.
What an odd question/genie. “BEHOLD! I’ll shall make you “proficient” with one instrument of your choice. In otherwords, a meh musician.”
@goldnectar Even the genies around here are Meh…
I’m going with HARMONICA from the Other category. I choose the HARMONICA not because I want to participate in Civil War Battle Re-enactments, but because I want an easy to carry instrument that when I play it, no matter how well I play it, I will cause people ahead of me in line (any line) to abandon all hope and flee the scene with haste, clearing my path to the front of the line.
I’d love to be able to play a versatile musical instrument splendidly. But I prob have the wrong sort of hands (too small ), and I doubt I’ll ever even think of committing to the time it takes to become even slightly mediocre.
Here is a lovely, rather more casual than usual, example of a talent fully developed:
Van Cliburn and the FW Symphony play the National Anthem at the Texas Rangers season opener.
April 11, 1994, at a The Ballpark in Arlington.
https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article235258452.html
And here is Van Cliburn performing at the first ever Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, 1958.
He completely wowed the very tough audience and won the competition. Tho the Politburo and Krushchev had to approve allowing an American to win, as this was during the hottest portion of the Cold War.
(From wikipedia)
@fool Wow, absolutely stunning.
Genius >> Mastery >> Proficiency
Whatever THIS is
/youtube brain damage chapman stick