The Pros and Cons of Multi-Instrumentalism 

Yea great topic to hit. As a bass player and drummer it's super challenging to balance that with being a father and husband...friends..family...faith lol...so many things!! Thanks for the perspective

Hello, I am a multi-instrumentalist from Ukraine. My main instruments have always been the violin and the trumpet (I have been playing both for 17 years). I have two master's degrees (Violin Performance and Trumpet Performance), I am currently studying for a PhD degree and writing a dissertation on multi-instrumentalism. You are all right in your speech. I can only add that musical instruments can be divided "by the type of human interaction with them." If the interaction is very similar (trumpet + flugelhorn or violin + viola), the transition to a new instrument will be quick and painless. And vice versa. I tested it on myself - 6 years ago I bought a cello and thanks to a very similar bow (before violin) and the same interval between the strings (in fifths), I found it easy to play a completely new instrument for me. In 20 minutes I was able to play a 3-octave scale in C major, E major and F major in tune (according to the tuner). There are now 41 musical instruments in my home collection. And productively playing 2.5 hours a day on the violin and 1.5 hours on the trumpet, I easily passively support my skills to play the horn, double bass, cello, etc. And when I need to play, for example, a cello part (medium difficulty), I usually have 5-8 hours to study it. I sometimes publish my multi-instrumental work on my channel. Lately, these are orchestral covers. I would be interested to talk to you in more detail about multi-instrumentalism (maybe you have Facebook or LinkedIn?)

I play guitar, piano, and accordion. Sometimes I have a hard time focusing on one instrument, because I get sad I'm not playing another. Because of this I haven't progressed a lot with any and just kind of do "basic maintenance" like you said (and noodling.) Having a more focused practice routine, or playing along with music like you said, might help!

I agree with you about rhythm being the most important element in music. I did a thought experiment - compare playing the notes of the major scale at random times to playing "non-musical" sounds with a rhythmic pattern.... the latter is more like music than the former.

Lots of cool ideas! I think most musicians are multi-instrumentalists, though they don't realize it. ---------------------- It is really fun to play along to the same song on different instruments. BTW Quincy Jones said learn all the parts to your favorite songs! -------------------------- I started out thinking I should only play one instrument, but at some point noticed most of the great musicians played more than one, and could usually sing too. Philosophically it's sort of a chicken or egg thing. Are they great musicians because they learned a lot of instruments/solfeggio or did the learn the instruments because it was easy since they were great musicians? At some point I figured who cares, every time I see the drums or piano I want to play them, and I keep on dreaming of a fretless bass, plus I've always wanted to play violin and maybe tabla, etc, etc ... --------------------------- Some of the biggest recent jumps in my learning were from drums/percussion and singing. Drums has helped me to understand different music styles a lot better and quicker. Plus understanding how to make groove, etc. Learning to sing has helped my music memory and ear. I was driving to gigs, and I couldn't practice guitar, so I figured I'd just use the travel time to practice singing :) And a bit of hand drumming ------------------------------------- A lot of the musicians that I thought only played one, it turned out they actually played more than one, but maybe not professionally. For example, Elvin Jones played the guitar. And Oscar Peterson could really sing. As a guitarist, I also always wondered why almost all blues guitarists could sing too. And they all played the tastiest solos, too. And then of course there's people in the modern era like Prince, Stevie Wonder, Jacob Collier, and check out Chris Cornell (a jazz guy who did a really good Yummy cover). And obviously Mozart and Bach and Vivaldi and Paganini, Casals, etc. ---------------------------------- I think just playing each one a little each day really does add up. That's basically my mulit-instrumental practice plan. The 10K hour rule is probably true for concert violinists (that's what the study was about). But I think someone can be competent in 1K hours. Plus if you already know a lot about music (and how to practice), then learning a new instrument could be quicker! And when you learn a song, you can play it on the different instruments. -------------------- I think the main reason to learn multiple instruments, besides that it's fun and you learn a lot, is to be able to produce your own music! Sometimes, you can't find anyone who wants to do a reggae/classical/folk project, so you might as well do it on your own unless you want to hire musicians. Also, it can really help round out a gig or a band/ensemble. --------------------- In terms of practical tips, I'm mostly focusing on guitar, and I just play all the others for fun. I don't think I'll be gigging on them for another few years. I do agree that there is probably a period where you focus on an instrument intensely. I've only really done this with guitar, but I can see how this would help with other instruments. Once I started learning new instruments, I got carried away and kept on wanting to learn more, even though that's probably not the most practical thing to do ... After many years, I've finally realized one of the quickest way to learn music (and languages, too) is to practice little chunks until you can play them really well (say 5-12x), then start link them together. The other is that whatever you can sing, you can play. Thanks and all the best to all multi-instrumentalists (and everyone else too) !

