• Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

If I were to learn an instrument for my projects, which would be best if just one?

Lately my passion for music has strangely come back. I use to have it as a kid but lost it as I grew up. But I keep finding myself wanting to take it up again and learn an instrument. Working with a composer recently may have been the reason too. I figure it might as well learn an instrument I could apply to the soundtrack of my projects. Is their one instrument I should learn above all others though, if I were to just pick one for movies?

I am also inspired by how John Carpenter scored his own movies too, and he used the synthesizer. That's one option, but if non-synth instrument may sound more cinematic, I could learn that as well. I was thinking of the violin, but that would take a longer time to practice with I was told. Not that I mind, but I was thinking of learning something I could apply to my projects in the next two years after getting good at it hopefully.

Is the synth still good, or have people lost respect for it overtime, in favor of orchestras with other instruments? If I learn it, I figure I have more than one instrumental sound at my disposal, but the downside is, is that all my music might sound synthetic though.

What do you think?
 
I think it's fine wanting to play an instrument, but I think it's lunacy you want to learn it to score your next project 2 years from now.
All the time you spend on your instrument is time not spent on filmmaking (and vice versa).

Let's face it: you've bombarded IT with questions for years, done all kind of things, but you still have nothing substantial to show.
I always gets delayed by something.
Now you are adding another excuse why you won't finish something ("I still need to master my instrument"). And then you'll probably start flooding some synthesier forum with millions of questions looking for a shortcut.

Be honest to yourself: how good did you become at filmmaking in a 2 year period?

I know: I sound a bit cynical, but I've noticed a pattern for a while now :P

Maybe playing an instrument is your calling, instead of filmmaking, who knows, or maybe 10 years from now you mastered all the skills you need to finish a short without hiring people (cause this seems to be a part of your desire: being all alone working on something, because communication always fails) but please, don't stuff soundcloud with 5 second sounddemos... ;)

I'd go for a triangle.
It doesn't take a lot of space, not many people do that, the number of techniques to master are less than with other instruments and you don't need amplifiers, plugins, firmware etc: pretty foolproof. :P
 
Last edited:
I'd go for a triangle.
It doesn't take a lot of space, not many people do that, the number of techniques to master are less than with other instruments and you don't need amplifiers, plugins, firmware etc: pretty foolproof. :P

I wouldn't count on it being foolproof!

I can see the thread now: "Should I buy a new triangle?"
Apparently his current triangle sounds terrible, more like a dull thud than a sweet ring. After a dozen replies about different makes, models and types of triangles, it would come out that he's playing the triangle by laying it on a table and hitting it! Someone would point out that you need to suspend a triangle on a piece of string for it to ring. H44 would say "thanks for the info" and apologise that he's been doing it wrong but some friends who are musicians told him that's how you play a triangle. A few weeks later he would start a new thread about different types of string, then what type of knot to use, then what type of stand to hang the triangle from, then he'll get into triangle beaters. After two years of questions and a thousand posts, he would ask how to stop the triangle from moving or spinning when he hits it, would it be a good idea to go back to laying it on a table and just try hitting it harder, would the type of table make a difference? Someone would get pissed that he hasn't learnt anything about the basic principles of the triangle in two years and tell him to put his head on a table and try hitting that harder, until it rings!

Maybe triangle is not such a good suggestion after all? :)

G
 
I would go with piano, as this can be used with MIDI software to create your arrangements. The sky becomes the limit as you can do orchestral, synth, whatever you want. Reaper and Mixcraft are two of my favorites and there's loads of tutorials online about making the virtual instruments sound much better.
 
I agree with everything everyone else has said.

Piano/keyboard, yes for exactly the reasons ED said. But.. really? Dude.. really? pick something, anything, any ONE thing, and laser focus on it and pursue THAT. Stop trying to do everything because you always end up half-assing it all. Maybe less than half, actually.
 
Well, a harmonica, of course.

Up_arrow_vote_like_upload.png


What he said...


harmonica1.gif
 
As a musician, I absolutely encourage everyone to play. Even if you're never going to get beyond strumming a guitar in your living room, playing music is wonderful, a great way to connect with friends, and helps you appreciate listening even more.

But the downside is it takes time. Lots of practice, lots to learn. That's just to learn how to use one instrument; if you're going to do film music, you need to know how to effectively use LOTS of instruments (even if they are virtual instruments; there is a lot of knowledge needed to write a sampled violin part that sounds like a real violin, etc).

If you want to play for the sake of playing, do it (and I'd recommend taking a lesson or two). But don't expect to be John Carpenter in a week.
 
And no one has mentioned the fact that playing an instrument and writing music are two different things. One does not necessarily beget the other.

But best of luck to you, h44. No hard feelings.
 
And no one has mentioned the fact that playing an instrument and writing music are two different things. One does not necessarily beget the other.

I write music (for a given value of "write" and, indeed, "music", but I don't play an instrument. I'm a freak... :)


Now you are adding another excuse why you won't finish something ("I still need to master my instrument").

I know you were trying to make a serious point but I can't help but read this as a Seinfeld-esque euphemism :lol:
 
Keyboard. I wouldn't pin hopes on having the skill required within two years to score a film well, unless you have talent for it and a great work ethic. But by all means learn some keyboard work, it's a very useful instrument for coming up with ideas, and easy to use with software to auto-write and record music. Plus you have an array of effects to play with.
 
Back
Top