3 Easy Beginner Instruments
By: Josiah Decker
Tags: Music, Beginner Guide, Beginner, Learning, Instruments

Some people appear naturally gifted with instruments. While that can be true, to some extent, the less musically talented can still make beautiful music.

Obviously, even those who have a natural talent for music still have to practice and learn, and that takes some time. With that in mind, here are my top 3 picks for the best instruments to learn as a beginner.

This is a Cajon, the first instrument on the list.

This is a Cajon, the first instrument on the list. Also known as a box-drum, the Cajon is a rhythmic instrument usually used to accompany other instruments in a band. As a standalone instrument, it is a top pick of mine to just jam out on.

The Cajon is a box with snare beads inside. Tapping on the top of the front panel produces a snare-like sound. Tapping down in the middle of the front panel produces a deep, kick drum-like sound.

In my experience, the Cajon is one of the easiest percussion instruments to learn. I had to play it for a gig one time, and after watching 1 YouTube video I was confident I could play that night. The player sits on top, straddling the box with their legs. They then tap and rap and hit the front face to produce two sounds.

The first sound, as mentioned earlier, is the snare-like sound, and the second is a kick drum-like sound. Using these two tones, and a combination of different patterns, the Cajon can fill in the entire rhythm section of a song. Practice with a metronome, or if you have a good internal sense of beat, just start tapping along with any song you hear on the radio. Soon you’ll be a Cajon expert!

the Harmonica, a melodic instrument.

Next is the Harmonica, a melodic instrument. The harmonica is perhaps one of the simplest instruments to learn. There are a variety of online sources for harmonica music, and it’s deep, soulful sound can’t be replicated with anything else.

Simply pick a hole and start blowing, and you’ll instantly have a nice sound. But there is a little more to it than that.

A typical diatonic harmonica has 10 holes, with each hole capable of providing 2 notes. Inhale, or exhale, to make two different sounds from the same hole. Harmonica music is quite simple to read as well. Most harmonica notes can be read by hole-number. For example,

-10 -8 -7 -4 is a rough example of inhaling on holes 10, 8, 7, 4. Arrows or hyphens indicate which breath is required for each note, and the player simply has to count holes till they find the right one.

Simple Harmonica music for the song “you are my sunshine”

Although often mistaken for toys, harmonica require very little air to make a good sound, and with easy music, it can be picked up by a beginner and learned in no time.

The ukulele, my favorite, and the final entry on this list.

Lastly, the ukulele, my favorite, and the final entry on this list.

The ukulele is perhaps the most versatile beginner instrument available. Similar to a guitar, but much less complicated, the Ukulele is a fantastic instrument.

With four strings, the ukulele is typically played with a strumming pattern. Chords usually consist of 1–3 fingers, and the strings are much softer than the guitar. Softer strings mean less sore fingers and less buzzing noises on the strings.

Part of what makes the Ukulele a great option is the catalog of learning options on the internet. There are no shortage of videos on YouTube for every topic to do with ukulele, as well as sites such as Uketabs.com which provide free sheet music for ukulele players.

An example of sheet music on Uketabs.com

This is some ukulele sheet music. Don’t worry, this is one of the more complicated songs you could play, “Isle of Flightless Birds” by twenty one pilots. Notices at the top, there are chord diagrams. The reader simply has to place their fingers matching with the dots.

The numbers in the middle section are plucking patterns or fingerstyle. each number matches with a fret on the ukulele neck, and reading left to right, the player simply puts a finger on each fret and plucks the string.

Part of what makes the ukulele so versitile, in my opinion, is the ability to play a melody in fingerstyle, or the ability to strum along to a song with chords. Strumming is a rythmic style, so the ukulele can play an entire song, providing melody, and rythm.

Now I’ve shared with you three of my favorite beginner instruments, if you haven’t ever tried learning an instrument, now is a perfect time! With Christmas in less than a week, perhaps it would be a good time to learn a Christmas carol to share with family (stay safe out there)