What is the Hardest Instrument to play?

They get so good at the inner parts though - they really understand them. It's funny when a composer gives a middle voice to the first violins - they can't play it correctly. They play it technically perfect, but as an important soli with all this romantical expression. Well, violas make up for it in stunning solo repertoire, even if there isn't that much compared to the fiddle.

Violas aren't really that deprived in orchestral or solo repertoire. You just have to look harder. Plus, certain composers really liked violas.

Yes, but compare it to the ocean of attention composers have given the violin and even cello. :ermm:

Hmmm, so many of the great classical composers played viola, recognizing its importance as an inner voice of the orchestra...

Has anyone suggested shakuhachi or ney as the hardest instrument to play?

I'm thinking about the poor viola-- It is probably as hard to learn as the violin--same bowing, shifting, intonation, vibrato issues. You will be forced to master quick passages and reach a high level of skill.

Then...

You manage to break into a major orchestra, and spend 30 years playing middle voice accompanying parts consiting of repetitive 8th and quarter notes... Every now and again, a sympthetic, perhaps viola -admiring composers drops a riff or two, but then its back to the wasteland...

Sucks.

Actually, I've heard that in some ways the viola is actually harder than the violin. You need to have wider fingering, and use a ton more bow pressure. I wouldn't know. On the plus side, however, the ratio of violins to violas is easily more than 2:1, so it's easier for a violist to get a job than a violinist.

Wider fingering, yes, but it's not too bad (although honestly, violists have been known to get carpal tunnel syndrome). There are models for players with smaller hands, too. As for bow pressure, it really isn't that different from violin...

Wider fingering, yes, but it's not too bad (although honestly, violists have been known to get carpal tunnel syndrome). There are models for players with smaller hands, too. As for bow pressure, it really isn't that different from violin...

Yeah, my violin teacher has one the size of a violin (thicker ribs).

And I wouldn't neccesarily say it is easier to get a job as a violist.

mmmmm, guitar is always getting out of tune, (unless you play electric and have a very good one)... tone production is not easy, since there are so many different tones, using pinkys in guitar is tough... you say it

or capo it on the 11th fret... lol.

And I deffinitley agree that it is hard to learn the note names, I only know the note names on the E (low) A and D strings and I've been playing for two years. Of course, I have mainly focoused on scales and improvising.

Same here man, but if you know the low E then obviously you also know the high E, so you know 4 strings all together, and for the B and G strings I just look at their octaves on the lower strings.

But anyway, yeah, guitar is a very very difficult instrument to master.

EDIT: also, for learning all the notes, there's a program called "fretboard warrior" that you should look up

Hardest instrument I actually do play is Piano.

I don't know why, I just have trouble sometimes :P

This of course doesn't mean I don't like it!!

I think the human voice is the most difficult, in the sense that if you get sick, you can't always sing--->wheras you pretty much can always play any other instrument when you're sick. Just like any instrument, if you mistreat it, it won't work for you, but at the same time, you are given MUCH more opportunity to mistreat the voice than any other instrument (I don't see anyone pushing around a grand piano....and accidently pushing it down the stairs, thus breaking it :blink: ) Also, because you use it in every day speech, you unknowingly create bad habits in diction, pronunciations, tone, and other techniques. Most people don't use an oboe, for instance, every other minute of the day. I understand that orchestral instruments can be incredibly hard, depending on which you are referring to, however my argument stands.

Your mind

I've heard one of the most difficult instruments to play is the lap steel guitar.

I've heard it was harp. One of my father's friends hated his job so he decided to resign, but to take up his time he asked what the hardest instrument to play was. He was told harp, so here he is today, a harpist. lol

Piano isn't necessarily very hard. It can be frustrating, and it greatly depends on what music you are playing. The concept of a piano is very simple, press a key and there you go, a note. What makes it so hard are people like Alkan, Liszt, Beethoven, and many more. It takes a long time, hard work, and great persistence to become a good pianist.

