You’re asking us but let me ask – which is best for YOU? You can always pursue all of them later but you need to gather theory to be able to translate sounds to different instruments. A piano is hard to lug around. With a guitar, you’ve got to try to keep up with all this technology. A violin is a violin. Now I play guitar, just because it speaks to me. I’ve been doing it so long I know what it’s going to do before it does. But follow your heart. Don’t go through life wishing you would have done it your way.

OK, so your granny wants you to take the piano, your folks want you to take the guitar, and your granddaddy wants you to take the violin. The solution to this is quite simple: TAKE THE BASSOON!!!!

Now, seriously, you have to decide on your own which instrument you like the most. It’s not a matter of what somebody else wishes you to play.

Listen to all kinds of music, pay special attention to what each instrument does in each musical setting. From there, decide on what you like the most. It may very well happen that you choose something completely different from what your family members want you to play.

Each instrument is an immense, magical universe. Any one you chose will take a great deal of commitment, and even devotion from you, if you really want to play it well. It would be quite a pity that you invest so much of yourself into such a project, just to please somebody else.

Find out what you really want to play. Look in your mind, in your heart for what sound you like the most.

personally i would choose percussion…. haha

but out of those I think piano and guitar kind of go together. If you learn piano first then you know the basic note stuff, then when you pick up a guitar it all comes together…. Like I said, both go together.

Piano AND guitar. Piano is simple, and it will help you a TON on guitar.

Trust your grandfather, and give the violin a try. If it doesn’t work out, at least you can know that you gave it a sincere try, and have that experience.

Then you can try anything else.

Will your grandfather help you to buy a violin?

Why not take up all three?

Another Great Question. First, how old are you? It doesn’t really make a difference, but I’m just curious. I always recommend EVERYONE who is interested in music, to learn keyboard. Several reasons, it develops the spacial cortex, and temporal lobes a little quicker because you use both hands in a completely different manner. The more proficient you become, the more development in those areas of the brain. (Music makes you smarter.) Second, as you progress in music, you start to get a better understanding of the theoretical aspects of music (chord structure, inversions, harmony, chord progressions, etc.). You can use the keyboard to see what the teachers are talking about, and you start to understand things quicker.

Second, chose an instrument that makes you happy and you like the sound of. If you don’t like the sound of the saxophone, don’t chose that instrument. You will have much better success if you pick something that makes you happy. My last suggestion would be to talk to your band and/or orchestra director at school. Sometimes physical features of the lips, or hands make a difference on which instrument they would recommend you play right off the bat. Chances are, you are suitable for any instrument. I would tell you french horn because I need more of them. Good luck!! Let us know what you decide.

Zam.

You could learn how to play all three! I’m learning the piano and the violin and I’m starting guitar lessons soon. It’s not as hard as it seems to learn three instruments as long as you don’t start them all at the same time. A good idea would be to start with the piano, then start guitar, and then start the violin – only if you want to learn these instruments, or course – you can learn whatever you want.

To the people above me who said learning the violin is really hard: That’s a myth! I started the violin last year and am already in the band at my school. It’s not that hard if you have a good teacher and practice.

What do YOU want to play?
If you really don’t have a preference, I’d go for piano (1st) or guitar.

If you can play piano, it really does make it that much easier to learn just about any other instrument.

If you want to play melodies (AND harmonies too), go for piano.
If you want to play mostly chords (harmony–not much melody), go for guitar. You CAN play melodies on the guitar, but it’s much more common for the guitar to get mostly chords unless you’re playing classical guitar.

No one can answer this for you, but here is some guidance. You need to ask yourself several questions first:

1) Do you want to play a solo instrument? (although all three can be, the piano tends to lend itself to more complex music solo than the others at a more elementary level)

2) Do you want to have an instrument that is mobile? (You can take a guitar with you to jam out with friends, piano – not so much – unless you want to play the keyboard which has a very different feel to it

3) What kind of music do you want to play? Do you want to play classical? Rock? Blues? Jazz?

I chose to play the piano (for 16 years now) and I absolutely love it. It is a very dramatic instrument. It can be loud and emotional or soft and sweet. I love playing classical music, jazz and ragtime. The piano lends itself to many genres of music. The violin and guitar are also both beautiful instruments (I have experience with the guitar as well), they each in turn have their own benefits. So you should ask yourself these questions and pick the instrument that will most suit your personality and musical aspirations.