ameyerchs

Hey all...first post ever so sorry if I sound a bit naive. I grew up playing piano, mainly classical and pop, for 15+ years. I play just a couple of times of year now, but am finally shipping my grand concert piano down here, so excited to get going again. That aside, I've decided I would love to possibly learn a new instrument, with my ultimate goal (personal and social) being to play in a band with others. I also can sing alto, not fantastic, but have at the least mediocre set of pipes. So it'd be important to me to be able to play and instrument and sing. And I'm not particular to a genre necessarily...bluegrass, jazz, rock...open.

I'm trying to decide if I use the skills I already have and transfer them to becoming great on the keyboard, but, I don't know any of the technical skills that go along with that. Other thoughts, I've had a guitar for 10+ years and love the idea of playing it, just never really have stuck with it. Seems like it may be more involved than I have time for. I had a lady told me if I'm busy, bass is easy to learn to get started playing with others. And I'm a busy hospice nurse, so I can't dedicate hours every single day to practicing (30 minutes a day on weeknights is ideal). I can't decide if I'm very interested in that or not at all, although upright is another story. Last, I have always had an obsession with the drums. I feel like it's something that would be more natural for me. I'd have to have an electronic set though, as I live in a quiet apartment building.

I should note that I have a strong ear (at least for piano I did) so theory was always difficult for me to make sense of, as I didn't necessarily "need" to (reading up on it right now, as that one bit me in the a**).

Whatever I choose, definitely planning on getting at least a couple of months worth of lessons. Also, I hang out with a lot of people that aren't interested in music, will take any advice on how expand my horizons from a social perspective. Appreciate any comments at all.

Plankton

From what you've pointed out above, it would seem that you narrowed down your scope to playing the drums. As I was reading, I was first thinking guitar, since it's one of the more seamless transitions from keys, then you put the kibosh on that, so I was thinking bass... shot that one down too. You ending up with drums is a fairly normal transition though. Every musician must be a percussionist in their own right no matter what instrument they play, so the idea of time signatures is no great leap here. A good electronic set with some headphones would be a great way to start. I'd start by playing along with some of your favorites, and maybe pick up some drum tabs. There are thousands of youtube demo's for beginners and everything else in between too.

As for interacting with other like-minded musicians, see if there are any open mic venues in your area. They're a good way to see what other people are into, and get some stage experience while you're at a beginner level. I've witnessed entire bands form from open mic participants getting together.

Good luck, and happy jammin!

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Frownland

Pick whichever instrument intrigues you most. If you want to apply your keyboard skills to something more, I'd suggest getting a Moog synth where you can mess with the electronics and synthesize some cool noises. Analog or digital are cool, analog seems to have a little more variety as far as synths go.

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_VincentAnthony

I'd say drums

Not only because I'm a drummer, rather because it's probably the only instrument you could practice on the go (tapping on your thighs while you're sitting down)