When I was a kid I asked my music teacher what instrument they played. They rattled off about fifteen different things. I can remember thinking at that time, how in the world does that happen?

Now I’ve become that person that has experimented with a closet full of instruments. I’ve heard people state that you do not want to do this. They say what you should be doing is mastering one thing and putting all of your energy into that.

I disagree with this contention.

When you learn an instrument it informs you of another aspect of music that you can apply to other instruments.

I think the classic example of this is two instruments that are worlds apart; guitar and piano. The guitar evolved to make a compromise between the playability of scales access to chords. The result is an instrument that is very easy to improvise on. The pentatonic scales take the same form no matter what key you are playing in. They simply move on the neck. Consequently, guitar instruction will focus on improvisation and playing by ear. Unfortunately, the nature of a guitar neck is that it does not clearly display the notes and their relation to one another. This makes learning music theory on a guitar difficult. I think this is why so many guitarists know so little theory.

The piano is the exact opposite of this situation. While the keyboard lays bare the notes and their relationship to one another the patterns you must execute for the various scales often change. This makes the pentatonic scales more difficult on a piano.

This is why I feel like anyone serious about music (regardless of the instrument) should find a local church player to take piano lessons with. They will steep you in theory for fifty bucks a lesson. That is the best music education you will find outside of college. Yes, I said church. The church has a rich, deep tradition with music and their players are normally both extremely competent and generous.

The theory that you get from a good piano teacher is instantly and easily applied to the guitar. You find yourself making chord substitions and generally decorating your playing in new ways.

After Piano and Guitar They All Look the Same

Whether it is a trumpet or a button accordion you are just figuring out how to play the scales in different keys. And I think this is how you wind up with people like me that just pick up and play anything. And if you also decide to embark on this journey you will find that every single instrument has something valuable to teach you.