I was an Oboe player and the Oboe is #1 in difficulty, no questions asked. you not only have to be a Musician but a Craftsman making reeds and everything about the Oboe is EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your videos actually helped me a lot in choosing what instrument to start on, so.. thank you. and yes, i choose the trumpet :D planning to take up the saxophone in the future (1 to 2 years down the line)
This is so cool to hear about from the point of view of someone who’s tried them!! Was very excited watching this. I have played quite a few instruments to varying levels, so here would be my personal list of orchestral instruments from easiest to hardest: 1. Cornet/trumpet - it has been 10 years since I started so maybe the initial difficulties have been lost to time, but once you know how to buzz, it’s pretty simple. 3 valves, not too easy to split notes, treble clef. Also learning this means you can quite easily learn other brass instruments. 2. French horn - admittedly this is my current instrument I’m learning so I’ve played very little, but my initial thoughts were it was farrrr easier than I was expecting. It’s heavy but you’ll get used to that, and it’s sO much easier to go up and down to notes than cornet, meaning initially there is a wide range of notes you can hit off the bat. Getting a good tone is a bit harder, and also being able to hit the note you’re wanting to is tricky, but I love it 😍 (warning, probably biased cause this is my favourite). 3. Flute - I can barely play it so for me it’s tricky, but once you have your embouchure down the fingering and pitching of notes is pretty easy. Just a fancy recorder pretty much, and isn’t transposing. I just don’t really like it 🤡 4. Clarinet - my current ‘main’ instrument, although I’ve only been playing 4 months. Initially it took agesssss to be able to make a sound. The correct embouchure, and the amount of air support needed makes this tricky. Don’t even get me started on the register key or the break or my poor pinkies. Also my tone sucks so it’s tricky in the sense of there’s a very big learning curve to sounding good. We love them though, goose squad. 5. Violin - absolutely traumatic. Painful, tricky to play quickly, and multitasking is hard. Once you get the basics down it’s pretty simple in concept, but then actually trying to play it is sO hard. Just sound like a screaming cat or can only play incredibly slowly. Again probably biased but, definitely the hardest for me. Easier than clarinet to learn initially, but takes more time to make a decent sound.
This is a really good perspective, especially since you've spent more time on some of these. Personally I had no problem getting a sound out of the clarinet, but the abuse on the pinkies cannot be overstated. French horn was quite easy to get a decent tone at first, since after you get trumpet down the brass embouchure translates easily. But hitting the right notes consistently is triiiicckkky... "Violin - absolutely traumatic" LMAO a truer word was never spoken. Thank you for your valuable perspective! Now go try out an oboe LOL
I think you're pretty much spot on with everything you said. The Oboe is a beligerent winch in which getting her to speak is a bloomin fight and no mistake. I'm too old for he pressure it takes to blow through those tiny reeds (my brains were bleeding right out of my ears ) but I might try again sometime. I've never tried the French Horn ( too expensive ) but you're right from what I've heard ( she is treaturous , and is renown for shifting pitch on you at the most inopportune time ). All acoustic instruments including the human voice are better than drugs on the human nervous system when played well. But that's the rub isn't it. Some may be easier than others but no child should be given that any of them is easy.
Your back! Yeah🎉🕺. Well you just made all the bass players in the world happy. That's fine. They deserve more attention than they get. Well......my personal experience learning the woodwinds and brass is similar to yours. Trumpet...hard, clarinet.... easy, saxophone....easy and fun, flute.... frustrating until you get the embouchure down. Never tried the bowed strings but I do own a violin and want to learn. I feel the real answer is what interests you the most. That will be the instrument you love. I started on drums so to me it's easy to start but hard to "master". Probably similar to keyboard instruments. Maybe some elementary school band or orchestra directors can chime in with their experience with kids. Anyhow....glad your back and look forward to the next video! 🎺🎵🎼🎷
Ahahaha just wait for the pain...string instruments are quite justly placed at the top of my list! If you desire to learn, it will be worth it, but it truly requires "beginner's mind" to get through the learning curve. Oh my, I would love to learn the drums...perhaps they deserve a series in the future, eh?
@@gracewallisstudio Feeling ambitious? Learn ALL the percussion instruments. I'm too chicken to play tympani in the orchestra. If you sweet talk me I might play the bells or xylophone. Otherwise, I'm in the back running between the bass drum, cymbals, snare, wood blocks, cow bell (gotta have it), tom toms and gong.
Yes, percussion Those children can’t hold a stick correctly till hs nor can they produce a continuous sound in rolls also u need both main clefs memorized not just 1
Hiya!! I'm just discovering your channel!! Interesting rankings. I played the clarinet in Elementary school, and studied the sax for one awful half-summer when I kept sounding like Lucy Ricardo, then I switched to the oboe and the clouds parted, and I quickly advanced. As a former oboist, I think it's too bad you didn't get to try the bassoon. When I was studying oboists and bassoonists didn't typically BUY their reeds - they MADE them, adding a full-time artisan craft to the full-time artist craft of playing the instrument. How you sound is partially a function of the reeds, so reed maintenance as a factor can't be overstated, which is why you see oboists checking in with their reeds and soaking them during rests and breaks. I also remember being told the oboe embouchure has no muscle memory, so if you goof off a few days in a row and don't practice, it basically goes away completely and it's like starting over. I remember watching the flute section with such envy for how easy they seemed to have it, even though I LOVED the sound I made on the oboe when it was all clicking, but it was such a high-maintenance instrument, I basically had to choose between it and "normal" life. Nowadays I play the EWI in my videos, and I have it set to oboe fingerings.
