I want to learn to play some relatively easy instrument to sound good...

I want to learn to play some relatively easy instrument to sound good. I want something suitable for playing alone so no rhytm instrument like bass. I was thinking about flute, clarinet or saxophone since I've read they're pretty easy to learn.

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depends what genre's you want to play

If you've never played a woodwind, don't learn flute, it's not as easy as it seems. Same with clari. For saxophone, go with the alto, since that's the easiest to learn. As for what instruments I think would be easy to learn and you can play by itself, learn guitar. Doesn't have to be super complex stuff, but you can strum chords pretty easily.

I play guitar already, not a master by any means, but I can strum some chords, yeah.

If you're not speaking hyperbolicaly then expand your knowledge of guitar

If you still insist then knowledge of guitar tranates well to piano because of among other things what you have already mentioned chords.

Combined with relatively to almost literally zero technique is required for piano as opposed to for example violin

Saxophones feel good to play

Imagine yourself sounding like this

youtube.com/watch?v=g6WvDMI6axc

If you're interested in playing for others, sax is most likely do draw positive attention, unless they're classical music lovers.

Yes, the cool factor is there too. And I love the looks of this instrument. The best of the ones I mentioned in the OP. My only complaint that it can sound cheesy, like in a lot pop songs from the 80's, the sax solos are annoying to me. But I'm sure there are tons of beautiful sounds recorded by this intrument. I love the saxes on Good by Morphine but from what I checked, there is no alt sax there, but baritone and tenor. Judging solely by sound, clarinet wins it for me (among these three intruments I mentioned).

Some jazz players make the clarinet sound like a sax.

I'd pick the sax, though I love all 3.

>guitar
I'm not an expert but I read here that it's not really a good intrument, that it has lots of limitations.

Limitations of what?

If you just mean genre then by far drums are the most versatile

you can play bass alone

woodwinds are probably the hardest to learn, you WILL need a teacher just to learn how to functionally play one

You don't really need a teacher, although it will take more time.

Don't you need a teacher for almost any instrument?

Not required, but recommended to learn proper technique and how to practice efficiently.

Woodwinds/brass (and violins too I guess) on the other hand are mechanically much more difficult to play or even make a sound of so some initial tuition is pretty much essential imo.

Guitar is good for composition and travelling with , playing outdoors

Ideally you want a compositional instrument and a single voiced instrument (monophonic). Get the saxophone man.

Honestly I feel like if you haven't started playing a a band/orchestral insturment by high school, it's too late. These instruments require a lot of time, dedication, and skill to master properly. Not only do you need a teacher, you need to be able to play in an ensemble setting as well to have a proper feel for your instrument.

I would recommend just expanding on guitar, it's much easier to master yourself. The guitar doesn't have many limitations at all, it's just contrarians trying to sound much smarter than they actually are. Guitars are used in almost every genre (with the exception of electronic and maybe hip-hop). If you want to learn something complicated, try the classical guitar.

this: youtube.com/watch?v=7udClrQtmws

Basically what this guy said.

If you want to play a wind or string instrument-- there is no fucking around.

You either do it the wrong way without a teacher and suck miserably.

Or you put in the time, money, and effort to be good.

There is no "easy" instrument.

You and you know nothing

Aight well please enlighten me on how wrong I am.

>Ideally you want a compositional instrument and a single voiced instrument (monophonic).
Yes, that sums up my needs. I'll think about acquiring sax in the near future.

What I don't really like about guitar is that if you play just chords, you need to sing as well (or join a band) to get people to know what song you're fucking playing and I'm really uncomfortable about that. I was thinking about playing fingerstyle on my acoustic guitar (something like Tommy Emmanuel) to comfortably play songs as a whole but can you honestly say learning to be proficient in that style will take me less than learning how to play sax?

How do you expand your knowledge and skills on an instrument without a teacher?

Several things:
1. If you have a saxophone, nobosy will know what you're playing unless he/she is a hipster.
2. Whether you're dicking around on a guitar or a saxophone (without singing), nobody will care that much either way.
3. Fingerstyle guitar, whether it be on a classical guitar or steel string acoustic, is still easier than learning to play wind instruments. Trust me, as a former wind player, mastering these instruments takes a lot of time and effort. Guitar only requires practice, because the technique is so easy and intuitive that you don't need a teacher. With wind instruments, you need to know how to form the proper embouchure to even just blow the instrument in your mouth and you need to develop the proper lung capacity to play one comfortably as well. With guitar, you only really need to know basic chords and notes on the first 2 strings, and you can get really, really far (Jimi Hendrix did not know any theory at all and he's considered one of the best guitar players to walk on the planet), but with any band/orchestral instrument you NEED to know every single note your instrument can play and read it on sheet music with ease. Music theory is optional with guitar, but is mandatory for instruments like saxophone. Not only that, if you plan to play jazz with a sax, that requires so much more theory to learn and so much more technical skill to master that I doubt you will still have the motivation to play after a while.

Trust me on this, you're better off with a guitar. Unless you listen to John Coltrane a lot, guitar will leave you satisfied. It is the easiest and most versatile instrument out there.

Dude, do what you want. The greatest obstacle to learning is lack of motivation.

No matter how easy the instrument is, what's the point if you won't practice or won't enjoy playing it.

Agree with most of this but would say piano is equally a good first instrument. Theory will slowly develop naturally as opposed to wood/brass that require actual study.

Ad 1 and 2 - that's not what I meant and you know it.
Ad 3 - some legit arguments, will reconsider.

you scavenger masterclasses in the internet

The amount of paper I would need to write down every bit of music theory you would ever need

You meditate upon it.

You're a retard if you actually think hendrix didn't pick up any theory

Well, not trying to defend him, but Hendrix admitted not knowing notes.

super tempted to buy a saxophone. What price range are the decent ones? Are they hard to upkeep?

He knew some, and picked up various bits of theory from jam partners etc.

Still I don't think he utilised that knowledge like other musicians would. Played almost entirely by ear and instinct

As a sax/flute/clarinet player I can say that they are NOT easy instruments by any means. Their role in an ensemble may seem easier but the physical nature of the playing instruments leads to a lot of frustration. Not to mention the years of practice it takes to achieve a tone that is halfway pleasing and in tune. However, if they interest you go for it, I'd recommend an alto or tenor sax, probably the easiest out of the group, clarinet being the hardest.

Are downloading some sofware to make music a good alternative?

Yeah electronic has become a perenial like metal