We have a few didgeredoos sitting around the house. Every once and a while I pick one up and bellow into it. I've gotten to the point where I can almost fake people into thinking I can play it. But they are pretty much just decorative chunks.

The Oboe is way harder than the French Horn.

Tr0mBoNe: The Oboe is way harder than the French Horn.

This. When you narrow the list to 5 (or 6, apparently), traditional orchestral instruments just shouldn't make the cut. Yes, some are more difficult than others (my own instrument, the viola, is harder than the violin, but I'd argue that the string bass is the most difficult of the group), but they have nothing on some of the obscure, unique instruments out there.

i watched the "video" for the ancient greek aulos. it certainly shows some instrument playing for a second or two at the 1:49 mark

/juvenile

oh yeah, forgot to mention. math apparently isn't the author's or submitter's strong point

The plain ol' pedal steel.

Separates the men from the boys.

/ unfortunately I fall in the latter.

Tr0mBoNe: The Oboe is way harder than the French Horn.

My Oneechan plays both and she agrees the Oboe is a lot harder than the french horn.

Goonie I bet every time you whip that thing out some joker yells "Stairway!"

Every time.

Man, glad to see a Pete Methaney reference in the article. BTW, i doubt the pikasso is that hard to play. it consists of strumming and fingpicking with one hand and tapping with the other and a set of sympathetic strings. As for the didg, circular breathing isn't that hard.

Thanks for the article, though. I needed my daily fail for the day.

List fails without the sarangi-- so difficult almost no-one plays it anymore.

Violin's harder than didge or theremin. And the Pikasso's just a multi-necked guitar that looks funny; I've not had the pleasure but I'm pretty sure I could play it.

Actually, didgeridoo is probably one of the five easiest instruments in the world. You just make a raspberry into it; circular breathing's optional but not all that hard either, you just squeeze air out with your cheek muscles while inhaling through your nose.

bagpipes?
meat flute?

I always wanted to play French horn but apparently I have a weird lip thing that makes it impossible.

I love playing theremin but its capabilities as an instrument are rather limited. You can play those nice smooth lyrical lines and that's about it, and the tone is not exactly subtle. The repeated notes in TFA's linked video don't sound too great, although I do appreciate hearing something interesting done with its sound.

A true gentleman is someone who knows how to play the accordion but doesn't.

Dereksmalls
meat flute?

DAMN YOU!!!!

i was just gonna put in:
"what about The Skin Flute?"

but then i scrolled down and found your post.

GAH.

+1 to you.

Paul McCartney could play a mean carrot...

For those saying oboe, don't forget the bassoon.

Bumbass.

That Manzer guitar looks/plays more like a harp.

Tr0mBoNe: A true gentleman is someone who knows how to play the accordion but doesn't.

Thanks, Tom Waits. Tell it to Steve Jordan.

Didgeridoo??? I learned to play it in 5 minutes, in a store full of hippies, and the circular breathing takes about a week. Practice with a straw and a glass of water.

Now, Sarangi, as GypsyJoker mentioned, is difficult, as are Tabla, Mrdangam, Sarod, and Tavil. (Showing Indian classical music bias here, but hell...didgeridoo?)

How about he human voice? (to do it well...it's probably the most difficult)

That 'journalist' needs to get out of the dorm room more often.

mongolian throat singing?

I'll say it again: try you hand on one a these farkerz.

The Dynamite Monkey: I'll say it again: try you hand on one a these farkerz.

I don't have the attention span to learn that. Thankfully, I had the attention span to track down a guy that could play it, and put him in my band. WAY easier.

Goonie_Goo_Goo, I admire your guitar-building skills (I realized what you were up to from this^ thread, a few weeks ago).

I myself am just beginning to explore that sorta thing. I modded a balalaika into a 3x2 string (like a mandolin, but with one less set of strings, and keeping the balalaika tuning). I came out sounding like poop- the intonation sucks and I can't keep it in tune to save my life, but it was a lot of fun to build.

In case you didn't see my link from that other thread, check out this^ guy, he's into similar stuff.

Yeah french horn isn't all that tough. Takes a good ear and practice but like any instrument, a person can reach a point where the pitch they think of and finger comes out the end of the tube. What is difficult about many instruments is the length of time a person can dedicate and the latent talent they have.