Did you enjoy playing saxophone trumpet and clarinet? Double bass is like a giant bass guitar I thought you would have had Oboe higher than that. I hope you get a new instrument soon to play.
I really enjoyed sax, trumpet and clarinet. Honestly, the fact that they are easier to learn made me much more comfortable with them from the beginning. Oboe was the highest of all of the wind instruments. However, I think all of the string instruments are more difficult than any of the wind instruments, at least at the beginning.
Love this video, and thanks for sharing this as someone whose tried learning all the instruments :) I'll share a few things as an accomplished pianist/violinist/violist who also attempted the flute for a year due to school band requirements. I think mastering tone production is equally difficult on all wind and string instruments, though you can certainly start sounding good quicker on some instruments than others. I think all the difficulties you mentioned with learning the violin applies equally to all bowed string instruments (albeit with their differences): left and right hand coordination, bow control, intonation, all of that. Although it is probably the easiest to squeak on a violin, the extremely thick strings on a double bass make producing a sound very difficult. Also, all of the techniques like shifting, spiccato, etc, are not usually learned until at least a year into playing any string instrument, and even that's a super rough estimate. In fact, cellists and bassists learn shifting much earlier than violinists and violists because they must do it more often due to the wider spacing. In terms of producing a decent quality of tone as fast as possible, I think the clarinet and sax win here. I find that to me, beginning band clarinet and saxophone students have better tone quality compared to other instrumentalists in a beginner school band. Although the sounds of a beginner brass player are not quite like the squeaks and squawks of a beginner violinist, beginning brass can still sound quite unpleasant to me, and achieving a pure tone I think is equally challenging for both brass and orchestral string players. This video may be insightful to watch. ua-cam.com/video/YdZJqPO0vsw/v-deo.html One thing that for me was extremely frustrating about the flute was how weak my tone was in volume as a beginner. My sound was so darn airy that you could barely hear me even 2 metres away. Not having proper technical instruction in a school band made matters worse, but for me being able to produce a big, full sound, even if it's rather ugly, is more gratifying than producing a really airy tone that barely travels.
I had a year of private flute lessons and even with the teacher right there, it took a lllooonnngg time to get a strong, clear tone. I have since then switched to the fife and simple flute. I must be a sucker for punishment.
I will add one more thing about why young children tend to learn the violin and the cello and not wind/brass instruments. Violin is very mechanical/fine motor oriented, while learning wind instruments is a lot more internal/conceptual. Children tend to learn well through imitation and repetition, while teens and adults tend to conceptualize more. I will admit that violinists have to juggle more skills than probably many other instruments, but still. I think violin intonation is definitely ear training/muscle memory oriented, which young children tend to be conducive to, while learning wind instruments is a much more internal process that is more conceptual and requires a certain amount of maturity to fully understand. There's also the issue of dental changes that occur in childhood that make learning wind instruments more challenging, not to mention that wind instruments can't be easily scaled down for smaller people.
I'm a double bassist and i am really surprised with the results! i find ur rant so hilarious omg hahaha 🤣🤣🤣 NOW I KNOW I'M PLAYING THE HARDEST INSTRUMENT in ur opinion 💀😂 thanks for sharing! 🙌
I bet it would be somewhere between oboe and violin...possibly higher. A friend of mine in college referred to it as "the farting bedpost" so I'm sure that's indicative somehow.
99% it depends on a good reed. When you have it, playing oboe is much easier. And in fact the orchestral parts for oboe are usually not so technically complicated.
We have a 4th grade Clarinet student and a 3rd grade viola student. I played clarinet when I was younger, and our 4th grader seems to be moving right along at about the pace I expected. On the other hand, our viola student seems to be struggling. String instruments always seemed more complicated to learn, but I didn’t know how much of that was just my lack of familiarity. A thing always seem harder when we don’t know how to do it. So hearing your opinion on this was extremely helpful. Actually, after hearing some of your thoughts, I think he may be moving along just fine. I’ll encourage him to stick with it a little longer. I don’t think he hates it. I think he’s just frustrated he’s not making beautiful music yet lol
Recorder is a weird one. It starts out as a very easy woodwind, then proceeds to get a lot harder. Forked fingerings, trill fingerings, alternate fingerings, transposition - soprano is in C 1 octave above written, but alto is in F, tenor in C, sopranino in C, bass in F but in bass clef an octave above written. There's also voiceflute in D, and G altos and great basses and garkleins and contrabasses... And the transposition is done by the player in their head, not the music. Some of them are very large and simply not designed for people with small hands, so be careful when picking tenor recorders especially so you don't hurt yourself. When it comes to taking them apart and putting together: I usually take 3 different sizes of instrument to ensemble. It takes a while to take everything apart and clean it, especially the bass and its five pieces plus neckstrap. People really underestimate the recorder.
Oh yeah, you didn't play tuba, though, I wouldn't think it would rank high as it's more its sheer size and air needs vs the smaller brass instruments. Wanted to learn double bass yet ended up picking up bass guitar since it's more affordable, but have seen some vids comparing the two and how different simply plucking them are with the double bass requiring a lot more effort for obvious reasons. Still wanting to learn an orchestral string instrument, I have ordered an electric cello, however.
