Nefir

I am 22 years old. Ever since I was a teenager, I wanted to learn to play an instrument. For whatever reason, this never came about.

The closest I have gotten to my dream was when I convinced my folks to buy me this $200 Casio keyboard for my birthday (I was 14 or 15 at the time) to learn on. But for some reason I stopped using it before I could learn much. I am still not quite sure why... I just suddenly lost interest in playing an instrument, and the desire sank down into my subconscious, where it became nothing more than a sad memory, until it was completely forgotten.

Since this was a pretty expensive purchase for my family, all future attempts to get stuff that there's even a remote chance of not being used were effectively shot down with a reminder about they keyboard thing.

But lately, this desire has begun surfacing again, and I feel like I may be ready to give it another shot (not a keyboard this time, mind you, something a little different). I am an adult now, and can buy my own stuff without having to ask permission from my parents. This also means that the responsibility rests solely on myself.

One instrument I have been fascinated with over the past couple of years is the Chapman Stick, a fretboard tapping instrument. Its got a long and challenging learning curve, but its also extremely rewarding once you get it. The major problem is that there are no "cheap" sticks for practice, and most people who do play one have had lots of prior knowledge of guitar/bass. This would be a major commitment, and I am not very confident in my musical learning abilities at this point, especially after the keyboard thing, whose dark memory has resurfaced along with the renewed desire to learn to play.

My mind is far from made up. The above is just a possible path that I have opened for myself. I seek guidance from the TFP community in helping me choose the right path, or convincing me to back down.

Any stick players here? What was your learning experience like?
I guess the simplest question to answer is - should I even bother?
A more involved question is, if I do bother, how much of a chance do I stand, given the fact that, for all practical purposes, I have no prior musical training whatsoever?

I work full-time, and have maybe 2-3 hours a day, at most, of free time to spend on practicing.

If anyone has alternate suggestions, that would be extremely appreciated as well. I really feel like I'm missing an important part of my being.

__________________
You do not use a Macintosh, instead you use a Tandy
Kompressor break your glowstick, Kompressor eat your candy
Kompressor open jaws, Kompressor release ants
Kompressor watch you scream, Because Kompressor does not dance

Sho Nuff

I bought my first guitar less than a week ago and its an amazing instrument to learn. Its my first one as well. Its a great instrument to start with because its portable and there are many people that play, all of which are dying to offer you advice. Ive taken it out of the house twice this week and both times someone approached me and started a conversation, pointed me to jams and offered support. One guy pulled a pick out of his pocket and started giving me a lesson on the spot.

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I know Nietzsche doesnt rhyme with peachy, but you sound like a pretentious prick when you correct me.

sherpahigh

Guitar is definitly the way to go in my opinion. Learning something like the Chapman Stick without knowing anything about the guitar first sorta seems like learning run before you learn to walk.

The guitar is a very rewarding instrument and it's not too hard to pick up some basics.

Just my .02 cents

__________________
"It'd be better for me if you don't understand"

Tophat665

If you're shooting for stick, start with a 4 string electric bass. You can probly get a squire P-Bass for b/w $100 and $150 on Ebay, and a practice amp for about the same. Learn the tuning and fingering and slap pop technique and tapping on that, then, if you still like it, get yourself a stick.

__________________
Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns.
Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

God of Thunder

Learning bass is a little easier than guitar since it doesn't involve many chords.

Another off the wall option would be learning drums. Reading music, per se, is not really required, just a good sense of rhythm.

__________________
I reject your reality, and substitute my own

-- Adam Savage

J.R.V.A.

Lifes short, one day you will wake up and you will be 50.....
Do you want to say, I had fun, I took chances, I threw caution to the wind, and I enjoyed what life had to give me, or do you want to be saying, when I was younger, I had an idea, but I blew it off.........

__________________
And as she plays,
her sweet song of laughter
floats through the air
and warms my heart

Nefir

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback, folks. I am getting more opinions from people I know, and my next stop would be the stick community itself, to see what the pros have to say...

