..Don't say cowbell or triangle. When it comes to art, i'm more of a drawing/painting guy. I saw a beautiful looking, shiny purple ukelele in my town. I'm tempted for a change. Are Ukes easy to pick up and learn?

Marrk said:

..Don't say cowbell or triangle. When it comes to art, i'm more of a drawing/painting guy. I saw a beautiful looking, shiny purple ukelele in my town. I'm tempted for a change. Are Ukes easy to pick up and learn?

Any instrument takes time, practice, and dedication to master. You should pick something you like and do it because it brings you fulfillment.

Marrk said:

..Don't say cowbell or triangle. When it comes to art, i'm more of a drawing/painting guy. I saw a beautiful looking, shiny purple ukelele in my town. I'm tempted for a change. Are Ukes easy to pick up and learn?

sTEP away from the Ukelele - they are singularly the most irritating commercial representation of advertising schmaltz ever invented. If you can find it, go for a violin - that way you still have the plinky plonk option, and when you're ready you can go all superdramatic Sherlock Holmes!

Ive always played guitar on and off since I was 12 but I started taking it seriously earlier this year.. and Prince passing definitely has encouraged me to practice more and play better in honor of him. He was the first person who I saw on tv as a kid that made me want to play guitar, which of course led me to explore the music of Prince's influences such as Hendrix anhd Santana.. and later I discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan on my own

Pretty sure by now, most of us have mastered the... Tamborine.

Marrk said:

..Don't say cowbell or triangle. When it comes to art, i'm more of a drawing/painting guy. I saw a beautiful looking, shiny purple ukelele in my town. I'm tempted for a change. Are Ukes easy to pick up and learn?

Every instrument worth learning is difficult to learn. My advice is don't pick something based on whether it's going to be easy. Pick something that you are SERIOUSLY interested in learning and willing to put in the TIME and REPETITION to learn it. Otherwise, I promise you will just waste your time and learn nothing. And also... Everyone sucks at the beginning and it takes a lot of time and practice to get better.

My advice... Guitar or piano.

Prince inspired me to buy a piano AND learn to play it - if only for the sole purpose of spending thousands of dollars on lessons to learn just ONE of his songs. Happy. Bucket list item? Check.

UPDATE : ok, learned the first verse of Purple Rain. Now just need to learn the rest...........?

(it's a start)

[Edited 5/21/16 22:24pm]

I am taking piano classes with my elementary school daughter... I highly recommend it. I think it's much easier to learn something like guitar if you learn piano first, just to understand things like chords and keys.

Just get a guitar.

.

In just two or three days you can actually be playing one of Prince's greatest songs, "The Cross."

.

Not joking. That song is as basic as it gets. Once you get that down, you'll see how simple this music thing can be and you'll be gung ho to tackle other songs on your instrument.

.

Just get a guitar. Believe me, by this time next week you'll be glad you did. And you'll be playing "The Cross" for everyone.

Cloreen said:

Just get a guitar.

.

In just two or three days you can actually be playing one of Prince's greatest songs, "The Cross."

.

Not joking. That song is as basic as it gets. Once you get that down, you'll see how simple this music thing can be and you'll be gung ho to tackle other songs on your instrument.

.

Just get a guitar. Believe me, by this time next week you'll be glad you did. And you'll be playing "The Cross" for everyone.

Haha........ You're so right. I bought mine several years ago and only hanging it around my neck was a magical feeling. Walking around with it hanging on my back made me feel a little like Prince and I could not even play a chord. Learning The Cross made me go out of my mind at the time, proud as can be.

Yep, I agree, get a guitar!!

I'm looking for a bass guitar...

A guitar it will be...

I am glad to read your message. I have played the guitar since the late 90s. I am not very good at it, but can manage to play enough to entertain myself. I've never had a lesson and it would show if I ever tried to play publicly.

However, since Prince died I have felt a strong desire to take the time to learn to play the guitar properly. And, as you have stated, I want to do this to honor the talent of the man who brought me so much joy during his guitar performances. I am a 40 year old white guy that can't dance, but whenever I heard or saw Prince playing his guitar I felt on the inside exactly how Prince looked on the outside.

So, I am committing myself to becoming a guitar player. And a good one.

Coincidentally, I was at the One Nite Alone show in Louisville, KY, where Prince let members of the NPG music club come on stage during the sound check to play his guitar. What I would've given to have possessed just a tiny bit of guitar talent at that time to have had the confidence to walk up on stage when he said "any guitar players in the house?"