I agree with Eddie Izzard; tuba is probably some kind of punishment they assign for community service. Baritone, I could possibly do. Could you potentially borrow a double bass? I don't know why, but I have an abundance of bassist friends, and they are super chill. Might be fun to try out! Also unrelated, but what exactly isドーソ ? LOL
@@gracewallisstudio Think tuba gets a bit more credit in Ohio due to the Ohio State University Marching Band's "Script Ohio" 'i' dot. Plus, I'm big, so whenever I play anything smaller, like an euphonium, all I hear is how tiny I make it look 🤣 There happen to be a couple places I know that would rent a double bass (and I'm still open to trying it eventually), but I opted for cello partly for the conveniently smaller size and also, since I already play bass and tuba, to have new parts to potentially learn. As for electric, I like being able to practice bass (and keyboard) quietly, so, since a bowed string instrument would be completely new to me, figured I'd be more likely to fit in consistent practice that way within my varying work schedule. Plus, good electric cellos (I went with NS Design) are said to be cheaper than decent acoustic, so I figured I'd go all in. Oh, as for my icon, it's comic book onomatopoeia (like the "BANG" or "POW" used in the old '60s Batman show) yet is the Japanese comic equivalent of "BOOM"
@@Cysubtor_8vb I've definitely heard of some fantastic electric cellos. I know Jonathan Humphries has a few videos about them. I've never seen the ドーソonomatopoeia before. Must not be reading the right genre 😉
I Hope you find a Bassoon for rent soon, I‘m very unsure if I should pick up the Bassoon or Oboe and your videos are really good to get started easier haha
Having played most of the instruments on your list I broadly agree with you. Obviously you can’t cover everything so here is my two pence worth… I think there is also a big factor played by natural abilities. Not meaning the rubbish about people being naturally talented, but about what aspects people find hard or easy naturally. So for brass, an enormous advantage is someone with a really good understanding of pitch, specifically relative pitch. On a wind instrument you can get a lot further before you need very very good abilities with tuning, but with brass you’ve got to work with hat straight away. Wind is nicer if you are tune, and you’ll go further, but you’ll get a long way without it. There is a lot to be said for the order in which you learn. For me, recorder, violin, flute, sax, clarinet, trombone, oboe, shawm, sackbut, baroque oboe, baroque flute, bassoon, baroque bassoon, cello. There are a lot of transferable skills with any instrument, but I think within instrument families there are more of them, so picking up another wind when you’ve got some basics will bias your perception of difficulty. Another factor is natural tendency towards the role that instrument plays in an ensemble. Do you like lots of counting then coming in loud and blowing everyone off their seats, do you want to float on the top, do you want the tune, do you want to be in a section or be solo. Will all influence how hard the instrument seems, I was playing fine on trombone on my own, probably about grade 7 in the English Abrsm system. But put me in an orchestra and I can’t do it all. On sackbut I was playing on a quartet and doing absolutely fine. Similar instrument but totally different role. Strings will remain a mystery to me. Violin, eight years and got no where despite already reading music, having ensemble skills etc. cello years later is hard but significantly easier. Possibly because of overall musical experience. But I don’t feel anything I learned on violin helped at all. Interesting video. Thank you very much.
I'm assuming you've already tried the usual places for renting a bassoon (Bocal Majority, MMI, and Forrests) but have issues with them requiring a teacher? If it's a matter of availability, they usually have wait lists. Someone mentioned on the bassoon subreddit that they rented from a local high school for very cheap. Well funded middle and high school bands usually have school owned bassoons just sitting around waiting to be used. They're also probably less worried about you not having a teacher / accidental damage since I'm sure you're more careful than the avg middle or high schooler. However, they're usually not very well maintained, so difficulties could be due to the instrument instead of you or the reed (get a handmade one). It's probably worth having a bassoonist or repair tech who's comfortable with bassoons (double reeds are relatively rare, so most repair techs don't have experience with them) look it over unless the band director says it's been serviced recently. How did you get your hands on the oboe? Double reeders often hangout together, so I would try asking your oboe connection / rental company about bassoons too. Hope you can try the bassoon soon!
I noticed you missed orchestral harp. Harpists typically start on a lever harp, which is smaller and cheaper, but many lever harpists never choose to play orchestral harp. I play lever harp. Getting a nice sound is really easy. Balancing the instrument is a bit awkward for lap harps, but pretty easy for floor harps. Reading two clefs at once and playing different notes in both hands is HARD, and you hit that fast. I'd say the learning curve is deceptively easy for the first few weeks to month or so, and then it abruptly shoots skyward until you get used to the paired staves and contrary motion. Then it calms down a bit, but it is no longer easy.
@@88boysss I see. That's a tough situation to be in for sure... I play piano already, so I won't be making a video about learning it. But if I get time, I can create a video to point beginners in the right direction, with channels to learn from and the best books to learn from. I hope that will be helpful for you!
Interesting I agree mostly ja! But where is the basoon _as a string player I would put the violin as more difficult than the double bass unless you are a tiny weakling
I think trumpet is harder ultimately, but in the beginning it's simpler than sax. Sax is more complicated in terms of assembly, learning how to use the reed, and memorizing the fingering. Flute is fairly straightforward, except for getting into the second register, which is similar to changing the harmonic on trumpet. That's my opinion. I'd like to hear more about your experiences!
@@gracewallisstudio Trombone, and still found sax much easier than trumpet, in terms of sustaining notes and building range and sound. A normal trumpet beginner sounds like a dying duck typically. Then of course you are going to pay that as a sax player by being asked to play on average more difficult parts, but still...
