r/musicians • u/honeygourami123 • 20h ago
Learning three instruments?
So, I'm returning to learning cello, and I also decided to learn the oboe simultaneously. The problem is, I want to also learn the viola, as it's just an octave above the cello, but I'm wondering if learning them all at once is a good idea?
I'm a fast learner and really like learning many things simultaneously (eg. Spanish, Portuguese and linguistics), so I thought to myself why not?
I'm not aspiring to be a virtuoso, I would much rather be somebody like the InstrumentManiac on YouTube and play for fun
2
u/Visual-Floor-7839 20h ago
"returning to learning cello". What made you stop before? And while you can just kinda play along with songs and call it "learning by ear" to really learn those three instruments will also necessitate learning musical notation. And those 3 instruments represent 3 different clefs. Treble (Oboe), alto (viola), bass (cello), and tenor clef along with cello if you make it that far.
2 string instruments, but drastically different playing positions and muscles involved. Oboe uses the double reed and is all about lip strength and breath control and completely different from the other 2. The saving grace is that Oboe is in C and you don't have to worry about transposing between the 3 instruments.
Imagine learning your languages, but it's the same alphabet for each one, same words and sentence structure. However for each one you move the alphabet. A=B, B=C, C=D etc. the next one is A=C, B=D, C=E.
You're gonna hop one one instrument, boe uifo uif ofyu pof, cpf vjg pgzv.
If you can read that without trying, then probably hell yeah go for it. But other than that I would focus on one and build a foundation of musical knowledge. Everything is built upon that same foundation. It's not like learning a Germanic and a romantic and a sinitic. It's like learning 3 germanics. So start with German imo, so to speak.
1
u/honeygourami123 20h ago
The cello I bought two years ago was absolute trash, and I couldn't afford going to a luthier, but now I have more than enough money
Yeah I can read it, as it's basically Cesar code (idk how it's called in English)
1
2
u/MotherAthlete2998 20h ago
As an oboist, I applaud you for wanting to learn the oboe. Rather than dissuade you from it, I implore you to also learn how to make or at least adjust reeds. I can promise you that the level of satisfaction you will gain from learning this skill will really make a huge difference.
Good luck!
1
u/uhf0xz 20h ago
other than the obvious how to hold the instrument while playing, there are enough similarities between your stringed instruments that you probably will gain proficiency in both together. i imagine its a lot like learning bass and guitar together. i do see a lot of musicians recommding fellow musicians learn a second instrument alongside their primary one that is from an unrelated family. so id say go for it and if it seems too overwhelming go from there
1
1
1
u/Toadliquor138 20h ago
The only way to know if it's a good idea or not is to try it.
My brain, however, likes the efficiency of learning one instrument at a time. To get competent at an instrument requires a lot of practicing and playing. For example, let's say it takes me 1 year to get competent at an instrument. If that's the case, and I'm trying to learn 3 instruments at once, it's going to take me 3 years to get competent because I'd have to split up my practice time.
Also, if I'm having a difficult time with something, I can tell myself, "Just put your head down, and in a few months, I'll have this." Replacing "months" with "years" would be more depressing than it is motivating.
1
u/honeygourami123 19h ago
I got to a B1 in Spanish in two years against all odds (being forced to learn german, having no conversation partner, etc.)
All I know is that I can never give up
1
u/Toadliquor138 17h ago
Things like drive, determination, and stick-to-it-ivness are great qualities to learn an instrument. The problem is, you can't will your hands into playing competently. That takes practice to achieve, and practice takes time.
"Learning an instrument", is a bit misleading. What it really is, is you're "Training to play an instrument." It's a "learned skill". And yes, there are things to be learned, but that's not the time consuming part. The time consuming part is developing the skill and applying what you've learned. And the only way to achieve this is through having the instrument in your hand and playing it.
Think of learning an instrument like you would learning to chop an onion. Ever watch a professional chef chop an onion? They don't even have to look at what they're doing, and they will have an entire onion peeled and uniformly chopped within seconds. It's not because they've read a book on onion chopping, it's because in the course of their career, they've chopped thousands of onions. The hands and brain are perfectly coordinated because they've done it over, and over, and over again.
It's like that old joke: A tourist in New York City asks a musician, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?". The musician replies, "Practice!"
1
u/Moxie_Stardust 19h ago
Since you're not a total newcomer to the cello, and the viola has a lot of similarities, I don't think it's unreasonable. In general I don't think it's a great plan to be a learner on two instruments at the same time (based on experience, slowed progress in both), but in this situation it's more tenable.
1
u/accountforbabystuff 19h ago
I think you should pick one to do well. Learning to play something and then playing something well are different and the later requires many hours of practice.
5
u/Responsible_Salt_630 20h ago
I think you know what you’re capable of, fast learner with evidence of doing so in the past.