Great video! Can definitely relate to your experiences. For me personally, piano has always been the focus but I also play guitar, drums and bass. I find that 20 mins a day on each non primary instrument (obviously more on piano) of productive practice can go a very long way and that finding transferable skills between instruments is the key to consistently maintaining or improving. Exactly what you said basically! Thoughts on the importance of having a primary instrument - do you believe that you should always have a main instrument of focus if your goal is to improve?

Thank you so so much for your beautiful video! This is been me the past year. Getting back into playing percussion (starting to also learn ukulele and violin), dance, needle/yarn art. I’ve never been the best, but I love art for my emotion and spiritual health. In the past I use to care to be the best, but now I just want to play intuitively almost as a form of meditation.

yeah, i started trying to learn trombone, which is the first brass instrument I've ever played, and I wondered if it was worth it. Now I realize that it'll make me better overall because I can get a very different point of view musically as a flute player

I know this video is quite old now, but I started music in the 6th grade and played Trumpet, than in 7th grade my director put me on Tuba (lol he said I was full of hot air :P). Later on of my own decision I picked up Trombone for jazz band in 8th grade, and eventually Tenor Saxophone for jazz band in the 12th grade. Tuba was my main instrument in middle and high-school, while on the side in my own time I still did practice all the other 3 instruments. I have grown to have a soft spot for Tenor Saxophone, and after a long break from playing, this is the instrument I have decided to pick back up. I intend to experiment with each instrument again, but for now I want to get my Sax skills going again. The biggest thing for me with playing such a wide range of instruments is seeing multiple octaves of notes on a staff. Because of this very thing, even back in high school I was quite a good visual trans-poser. One instrument I am still very curious to learn someday is the Flute. I have always thought it was a pretty instrument!

I am a clarinet player. I stopped playing the clarinet almost 2 years ago, to acquire flute. Been practicing the flute on average 5 hours per week for 2 years. This week, I started to unrust my clarinet embouchure. The goal is to re-establish entirely my clarinet skill, and maintain the flute. For now, I can play clarinet 10 minutes before some muscles start melting. In about 3 months, I would say, I'll be roughly equal on flute and clarinet... Exciting times!! I sacrificed the clarinet for 2 years because I thought I would go nowhere on the flute by practicing less than 5 hours per week, and it's all I had... 5 hours per week... In a few months, when my clarinet skill is fully unrusted, going to add alto sax... That one will be easier than adding the flute😊

i'm an artist by trade, but I am also a creative hobbyist, and by extension, a music hobbyist. I like the idea of learning new creative hobbies, and improving on them. especially when they are difficult to learn and require a lot of practice. it's literally why I'm getting into guitar again (lost mine but found it 3 days ago. sadly, the stuff to make it work on an amp is broken beyond repair, so I can only acoustically learn it for now until I get a new one.) and why I also want to get into bass and piano. also drums, but I don't have the space for those.

good subject ... Im looking for a balance...

what if i play alto sax and then i want to learn tenor sax, i heard that the fingerings transfer so would i be okay?

Hi Kyle, thank you for making a video on this topic. My primary instruments are singing and piano, which I want to continue to master. I want to play bass, guitar, and drums as I want to be a producer/songwriter for myself and others. Composing is something I want to get into eventually. I have an electric guitar and got drum sticks/drum pad recently to start learning. I want to focus on singing/piano but also want to include guitar, drums, and bass in my tracks. I love all the instruments and want to create good compositions using them, but not invest too much time into them. Jordan Rudess is a huge inspiration to me, as he is so masterful on the keyboard and can emulate guitar. I finger drum on the keys and can emulate bass as well. Do you think with gradual focused time (25 mins), I’d be able to play bass, guitar, and drums well enough for my tracks? I’m aiming for finger-style for guitar, slap on bass, and playing solid grooves (with good variation) on drums. Not too complex but yet not simple.

I play Drums and am trying to learn Piano

I play piano, sax, guitar and ukulele along with a few others inclysinf dijeridu and I sing also.They all help each other. It's all music. J could play anything if I had enough hours in the day. Everyone should be able to sing and play either some guitar or piano and also at least be able tk use percussion or a hand drum like a djembe. Drum kit is not necessary or practical.

I really love to play horns in general, for comping my students I developed piano skills, and ot was needed in my band I started with bass, loveing Early Music I also play the period Instrument "Transverse flute" Baroque Flute, which I did as a master degree too. I started with saxophone, strings Instruments I play because my son wanted it to learn, I started with him and played for him as a baby each night a sleeping tune. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qFSdyFuM9Bo.html Thank you for your Video, getting better on instruments, while you practice another is very remarkable! To know how to find the point to get better in 20 min is what I learned from the university, my professors.

8:29 we can all dream, at least. lol