Your rank doesn't mention that in the orchestra every wind player is a soloist and every fail is much more critical for the whole performance. Some psychological difficulties should be also taken in mind. French horn is surely above viola in this aspect.
True, as I mentioned in the introduction, this ranking only takes into account how difficult the instruments are to learn from the beginning, rather than include other factors such as performance, repertoire, or how long they take to reach a certain level.
Imagine that your instrument aggressively and persistently gaslights you the entire time you try to work with it... THAT'S THE OBOE! There's good reason that the Guinness Book of World Records lists it as the most difficult instrument to play. Can you make a noise out of it easily? Possibly, with a reed that costs $30 or more and lasts a week or two if your technique isn't crap. Will anybody WANT you to make noise with it? Unlikely for a few years. Oh, and the reason an orchestra tunes to the oboe is two fold; 1) the complex partials produced can be heard through all the other noise. 2) more critically, the oboe CAN'T BE ADJUSTED from the pitch the reed plays at, which is integral to the scaling of the particular instrument it was designed for. You can't pull it out and push it in because that just makes the whole affair play out of tune with itself. And that's the simple stuff. Does every instrument have its own difficulties which a professional has to practice thousands of hours to master? Absolutely. Is there an instrument that demands more aural, athletic and psychological fortitude plus skilled craftsmanship than the oboe? Not even close.
My brother yelled at me for the horrible sound in my first year of playing😂 I relate to this it’s sooo hard but I’m starting to memorize pitches to play in tune and my tone is starting to sound more rich as I rely less on a tuner
@@SS____________ If you're still at it after a year, you likely have the fortitude to keep going with it your whole life👍 Some "pro" tips: The warmer the instrument is when you start playing, the less likely you'll be bothered with watery tone holes (I use my arm pits to get it warm before blowing wet air into it. Sounds gross but it's effective as long as your personal hygiene is good 🤪); To warm up for practicing do low-note long tones. The lower & longer the better. It opens your embouchure and keeps the initial moisture stream going past the high tone holes; Don't be afraid to soak the reed a long time (Remember it grew up in what almost amounts to a rice patty). If the humidity gets below 35% it's almost impossible to keep it wet because it's so small. That's frustrating, but drinking water frequently while you're playing helps prevent the reed from drying out while you play on it (yes, that's possible🙄); To help with pitch control, play with "other people" as much as possible. That's easy these days with UA-cam. Find music you'd like to play, check that the recording is near the "concert pitch" of your instrument to avoid severe reaching, and just play along with it the best you can, even if it's just finding a few notes that work and holding them while you listen. I jam with a lot of Indie Pop & Funk Jazz, even the Rolling Stones. It's fun, affirms your ear and builds stamina like nothing else you'll do in a bubble by yourself.😎
"TRUMPET IS THE MOST DIFFICULT OF THE BRASS INSTRUMENTS" --- have to disagree, but then again I came from learning the horn from day one, so trumpet was extremely easy
I said that trumpet embouchure is the most difficult of the brass instruments. Other than that, generally speaking, I believe trumpet the simplest to pick up and play.
@@gracewallisstudio Ah, that makes total sense. Yeah I can see that, the space you have in the mouthpiece is a lot different than that of a horn, but I think because of the size, generally people can make a note immediately. I actually find the tuba mouthpiece very difficult to accurately play, since you have to be able to control the vibration of your lips when they are moving way slower to hit those lower notes
I don't want to sound sexist, but everything you have said about the double bass is a total non-issue for me. I have never heard any of my male counterparts point to the size of the instrument and its scale as a deterent to learning how to play it. Sorry but for several other reasons probably best left unsaid, I disagree. It has been a joy for me to learn over the past two years.
@@gracewallisstudio Oh, I dunno that it's so much a matter of luck, as it is a great appreciation for the instrument, and a genuine desire/determination to learn how to play it. Couple that with the musical acumen and physical ability to do so, and indeed it has been and continues to be a joyful learning experience. Like I said, I disagree.
@@gracewallisstudio You're quite welcome! Actually, it's based more on years of musical study, learning, and practical experience with various bass clef notated instruments, than it is on "opinion". But you're welcome nevertheless.
I was an Oboe player and the Oboe is #1 in difficulty, no questions asked. you not only have to be a Musician but a Craftsman making reeds and everything about the Oboe is EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your videos actually helped me a lot in choosing what instrument to start on, so.. thank you. and yes, i choose the trumpet :D planning to take up the saxophone in the future (1 to 2 years down the line)
I'm glad to hear that! The trumpet is such a happy instrument, and so is saxophone. I'm sure that you'll enjoy the journey!
This is so cool to hear about from the point of view of someone who’s tried them!! Was very excited watching this.
I have played quite a few instruments to varying levels, so here would be my personal list of orchestral instruments from easiest to hardest:
1. Cornet/trumpet - it has been 10 years since I started so maybe the initial difficulties have been lost to time, but once you know how to buzz, it’s pretty simple. 3 valves, not too easy to split notes, treble clef. Also learning this means you can quite easily learn other brass instruments.
2. French horn - admittedly this is my current instrument I’m learning so I’ve played very little, but my initial thoughts were it was farrrr easier than I was expecting. It’s heavy but you’ll get used to that, and it’s sO much easier to go up and down to notes than cornet, meaning initially there is a wide range of notes you can hit off the bat. Getting a good tone is a bit harder, and also being able to hit the note you’re wanting to is tricky, but I love it 😍 (warning, probably biased cause this is my favourite).