J.R.V.A., you are right - some times its better to just follow your heart. But other times it will only lead to disappointment... Thats why I am trying to find out whether my heart is worth following in this case

__________________
You do not use a Macintosh, instead you use a Tandy
Kompressor break your glowstick, Kompressor eat your candy
Kompressor open jaws, Kompressor release ants
Kompressor watch you scream, Because Kompressor does not dance

J.R.V.A.

Better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all.....I love this qoute

__________________
And as she plays,
her sweet song of laughter
floats through the air
and warms my heart

wilbjammin

Wind instruments are much harder to learn later in life because our ability to adapt to new experiences and learn new languages (music is a sort of language) diminishes. The muscle memory required is pretty extensive. Not that you can't learn a wind instrument, but you'll need a lot of time to do it.

Guitar might be more fulfilling than bass if you just play by yourself, or, at least, cheaper if you start with an acoustic guitar or a classical guitar. Banjo, ukulele, mandolin (if you have good ears for tuning), lute, mountain dulcimer, hammer dulcimer, and the autoharp are also good suggestions for string instruments that you could probably learn fairly easily. I'd avoid anything that requires a bow, because it isn't easy to get a good sound on a bowed instrument.

You might want to get into digitally making music. It isn't the same as organic music, but the versatility is there and it might be a little easier to work with. Just an idea...

Hope I have been of some help.

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Innominate.

George81

Although if you'd like to join a band, a bass is a good instrument to learn. Guitar players are a dime a dozen, what's rare is a great bass player. This is especially true since so many of them are just guitar players playing bass. If you know what I mean.

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"More cowbell!"

Tophat665

The reason I suggest bass is that, if your goal is stick, bass will help you to develop the agility in (and callouses on) both hands that will give you a start on stick. Also, the two stick players I know of are both bassists first and stick players second. One is Tony Levin, and the other is a Fraternity brother of mine, Greg Howard (a Charlottesville fixture. Sometimes played with the Tim Reynolds Band.) Both these guys are virtuoso bassists, Tony just has the drive and the luck to know Peter Gabriel and Robert Fripp.

__________________
Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns.
Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

jujueye

Tophat665 is on it. Sticks look really cool, but the people who are playing them probably also are great guitar players.

On the other hand, if you still have the Casio, why not try it again? At worst, you could sell it for cash towards your guitar.

Nefir

Yep, Tophat (and everyone else) tossed some extremely useful opinions into this thread. I appreciate it

The people who currently play stick professionally are indeed professional musicians, but back when they were first learning, the stick, as we know it, did not exist.

I no longer have the Casio - I gave it away a couple of years ago to a friend of my parents, whose teenage son was learning to play.

Playing devil's advocate in my own trial, I want to mention a point of view shared with me by a guy I know who is a musician himself - an instrument is an instrument, and the learning process would be challenging regardless of whether I start on guitar or stick. He suggested that I give it a shot, as long as I stick to it (pun intended). And I have a feeling I just might.

I might be nuts, but I have decided to give it a shot. I am currently in the process of finding out if they have any used sticks available. That should cut the cost by at least half. If it doesn't work out, I can always take advantage of their buyback option, and just send the stick whence it came. I admit it, my judgement may be biased and influenced by lack of sleep, but this is something thats been on my mind for a long time. Hopefully it works out exactly the way I have planned.

__________________
You do not use a Macintosh, instead you use a Tandy
Kompressor break your glowstick, Kompressor eat your candy
Kompressor open jaws, Kompressor release ants
Kompressor watch you scream, Because Kompressor does not dance

images

Along the lines of a stick, I'd say the piano is closely associated (in terms of playing bass and lead at the same time). However, if you're geared toward a guitar or bass, I say go for either, regardless of how many more guitarists there are out there than bassists. Playing music is a wonderful thing, and although you have already mentioned the scarce time you have to practice, you might find yourself so passionate about it that you end up finding more and more time for it. Just ask what happened to me during high school, and how my grades went down after I got more into guitar Good luck with everything, and I hope you have a great time with whatever you choose.