Are you wondering which instrument is easier to learn between these two: piano or guitar?
It is difficult to answer to this question but here my very own opinion about that!
Watch the video:
In short, playing the guitar is more difficult.
At least to start.
I play both instruments but not the same level of skill, thus take this as my own biased opinion, not the absolute truth.
The piano is much easier to learn to play single notes. There are right in front of you and you only have to press the right key. Not much difficulty once you have learned how to recognize the keys.
On the guitar, you have to use both hands and it is a challenge to coordinate them to produce even a single note. The way you press the strings is also a painful learning experience.
Also, you will have the same note at different positions on the neck on different strings. This is very confusing and that’s why guitar players don’t use much the traditional musical notation but tabs to specify the string and the fret for each note you play.
But on the piano, both hands need to be independent to be able to play different notes and rhythms. This adds a lot more complexity than on the guitar. It is similar to play drums in a way where you have to learn hand independence.
Or playing on two guitars at the same time as Michael Angelo Batio:
But this is a bit extreme!
Another difficulty with the piano is to be expressive when you play.
You need to develop a very fine motor ability to be able to press the keys with the exact right amount of force required. On every finger of both hands of course!
This is where you can see if someone masters the instrument. It is not only about the speed, but how each note is played its own intensity with the high precision.
Listen to these two versions of the same (very difficult) piano piece:
By Rousseau:
Pretty amazing, right?
Now listen to the same piece by Valentina Lisitsa:
Yeah, quite another level!
My point is not to do an unfair comparison between these two piano players. It is to demonstrate the subtle difficulty of playing the piano.
In the end, I think that it requires the same amount of effort and energy to reach the highest level of skill on every instrument.
The learning curve will be different as well as the practical difficulties of each. But in the long run, both require patience and consistency to master.
And there are both great instruments.
Quite worth learning them both actually 😉
If you want to learn the piano, I have lots of information here to help you.
I recommend you read this guide to get started.