3. Flute - I can barely play it so for me it’s tricky, but once you have your embouchure down the fingering and pitching of notes is pretty easy. Just a fancy recorder pretty much, and isn’t transposing. I just don’t really like it 🤡
4. Clarinet - my current ‘main’ instrument, although I’ve only been playing 4 months. Initially it took agesssss to be able to make a sound. The correct embouchure, and the amount of air support needed makes this tricky. Don’t even get me started on the register key or the break or my poor pinkies. Also my tone sucks so it’s tricky in the sense of there’s a very big learning curve to sounding good. We love them though, goose squad.
5. Violin - absolutely traumatic. Painful, tricky to play quickly, and multitasking is hard. Once you get the basics down it’s pretty simple in concept, but then actually trying to play it is sO hard. Just sound like a screaming cat or can only play incredibly slowly. Again probably biased but, definitely the hardest for me. Easier than clarinet to learn initially, but takes more time to make a decent sound.
This is a really good perspective, especially since you've spent more time on some of these.
Personally I had no problem getting a sound out of the clarinet, but the abuse on the pinkies cannot be overstated. French horn was quite easy to get a decent tone at first, since after you get trumpet down the brass embouchure translates easily. But hitting the right notes consistently is triiiicckkky...
"Violin - absolutely traumatic" LMAO a truer word was never spoken.
Thank you for your valuable perspective! Now go try out an oboe LOL
I think you're pretty much spot on with everything you said. The Oboe is a beligerent winch in which getting her to speak is a bloomin fight and no mistake. I'm too old for he pressure it takes to blow through those tiny reeds (my brains were bleeding right out of my ears ) but I might try again sometime. I've never tried the French Horn ( too expensive ) but you're right from what I've heard ( she is treaturous , and is renown for shifting pitch on you at the most inopportune time ). All acoustic instruments including the human voice are better than drugs on the human nervous system when played well. But that's the rub isn't it. Some may be easier than others but no child should be given that any of them is easy.
You speak the truth...
You didn’t even get to how big and heavy a double bass is to carry around and travel with…
You speak the truth, sir...
That’s more of an inconvenience, not really how difficult it is to learn
Your back! Yeah🎉🕺. Well you just made all the bass players in the world happy. That's fine. They deserve more attention than they get. Well......my personal experience learning the woodwinds and brass is similar to yours. Trumpet...hard, clarinet.... easy, saxophone....easy and fun, flute.... frustrating until you get the embouchure down. Never tried the bowed strings but I do own a violin and want to learn. I feel the real answer is what interests you the most. That will be the instrument you love. I started on drums so to me it's easy to start but hard to "master". Probably similar to keyboard instruments. Maybe some elementary school band or orchestra directors can chime in with their experience with kids. Anyhow....glad your back and look forward to the next video! 🎺🎵🎼🎷
Ahahaha just wait for the pain...string instruments are quite justly placed at the top of my list! If you desire to learn, it will be worth it, but it truly requires "beginner's mind" to get through the learning curve.
Oh my, I would love to learn the drums...perhaps they deserve a series in the future, eh?
@@gracewallisstudio Feeling ambitious? Learn ALL the percussion instruments. I'm too chicken to play tympani in the orchestra. If you sweet talk me I might play the bells or xylophone. Otherwise, I'm in the back running between the bass drum, cymbals, snare, wood blocks, cow bell (gotta have it), tom toms and gong.
Do you think your instrument belongs higher up on my list? Let me know!
Yes, percussion
Those children can’t hold a stick correctly till hs nor can they produce a continuous sound in rolls also u need both main clefs memorized not just 1
Hiya!! I'm just discovering your channel!! Interesting rankings. I played the clarinet in Elementary school, and studied the sax for one awful half-summer when I kept sounding like Lucy Ricardo, then I switched to the oboe and the clouds parted, and I quickly advanced. As a former oboist, I think it's too bad you didn't get to try the bassoon. When I was studying oboists and bassoonists didn't typically BUY their reeds - they MADE them, adding a full-time artisan craft to the full-time artist craft of playing the instrument. How you sound is partially a function of the reeds, so reed maintenance as a factor can't be overstated, which is why you see oboists checking in with their reeds and soaking them during rests and breaks. I also remember being told the oboe embouchure has no muscle memory, so if you goof off a few days in a row and don't practice, it basically goes away completely and it's like starting over. I remember watching the flute section with such envy for how easy they seemed to have it, even though I LOVED the sound I made on the oboe when it was all clicking, but it was such a high-maintenance instrument, I basically had to choose between it and "normal" life. Nowadays I play the EWI in my videos, and I have it set to oboe fingerings.
Did you enjoy playing saxophone trumpet and clarinet? Double bass is like a giant bass guitar I thought you would have had Oboe higher than that. I hope you get a new instrument soon to play.
I really enjoyed sax, trumpet and clarinet. Honestly, the fact that they are easier to learn made me much more comfortable with them from the beginning.
Oboe was the highest of all of the wind instruments. However, I think all of the string instruments are more difficult than any of the wind instruments, at least at the beginning.
Love this video, and thanks for sharing this as someone whose tried learning all the instruments :)
I'll share a few things as an accomplished pianist/violinist/violist who also attempted the flute for a year due to school band requirements.