I've never been interested in playing piano music, so that's just probably why I have trouble with it. lol

I'm not sure, because there area a LOT of instruments I've never touched, let alone played. In my experience, I'd have to say strings, and flute. Especially the flute. I mean, at least I can get a sound out of strings, even though they sound like a bird squawking when I do. XD The flute, I mean, ugh... I just can't get a sound out of it. lol

Just like any instrument, if you mistreat it, it won't work for you, but at the same time, you are given MUCH more opportunity to mistreat the voice than any other instrument

Obviously you've never played a string instrument...:P

Obviously you've never played a string instrument...:P

Well, violins rarely smoke*. About half of the singers I know do however…

* (of course, when you leave a viola unattended, someone is very likely to make it smoke)

Anyways. The hardest instrument to play is the tamtam. Ever tried to play a nice C-major scale on one? It's ridiculously hard. And if that's hard already, just imagine playing a Bach fugue on one.

Varese once spent hours explaining to the percussionist how to hit the tam-tam, I think he wrote something about percussions I'm not sure, but he was very meticulous about the tam-tam (I'm too) maybe he would know how to play that c major scale :D ....

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I would say that Violin and Viola are one of the most difficult, (but I play no brass)

The level of precision needed in the fingers and ear is much higher that in many others. I have always said that a violinist must be a perfect mix of a presicion machine and a true human being. In instruments like Piano, you don't worry about the tunning and timbre, that's already done, in woodwinds maybe the the timbre, but in strings (violins etc), you have to take care of everything, specially the tunning, ear and precise finger position, there is a whole list of things that you never think when you play piano, flute, guitar or that kind of instruments.

Maybe the trombone has similar difficulties with tunning, ... I've also heard the Horn is kinda difficult.

Well, tuning/intonation is kind of an issue with most instruments that allow microtonal pitch variation. I.e. pretty much anything except piano, pitched percussion, harp and fretted string instruments. (And of course, as soon as you work with historical keyboard instruments or similar, which often means you are going to tune your instrument yourself in a variety of tunings, tuning certainly becomes a major issue as well.)

I don't see how it's much less of an issue for woodwinds/brass than for strings. (Of course there are some instruments that are somewhat more forgiving than others in this respect, respectively instruments that allow less microtonal leeway, but those are gradual differences.) But everyone who has heard some 8 year olds play a recorder piece in unison will hear instantly how much of an issue intonation can be with woodwinds :D

Flute and tuba are actually two of the most hardest instruments to play, along with piccolo. They are require an insane amount of air. It is not hard to start playing either of these instruments but it is very hard to master the airflow and such.

I dont think so, ive been playing tuba for 6 years, and I picked up the flute a couple days ago, and played the Bb scale and air wise was way easier

I dont think so, ive been playing tuba for 6 years, and I picked up the flute a couple days ago, and played the Bb scale and air wise was way easier

For most people flute is easier than say oboe.

Except when you're me! Flute is horribly hard and oboe is easy. :P

I don't see how it's much less of an issue for woodwinds/brass than for strings.

In woodwinds, if you play a fast scale all what you have to do is to press/open/close the right keys, (which by the way you have a finger for each key) you won't worry about the exact position of your finger in the key, you just don't think in that, in violin the finger position is everything, and must be in a very, very presice position, too presice to compare with other instruments, Cello/C.bass maybe a little easier because the instruments are bigger and the distances in the fingerboard are less presice. To add more complexity, the vibrato makes the tunning issue something more difficult, in woodwins you give the expression with the bottom lip over the reed/mouthpiece and that movement may be easily taken aside the rest of things, you don't change each time you play a note.

Maybe the difficuly in the bow pressure is a difficult as the lip pressure in the sax mouthpiece, but at least in the woodwind the position is only one but in violin are 4, like playing the sax in 4 different possitions and maintain the same pressure while changing the strings. Probably the popularity of the violn in the music schools make it seems as easy as others but, violin has been always very difficult.

Maybe an small brass instrument with an small mouthpiece ... but I think is still not as difficult as violin.

you know, try the violin and I'll try the horn or other brass, we may change our minds :D

As a player of both I think horn roughly equals violin. Horn it's easier to sound good, but hard to hit the right notes. Violin it's rather hard to hit the wrong notes, but it's as easy as hell to sound like vomit.