Clarinet vs guitar

amother

Emerald

Tue, Oct 30 2018, 10:57 am

I'd like to learn to play an instrument.

I very much like the Clarinet. But I'm thinking that guitar is more of a social instrument and I can enjoy it more with my kids....
So I'm not sure.

Other than really agile fingers, and a strong feeling (there is ALWAYS music playing here) for music and spotting nice music, I don't know anything about music.
I also see that there are so many free lessons and apps to teach myself guitar. Not so much for Clarinet. Do you know of any?

Also, which instrument is easier to learn, and can you recommend a basic good Clarinet and/or guitar to start out with. There are so many options and fancy names they make my head spin!

Thank you so much!

FranticFrummie

Tue, Oct 30 2018, 11:03 am

You can't exactly sing along while you're playing clarinet. LOL

If you like to sing for your kids, then you need a guitar. You can buy a guitar a lot cheaper than a clarinet, too.

There are so many YouTube tutorials, you can teach yourself in no time. Clarinet requires a teacher to help you with breath control, so you know where in the diaphragm to breathe from, etc.

Finally, if other people around you have to listen to you practice, please, for the love of puppies, get the guitar! There is nothing worse than a wind instrument blown badly.

amother

Emerald

Tue, Oct 30 2018, 12:44 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

You can't exactly sing along while you're playing clarinet. LOL

Luckily for me, I don't love puppies....
You always manage to make me laugh!
Thanks for the info and for the laugh!
I know how the song is supposed to be sung but somehow my vocal chords don't always behave the way I want them too.... lol. I'm guessing some voice music lessons would help me singing better..... so I'm not very into singing along. But still I can talk and engage them. Whereas a clarinet your using a lot more energy to play and both your hands AND mouth are busy.

I haven't thought about the breathing and stuff. Thanks for that.
And we live on a 1/2 acre property. That should be enough not to aggravate the neighbors crazy dog!

Financially and logisticly a music teacher would be a challenge but maybe doable somehow. (Dh takes the car from 7am to 9pm for work.... and there is no so public transportation around her. So I'm stuck with uber. Even more $$)

Do you have any suggestions for either guitar or clarinet?

Thanks again.

amother

Emerald

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 1:39 pm

imasinger wrote:

I know how to play both.

I also vote for guitar, because you can talk or sing while playing. And for the same reason that FF mentioned -- beginning clarinet players often make a very unpleasant squeak!

What kind of suggestions do you want?

Thank you for your response.
What guitar do I get? I'm completely new at this. And I don't have anyone I know irl to ask.

Amarante

Fri, Nov 02 2018, 2:31 pm

I assume you want to play acoustic guitar - that is the guitar that is used to play folky type music and classic guitar music. It is wood and has thick hollow body because the guitar itself is providing the acoustic amplification.

I would suggest going to a good music store and seeking advice there. Since you are a beginner you don't need to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a really fine instrument.

You might be able to rent an instrument which would be a good way to see if you want to learn the instrument on a more serious level. You would then be able to purchase a nicer guitar.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Nov 05 2018, 9:47 pm

So you guys won't believe it.
I have been trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for this guitar. And in walks my dear husband with one!

The place he works at tried their hands at musical instruments, specifically guitars and it hasn't been selling so well. And so they took down all the floor samples and sold it for like 25% of the price....
I'm so happy!