I think mastering tone production is equally difficult on all wind and string instruments, though you can certainly start sounding good quicker on some instruments than others. I think all the difficulties you mentioned with learning the violin applies equally to all bowed string instruments (albeit with their differences): left and right hand coordination, bow control, intonation, all of that. Although it is probably the easiest to squeak on a violin, the extremely thick strings on a double bass make producing a sound very difficult. Also, all of the techniques like shifting, spiccato, etc, are not usually learned until at least a year into playing any string instrument, and even that's a super rough estimate. In fact, cellists and bassists learn shifting much earlier than violinists and violists because they must do it more often due to the wider spacing.
In terms of producing a decent quality of tone as fast as possible, I think the clarinet and sax win here. I find that to me, beginning band clarinet and saxophone students have better tone quality compared to other instrumentalists in a beginner school band. Although the sounds of a beginner brass player are not quite like the squeaks and squawks of a beginner violinist, beginning brass can still sound quite unpleasant to me, and achieving a pure tone I think is equally challenging for both brass and orchestral string players. This video may be insightful to watch. ua-cam.com/video/YdZJqPO0vsw/v-deo.html
One thing that for me was extremely frustrating about the flute was how weak my tone was in volume as a beginner. My sound was so darn airy that you could barely hear me even 2 metres away. Not having proper technical instruction in a school band made matters worse, but for me being able to produce a big, full sound, even if it's rather ugly, is more gratifying than producing a really airy tone that barely travels.
I had a year of private flute lessons and even with the teacher right there, it took a lllooonnngg time to get a strong, clear tone. I have since then switched to the fife and simple flute. I must be a sucker for punishment.
Good to know! Perhaps I would have more luck with the tin whistle...? At any rate, my neighbors would be able to track my progress!
I will add one more thing about why young children tend to learn the violin and the cello and not wind/brass instruments. Violin is very mechanical/fine motor oriented, while learning wind instruments is a lot more internal/conceptual. Children tend to learn well through imitation and repetition, while teens and adults tend to conceptualize more. I will admit that violinists have to juggle more skills than probably many other instruments, but still. I think violin intonation is definitely ear training/muscle memory oriented, which young children tend to be conducive to, while learning wind instruments is a much more internal process that is more conceptual and requires a certain amount of maturity to fully understand. There's also the issue of dental changes that occur in childhood that make learning wind instruments more challenging, not to mention that wind instruments can't be easily scaled down for smaller people.
I'm a double bassist and i am really surprised with the results! i find ur rant so hilarious omg hahaha 🤣🤣🤣 NOW I KNOW I'M PLAYING THE HARDEST INSTRUMENT in ur opinion 💀😂 thanks for sharing! 🙌
All the respect to you for playing double bass...
Such a shame you couldn’t get your hands on a bassoon. I would have been interested to see where it would have landed.
I bet it would be somewhere between oboe and violin...possibly higher. A friend of mine in college referred to it as "the farting bedpost" so I'm sure that's indicative somehow.
The oboe is listed in the Guinness book of world records as the most difficult instrument.
99% it depends on a good reed. When you have it, playing oboe is much easier. And in fact the orchestral parts for oboe are usually not so technically complicated.
We have a 4th grade Clarinet student and a 3rd grade viola student. I played clarinet when I was younger, and our 4th grader seems to be moving right along at about the pace I expected. On the other hand, our viola student seems to be struggling. String instruments always seemed more complicated to learn, but I didn’t know how much of that was just my lack of familiarity. A thing always seem harder when we don’t know how to do it. So hearing your opinion on this was extremely helpful. Actually, after hearing some of your thoughts, I think he may be moving along just fine. I’ll encourage him to stick with it a little longer. I don’t think he hates it. I think he’s just frustrated he’s not making beautiful music yet lol
I totally agree, and I hope he sticks with it long enough to make beautiful music someday!
Recorder is a weird one. It starts out as a very easy woodwind, then proceeds to get a lot harder. Forked fingerings, trill fingerings, alternate fingerings, transposition - soprano is in C 1 octave above written, but alto is in F, tenor in C, sopranino in C, bass in F but in bass clef an octave above written. There's also voiceflute in D, and G altos and great basses and garkleins and contrabasses... And the transposition is done by the player in their head, not the music. Some of them are very large and simply not designed for people with small hands, so be careful when picking tenor recorders especially so you don't hurt yourself.
When it comes to taking them apart and putting together: I usually take 3 different sizes of instrument to ensemble. It takes a while to take everything apart and clean it, especially the bass and its five pieces plus neckstrap.
People really underestimate the recorder.
Oh yeah, you didn't play tuba, though, I wouldn't think it would rank high as it's more its sheer size and air needs vs the smaller brass instruments. Wanted to learn double bass yet ended up picking up bass guitar since it's more affordable, but have seen some vids comparing the two and how different simply plucking them are with the double bass requiring a lot more effort for obvious reasons.
Still wanting to learn an orchestral string instrument, I have ordered an electric cello, however.
I agree with Eddie Izzard; tuba is probably some kind of punishment they assign for community service. Baritone, I could possibly do.
Could you potentially borrow a double bass? I don't know why, but I have an abundance of bassist friends, and they are super chill. Might be fun to try out!