There are also some instruments that are so common that it takes a real amazing person to be recognized as a master. Guitar and Violin for example. Violin/cello/violas have no frets but the players are expected to hit the right note time and time again. Guitars/basses have frets, but so many styles and abilities are already explored so any guitarist is going to have a tough time standing apart from the crowd.

Whatever your poison is...just enjoy it and play for others who will enjoy it too.

Worthy additions to the list:
Harp, Chapman stick, and one of those "one man band" get-ups

/Hope I can write clearly enough to get my point across
//Picks up his Tele and Spector...

I'll go with tabla (a true tabla student has to sing the rhythms for years before even being allowed to look at the drum).

Also, Chapman Stick, and I agree with pedal-steel.

Simple to start but VERY hard to master is the plain old snare drum.
Check this guy out for some good hands rudimental-style.

Link (new window)

(watch the volume if you check the link)

Hurdy Gurdy?

The French Horn is difficult enough - the horn player is the only member of the orchestra who will generally be forgiven for a flubbed note. I should know, I've flubbed plenty.

The French Horn probably is one of the hardest brass instruments to play, and I would say because the mouthpiece is so tiny and easy to flub notes on. And from a woodwind player's perspect, then you have to worry about the stupid F/Bb trigger on most double horns.

But Oboe/Bassoon are even worse. Double reed instruments are teh pain. Even single reed players will say this. It takes many years of practice not to sound like a duck.

Thunderboy:the only member of the orchestra who will generally be forgiven for a flubbed note. I should know, I've flubbed plenty.

theurge14:the mouthpiece is so tiny and easy to flub notes on.

I, for one, don't want all of this flubbery going on in the orchestra.

/monocle adjusted

The headline makes me wonder "What can a person like myself say to a vegetable?"



/muffins, pumpkins, wax paper, caledonia mahogany, elbows, and green things in general
//got nothin'.

Agrees

The Dynamite Monkey: Goonie I bet every time you whip that thing out some joker yells "Stairway!"


They usually just have a look on their face like they've just swallowed a turd.

leftymcrighty: I myself am just beginning to explore that sorta thing. I modded a balalaika into a 3x2 string (like a mandolin, but with one less set of strings, and keeping the balalaika tuning). I came out sounding like poop- the intonation sucks and I can't keep it in tune to save my life, but it was a lot of fun to build.

In case you didn't see my link from that other thread, check out this^ guy, he's into similar stuff.

Cool about the doubled course balalaika. Sounds like you need to rebuild one with a stronger neck or sumthin... And Dennis Havlena's simple website has inspired countless thousands of instruments. He's really done a great job.

While I'm in here, I gotta mention it again (in case others missed it last time)... Free plans for making a cigar box guitar: www.cigarboxguitar.com (new window)

Tr0mBoNe: The Oboe is way harder than the French Horn.

and the bassoon is way harder than the oboe. fark this list.

One definition of a gentleman is someone who knows who to play the accordion, but refrains from doing so. (Thurber, I think.)

We had bagpipes in the hotel last night, but we called the guy, and hope to have them all out before the end of the summer. Hopefully they've not gotten into the woodwork.

I studied the shoehorn for quite a while in college. Talk about difficult; Two semesters and I couldn't get one note out of it!

Chapman stick anyone?

kab: Chapman stick anyone?

Got one. And yes, it's a beast to learn to play well (I am still nowhere near that), but it's not too long before you can make a few convincing sounds.

Is this a list of instruments that are hard to get a good, controlled sound out of, or instruments whose literature requires enormous skill to master?

Because instruments like the bassoon and horn fall into the former category, but instruments like the piano and the violin fall into the latter.

I've heard many more clams from the horns than the winds. I'm assuming that this is indicative of the level of difficulty and not a "I'm sleeping with the conductor so I get to play notes from a different and distant key" moment.

/or maybe it is?

austerity101: Is this a list of instruments that are hard to get a good, controlled sound out of, or instruments whose literature requires enormous skill to master?

Because instruments like the bassoon and horn fall into the former category, but instruments like the piano and the violin fall into the latter.

Well said.

/violinist