In honor of Prince, let's do this thing proper. Good luck to you!

I'm going to learn piano. I tried guitar a few times a few years ago but I feel like piano is more my speed.

If you buy a bass, and learn how to play like Prince does on Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, The Time albums, and how Andre Cymone plays on Living In The New Wave and Surviving In The 80s...

You've very much found out about some of the most important parts of the Minneapolis Sound "formula". Prince and Andre Cymone managed to make the bass sound minimalistic and groovy at the same time. It's often very much based on Larry Graham, but they replaced some of the notes with air or ghost notes, as well as making it sound a bit more syncopated. Prince would also mix a synth bass with his basslines occationally.

They would often make to bass replace some of the parts that the drums should have played. Because Prince either programmed very minimalistic drum patterns, or played it in a new wave discoish way. It was plenty of room in between to slap and pop the bass. However, he/they took advantage of the air in between, and would still let it breath after the basslines was recorded. It's some of the reason why the prince sound has so much attitude. Small staccato hits with different instruments with alot of personality and edge.

ilo said:

Drums tickle your fancy? They're fun to play. The first thing I learnt on the drums was a simple 4/4 rock beat. You'll find alot of simple pop songs follow the same formula. Once you get the hang of that then you'll be able to drum along to Controversy, Uptown, 17 Days, I Wanna Be Your Lover and I Feel For You in no time (to name a few)

I'm going the other direction. I still have the piano my parents bought when my sisters and I were little. I took eight years of piano lessons on that thing, but almost never play it. I'm going to donate it in Prince's memory to a local preschool for underprivileged kids.

AlgeriaTouchshreek said:

Marrk said:

..Don't say cowbell or triangle. When it comes to art, i'm more of a drawing/painting guy. I saw a beautiful looking, shiny purple ukelele in my town. I'm tempted for a change. Are Ukes easy to pick up and learn?

sTEP away from the Ukelele - they are singularly the most irritating commercial representation of advertising schmaltz ever invented. If you can find it, go for a violin - that way you still have the plinky plonk option, and when you're ready you can go all superdramatic Sherlock Holmes!

Anyone who writes stuff like this clearly has no clue whatsoever what a ukulele even is (as evidenced by spelling it 'ukelele'). And there are electric ukuleles too.

I'm sure Prince wouldn't berate any instrument so pick whatever you like. A ukulele might be a very good choice for a beginner (and believe it or not, Purple Rain is actually easier to play on a ukulele than guitar, hmmm...).

This coming from someone who has been playing various different instruments for over thirty years. I generally wouldn't recommend a violin for a beginner unless you're really into it. Same goes for brass instruments.

Genesia said:

I'm going the other direction. I still have the piano my parents bought when my sisters and I were little. I took eight years of piano lessons on that thing, but almost never play it. I'm going to donate it in Prince's memory to a local preschool for underprivileged kids.

amazing, wonderful, beautiful response. Your gift might help the next generation of music talent that, without, wouldn't have had a voice or outlet.

Genesia said:

I'm going the other direction. I still have the piano my parents bought when my sisters and I were little. I took eight years of piano lessons on that thing, but almost never play it. I'm going to donate it in Prince's memory to a local preschool for underprivileged kids.

Genesia said:

I'm going the other direction. I still have the piano my parents bought when my sisters and I were little. I took eight years of piano lessons on that thing, but almost never play it. I'm going to donate it in Prince's memory to a local preschool for underprivileged kids.

You just put a big smile on my face.

Cloreen said:

Just get a guitar.

.

In just two or three days you can actually be playing one of Prince's greatest songs, "The Cross."

.

Not joking. That song is as basic as it gets. Once you get that down, you'll see how simple this music thing can be and you'll be gung ho to tackle other songs on your instrument.

.

Just get a guitar. Believe me, by this time next week you'll be glad you did. And you'll be playing "The Cross" for everyone.

Hehe - so true! This was my first Prince song on guitar!

isobelfq said:

Genesia said:

I'm going the other direction. I still have the piano my parents bought when my sisters and I were little. I took eight years of piano lessons on that thing, but almost never play it. I'm going to donate it in Prince's memory to a local preschool for underprivileged kids.

amazing, wonderful, beautiful response. Your gift might help the next generation of music talent that, without, wouldn't have had a voice or outlet.

That is my hope. With any luck, one of those kids (or one of their teachers) will be better at it than I was.

suomynona said:

Pretty sure by now, most of us have mastered the... Tamborine.

Or the Tamboracca..

[Edited 5/30/16 12:58pm]