Also unrelated, but what exactly isドーソ ? LOL
@@gracewallisstudio
Think tuba gets a bit more credit in Ohio due to the Ohio State University Marching Band's "Script Ohio" 'i' dot. Plus, I'm big, so whenever I play anything smaller, like an euphonium, all I hear is how tiny I make it look 🤣
There happen to be a couple places I know that would rent a double bass (and I'm still open to trying it eventually), but I opted for cello partly for the conveniently smaller size and also, since I already play bass and tuba, to have new parts to potentially learn. As for electric, I like being able to practice bass (and keyboard) quietly, so, since a bowed string instrument would be completely new to me, figured I'd be more likely to fit in consistent practice that way within my varying work schedule. Plus, good electric cellos (I went with NS Design) are said to be cheaper than decent acoustic, so I figured I'd go all in.
Oh, as for my icon, it's comic book onomatopoeia (like the "BANG" or "POW" used in the old '60s Batman show) yet is the Japanese comic equivalent of "BOOM"
@@Cysubtor_8vb I've definitely heard of some fantastic electric cellos. I know Jonathan Humphries has a few videos about them.
I've never seen the ドーソonomatopoeia before. Must not be reading the right genre 😉
I Hope you find a Bassoon for rent soon, I‘m very unsure if I should pick up the Bassoon or Oboe and your videos are really good to get started easier haha
Bassoons are so hard to get ahold of...I hope you have better luck than I did!
I would say that the Bassoon is slightly easier. The reed is a lot more forgiving.
@@jum4092 that's very handy, because I chose the bassoon anyways. I just like its sound a bit more
Having played most of the instruments on your list I broadly agree with you.
Obviously you can’t cover everything so here is my two pence worth…
I think there is also a big factor played by natural abilities. Not meaning the rubbish about people being naturally talented, but about what aspects people find hard or easy naturally. So for brass, an enormous advantage is someone with a really good understanding of pitch, specifically relative pitch. On a wind instrument you can get a lot further before you need very very good abilities with tuning, but with brass you’ve got to work with hat straight away. Wind is nicer if you are tune, and you’ll go further, but you’ll get a long way without it.
There is a lot to be said for the order in which you learn. For me, recorder, violin, flute, sax, clarinet, trombone, oboe, shawm, sackbut, baroque oboe, baroque flute, bassoon, baroque bassoon, cello. There are a lot of transferable skills with any instrument, but I think within instrument families there are more of them, so picking up another wind when you’ve got some basics will bias your perception of difficulty.
Another factor is natural tendency towards the role that instrument plays in an ensemble. Do you like lots of counting then coming in loud and blowing everyone off their seats, do you want to float on the top, do you want the tune, do you want to be in a section or be solo. Will all influence how hard the instrument seems, I was playing fine on trombone on my own, probably about grade 7 in the English Abrsm system. But put me in an orchestra and I can’t do it all. On sackbut I was playing on a quartet and doing absolutely fine. Similar instrument but totally different role.
Strings will remain a mystery to me. Violin, eight years and got no where despite already reading music, having ensemble skills etc. cello years later is hard but significantly easier. Possibly because of overall musical experience. But I don’t feel anything I learned on violin helped at all.
Interesting video. Thank you very much.
I'm assuming you've already tried the usual places for renting a bassoon (Bocal Majority, MMI, and Forrests) but have issues with them requiring a teacher? If it's a matter of availability, they usually have wait lists. Someone mentioned on the bassoon subreddit that they rented from a local high school for very cheap. Well funded middle and high school bands usually have school owned bassoons just sitting around waiting to be used. They're also probably less worried about you not having a teacher / accidental damage since I'm sure you're more careful than the avg middle or high schooler. However, they're usually not very well maintained, so difficulties could be due to the instrument instead of you or the reed (get a handmade one). It's probably worth having a bassoonist or repair tech who's comfortable with bassoons (double reeds are relatively rare, so most repair techs don't have experience with them) look it over unless the band director says it's been serviced recently.
How did you get your hands on the oboe? Double reeders often hangout together, so I would try asking your oboe connection / rental company about bassoons too. Hope you can try the bassoon soon!
Thanks for the tips! I might have a lead on a bassoon, but we shall see if I have the courage to learn it.
I agree with you for the most part.....but i think sax and clarinet are easier than trumpet....that's my only change here
I noticed you missed orchestral harp. Harpists typically start on a lever harp, which is smaller and cheaper, but many lever harpists never choose to play orchestral harp. I play lever harp. Getting a nice sound is really easy. Balancing the instrument is a bit awkward for lap harps, but pretty easy for floor harps. Reading two clefs at once and playing different notes in both hands is HARD, and you hit that fast. I'd say the learning curve is deceptively easy for the first few weeks to month or so, and then it abruptly shoots skyward until you get used to the paired staves and contrary motion. Then it calms down a bit, but it is no longer easy.
Excellent
No tuba? Would enjoy watching you try it out 😂
Which of these instruments were your favorites to play?
Trumpet and sax!
Davie504 just posted a video short on "hardest instrument ever", I think you've been noticed.😳
Hahaha that video was great!
Hi! What is your IG? Could you please do the piano project?
Hey! I don't have any social media accounts aside from UA-cam. What kind of piano project are you thinking of?
I have a keyboard but I cant affort a teacher. So I am looking for your video about resourceful practice for piano
@@88boysss I see. That's a tough situation to be in for sure...
I play piano already, so I won't be making a video about learning it. But if I get time, I can create a video to point beginners in the right direction, with channels to learn from and the best books to learn from.
I hope that will be helpful for you!
Do you already read music notes, or are you starting from scratch? (If you don't mind me asking...)
