My best friend asks me this question all the time. He doesn’t play any instruments. In the order that I learned them (and sure not proficiency) they’re keyboard, guitar, harmonica, whistle, low whistle, simple flute, silver flute, ocarina, fife, and concertina. I play guitar the most and am probably most proficient on this instrument, love the simple flute the best, but if I had to only have one instrument, I’d go with the silver flute for versatility. And then I’d hope a better silver flute fell into my lap.
I’m wondering what other folks would say and what criteria they would use to choose.
Hmmm… according to my website, ‘I play recorder, whistle, flute, piano, accordion, guitar and bass fairly seriously, and a number of other instruments with varying degrees of incompetence.’ So, because I love them all and can’t really imagine cutting most of them out, I’m going to duck the question and say I should have just learned something else (maybe the trombone) more suited to a nine-fingered player in the first place!
I have no website, am not a professional musician and not even very good on most instruments. But I enjoy playing acoustic guitar, dobro, didgeridoo, kalimba, various drums, ocarina, recorder, piano and whistles. I’d pick the whistle in a minute. While I love the sound of all and dearly wish I could master one of them, in 59 years the one class of instrument I enjoy PLAYING the most are the various keys of whistles. I’ve been drawn to playing them like no other. I believe that they are the easiest to make music with as a beginner, and the body of music available to play is extraordinary. The fact that they are the most portable doesn’t hurt either. Because of that, I simply can play them more.
H’mm - If I could magically play an instrument of my choosing excellently and no other, it would be either tenor sax or clarinet. In the real world, I’ve played accordion, bass & six string guitars over the years but not very well. In the interim, I managed to misplace a finger, so the whistle became a natural in my later years. Besides, they’re much cheaper than accordions, these days, and much easier to build yourself.
(One of the above comments about 9-fingered playing triggered that mini-rant…)
I play guitar, piano, bass, banjo, mountain dulcimer, bouzouki, whistle with varying degrees of success, but the only one that’s made me any money is the guitar, so that would be it.
Terrible hypothetical choice. I play whistle and mandolin mostly these days, but also play recorder (especially duets with my wife-- how could I part with that?), guitar, a bit of fiddle, flute, uke, etc.
Being solely practical, I guess I’d say I’d keep one of my own polymer whistles if I truly had to choose. This choice does not say that my wife has to make a choice too, so we could still play whistle/recorder duets . The whistle is very portable and the polymer is durable enough to take on outdoor excursions. I’m really glad that I don’t have to choose though.
If I had to make a choice, I might surprise myself and choose the whistle… like brewerpaul, I play the recorder in duets and trios, it’s a wonderful instrument and I play it better than any other, but the solo repertoire for the whistle is amazing and simply doesn’t work as well on recorder. Out of the whistles I own, it’d have to be the Fred Rose. More difficult to play than some others, but such wonderful tone.
I am enjoying reading about the conflicts a question like this causes. I didn’t realize hypothetical instruments would be an option. I’ll have to ask my best friend back that question.
You can choose whatever hypothetical rules that you would like.
My best friend and I ask the “If you were on a desert island and could only have one …”. So according to the rules that we play by,
The voice is with you, whether you want it or not. Percussion instruments will probably be available and please Jesus, let there be bamboo on the island. If I had another instrument that was in tune, I could probably make some pan flutes and start from there.
No, I could not do this by ear. Playing wind instruments has exponentially improved my sense of pitch. Before wind instruments, when I was tuning my guitar, I would have a dickens of a time, even guessing whether a string was pitched too high or too low. I use an electronic tuner. When I was a kid and my oldest brother got his first stereo, he had to explain stereo to me. I remember how he finally had to put headphones on me and adjusted the settings wildly for me to finally get what he was talking about.
Well, the questions “if you had to choose one instrument which would it be?” and “if you were stranded on an island with one instrument which would it be?” have quite different implications.
A silver Boehm flute is very versatile, but on that island could it be maintained? Could you do a repad job when needed?
In any case, if I had to choose one instrument (my life otherwise staying the same) it would be the Highland pipes. They’re my first instrument and I make the most money and have the most fun with them.
I wouldn’t be able to maintain them, probably, on that island. Are there critters on that island which could be skinned for new pipe bags? Are there plants suitable for making into reeds? If not, I’d go with my MK Low D. Nothing to replace or maintain on that thing.
Yep, I line up with Panceltic piper here. My preference would probably be guitar, but how long would strings last on a desert island?
I fell in love with an Appalachian dulcimer, but I can’t play it worth a damn. I’ve been carrying harmonicas around for years, but I don’t play them (much).
In fact, on a desert island, the choice probably wouldn’t even be whistle, but overtone flute. That’s because there is less to go wrong. On a desert island I’d probably get to the point of making my own instruments out of whatever was there. A marimba out of cocoanutshells. A xylophone if there were trees. A bone flute out of the other castaway who complained about my playing.
Now if it were the Queen of the Fairies that incarcerated me for her pleasure but guaranteed me an endless supply of guitar strings, then the guitar would be it.
Bass has been my main instrument for over half of my life.
The whistle has only been a few months.
That being said, I’d still probably go with the whistle. It’s a melodic instrument, but the Irish rhythm in the tunes really makes my feet want to move. The best of both worlds. It has also become part of my prayer life now that I know a few hymns. (The Prayer of St. Francis is a favorite in my house, even with my noobie playing.)
Well I’ve played a number of instruments over the years and settled on (Irish) flute, whistle, bouzouki, and mandolin. Each one has its own particular character but there is one that has always done something for me that the others didn’t. This is the flute and even though I play a few other instruments this is my main one so that would be my pick. Although I would have a really hard time leaving the bouzouki behind as that is a close second as my favorite.
I have played guitar for over 40 years. I have {been there and done all kinds of that} with the instrument and now I am thoroughly sick of guitars. Despite the fact that I truly love playing my whistles, recorders, banjos, mountain and hammered dulcimers and psalteries. I would choose the guitar then give up playing music and find a new form of entertainment… Bob.
. The whistle is very portable and the polymer is durable enough to take on outdoor excursions. I’m really glad that I don’t have to choose though.