@@gracewallisstudio No not yet! I am music blined
Interesting I agree mostly ja! But where is the basoon _as a string player I would put the violin as more difficult than the double bass unless you are a tiny weakling
Guess I'm a tiny weakling...because I found it very difficult to play!
Probably violin, bassoon or clarinet
I love this but Trumpet is definitely waaaay harder to learn than sax or flute
I think trumpet is harder ultimately, but in the beginning it's simpler than sax. Sax is more complicated in terms of assembly, learning how to use the reed, and memorizing the fingering. Flute is fairly straightforward, except for getting into the second register, which is similar to changing the harmonic on trumpet.
That's my opinion. I'd like to hear more about your experiences!
Agree, trumpet is totally in another tier in terms of difficulty when compared with sax
@@gabrielepicco3582 Did you learn sax or trumpet first?
@@gracewallisstudio Trombone, and still found sax much easier than trumpet, in terms of sustaining notes and building range and sound. A normal trumpet beginner sounds like a dying duck typically. Then of course you are going to pay that as a sax player by being asked to play on average more difficult parts, but still...
@@gabrielepicco3582 Interesting, thanks for your perspective!
You forgot the Bassoon...
Your rank doesn't mention that in the orchestra every wind player is a soloist and every fail is much more critical for the whole performance. Some psychological difficulties should be also taken in mind. French horn is surely above viola in this aspect.
True, as I mentioned in the introduction, this ranking only takes into account how difficult the instruments are to learn from the beginning, rather than include other factors such as performance, repertoire, or how long they take to reach a certain level.
Imagine that your instrument aggressively and persistently gaslights you the entire time you try to work with it... THAT'S THE OBOE! There's good reason that the Guinness Book of World Records lists it as the most difficult instrument to play. Can you make a noise out of it easily? Possibly, with a reed that costs $30 or more and lasts a week or two if your technique isn't crap. Will anybody WANT you to make noise with it? Unlikely for a few years. Oh, and the reason an orchestra tunes to the oboe is two fold; 1) the complex partials produced can be heard through all the other noise. 2) more critically, the oboe CAN'T BE ADJUSTED from the pitch the reed plays at, which is integral to the scaling of the particular instrument it was designed for. You can't pull it out and push it in because that just makes the whole affair play out of tune with itself. And that's the simple stuff. Does every instrument have its own difficulties which a professional has to practice thousands of hours to master? Absolutely. Is there an instrument that demands more aural, athletic and psychological fortitude plus skilled craftsmanship than the oboe? Not even close.
My brother yelled at me for the horrible sound in my first year of playing😂 I relate to this it’s sooo hard but I’m starting to memorize pitches to play in tune and my tone is starting to sound more rich as I rely less on a tuner
@@SS____________ If you're still at it after a year, you likely have the fortitude to keep going with it your whole life👍 Some "pro" tips: The warmer the instrument is when you start playing, the less likely you'll be bothered with watery tone holes (I use my arm pits to get it warm before blowing wet air into it. Sounds gross but it's effective as long as your personal hygiene is good 🤪); To warm up for practicing do low-note long tones. The lower & longer the better. It opens your embouchure and keeps the initial moisture stream going past the high tone holes; Don't be afraid to soak the reed a long time (Remember it grew up in what almost amounts to a rice patty). If the humidity gets below 35% it's almost impossible to keep it wet because it's so small. That's frustrating, but drinking water frequently while you're playing helps prevent the reed from drying out while you play on it (yes, that's possible🙄); To help with pitch control, play with "other people" as much as possible. That's easy these days with UA-cam. Find music you'd like to play, check that the recording is near the "concert pitch" of your instrument to avoid severe reaching, and just play along with it the best you can, even if it's just finding a few notes that work and holding them while you listen. I jam with a lot of Indie Pop & Funk Jazz, even the Rolling Stones. It's fun, affirms your ear and builds stamina like nothing else you'll do in a bubble by yourself.😎
"TRUMPET IS THE MOST DIFFICULT OF THE BRASS INSTRUMENTS" --- have to disagree, but then again I came from learning the horn from day one, so trumpet was extremely easy
I said that trumpet embouchure is the most difficult of the brass instruments. Other than that, generally speaking, I believe trumpet the simplest to pick up and play.
@@gracewallisstudio Ah, that makes total sense. Yeah I can see that, the space you have in the mouthpiece is a lot different than that of a horn, but I think because of the size, generally people can make a note immediately. I actually find the tuba mouthpiece very difficult to accurately play, since you have to be able to control the vibration of your lips when they are moving way slower to hit those lower notes
I don't want to sound sexist, but everything you have said about the double bass is a total non-issue for me. I have never heard any of my male counterparts point to the size of the instrument and its scale as a deterent to learning how to play it. Sorry but for several other reasons probably best left unsaid, I disagree. It has been a joy for me to learn over the past two years.
Lucky you LOL
@@gracewallisstudio
Oh, I dunno that it's so much a matter of luck, as it is a great appreciation for the instrument, and a genuine desire/determination to learn how to play it.
Couple that with the musical acumen and physical ability to do so, and indeed it has been and continues to be a joyful learning experience. Like I said, I disagree.
@@bustabass9025 Thanks for your opinion!
@@gracewallisstudio
You're quite welcome!
Actually, it's based more on years of musical study, learning, and practical experience with various bass clef notated instruments, than it is on "opinion". But you're welcome nevertheless.