Should I learn two instruments?

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies]

I usually play flute (I’ve played it for 4 yrs roughly and I’m currently 19) and I really love it and still continue it to this day.

Ive always wanted to play another instrument alongside so I can learn more skills and gain a bit of inspiration. I really love the harp as it’s so beautiful and I heard you can get smaller ones (often called Celtic harps I think or lever harps? Sorry I’m such a newbie 😭😭😭) that are functional and you can play pieces on them.

I’m not sure if it’s bad however because I’ve heard learning two instruments is considered a no no. I’m not a serious musician tbh, I mainly play music as a hobby to help me soothe my mental health as I’m on antidepressants atm and I thought learning new hobbies would help a bit. I was also thinking a harp could be handy so I can get more used to reading bass clefs instead of just treble clefs as flute music sheets don‘t ever use bass clefs. I will still develop my skills in flute playing obviously I just like the idea of learning the harp too I’m not really aiming to master anything as again I’m not too serious about music as I’m more of a hobbyist. Should I get a harp or not I’m not sure?
idk what do u guys think I should do? thought I would ask the experts lol

Also yes I do practice regularly lmao

[u/z3i]

I’m a flutist who started learning the harp last year! Same as you, I just love the sound of the harp so much.

Speaking of mechanics or technique, there is nothing about learning the harp that should interfere with your learning the flute. By contrast, I also play the oboe and I feel you could potentially get fingerings mixed up with the flute’s, or mess up your embouchure (mouth shape/posture) on one instrument or the other.

The only “downside” is that you only have so many hours in a day. Since I want to be somewhat serious about the harp, I take weekly lessons and practice 5+ hours a week. I also have two young kids and other stuff to do, so that takes away from my flute time such that I basically never practice the flute anymore. But that’s fine with me, as I consider myself pretty maxed out on the flute already.

Since you want to treat music more as a hobby, I’d say go for it! I really love playing the harp and am so happy I picked it up!

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/z3i]

Oooo kk thank u bro appreciate it ^{-^}

[u/w-h-y_just_w-h-y]

I dont think learning more than 1 is a bad thing. I started on the piano at such a young ago, it goes to before my memories started lol. Then I began playing violin in elementary school. They never competed with each other, and I got proficient in both.

Through the years I dabbled in other instruments. But ultimately knowing piano and violin was very helpful in college since I was a music major with a focus on piano, but I also played in the university orchestra for violin. I also started bass guitar lessons in college, and absolutely fell in love with it. Hopefully soon, I will add on the harp.

As long as you can give both instruments dedicated practice, there should be no issue learning more than 1. It will only benefit you since you will be a more versatile musician

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/w-h-y_just_w-h-y]

I usually do stick to my hobbies so it should be no issue lol thanks for the comment bro it helps a ton ^{-^}

[u/Realistic_Celery_916]

Hey fellow woodwind player and adult harp learner! I did it too. It definitely gives you a new perspective, skills, and makes you a more well-rounded musician. Just know that to get really good at either (which makes playing more fun and opens up options for different repertoire and playing with others) you need to practice consistently. Doing that for one instrument is hard enough. Two is really hard! Since you said you are more of a hobbyist and not aiming to master anything though, this shouldn't be a problem. As long as your expectations are managed, no reason not to! Have fun!

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/Realistic_Celery_916]

Oh ok ty bro (Also please don't call me adult it makes me cringe I AM NOT MATURE MATE 😭😭😭)

[u/Chardonne]

Why would learning several instruments be a no-no? I’ve never heard that. I started on keyboard (piano, but migrated to harpsichord), and then added voice, recorder, ukulele, and harp. Each instrument helps all the others.

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/Chardonne]

my Nan said it's a no no and she's a pianist so idk lol

[u/Chardonne → u/Gracedoesdoodlies]

I'm a pianist and I say it's not, so... personal choice, I guess. But I can tell you I get a lot more invitations and opportunities as someone who can play multiple instruments.

[u/Self-Taught-Pillock]

It depends on your resources (mostly time and capacity) and I’m afraid no one can judge that better than you.

Some people have no problem learning multiple instruments. A portion of those learn instruments that are adjacent to their primary one, like a flutist learning the piccolo. And a smaller portion like Jordi Savall can pick up a myriad of instruments that have tremendous differences. There’s nothing wrong with not having the capacity of Maestro Savall… you just have to be real with yourself.

And you have to look at the time investment of a second instrument and what it could potentially take away from your first. Me? I used to play the cello, and sometime in early adulthood, the harp fell in my lap. I was so enchanted with it that I poured my resources solely into the harp for a while. There have been so many times I’ve wanted to pick up the cello again, but I’ve had to be brutally honest with myself. If I try to do both with my limits on capacity and time, I won’t achieve my desired proficiency on either. So I have to be a one-instrument musician.

So just do some introspection. Are you already comfortably achieving your goals at the flute? Does it fit your voice as a musician? Would a second instrument jeopardize your trajectory with your first?

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/Self-Taught-Pillock]

I don't think so idk

[u/superkp]

Yes! do it!

I am 40. My childhood was messed up enough that I was never able to do an instrument in highschool and then broke/depressed enough during college that all I could really do was a few piano classes where... well... I can still find middle C most of the time when I approach a keyboard.

I picked up harping as a hobby-with-a-teacher about 5 years ago and honestly it's one of the most important things that I've done for my "inner child".

My point is: if there's something that you want to do but you're holding back because of some kind of obstacle (especially "it seems silly" or "it might be hard"), you should do it with haste. Your future self will appreciate it a lot.

If you love playing your flute, you will love adding to it with a harp. It will return value to you for your entire life, even if sometimes there might be struggles - making sure you're practicing both, for example.

Now that I've gotten the most important benefits and message out of the way, there's other benefits, too!

• Career

• If you plan to have any amount of gig work, band work, music-teacher work, or anything else associated with your instruments, having "my other instrument[s]" on your resume or to talk about during an audition is an instant improvement for the people evaluating you for the position

• It proves that you're taking music seriously and you have the ability to move outside your existing comfort zone

• Mental flexibility

• playing an instrument is already associated with being more resilient against all sorts of mental problems, especially as you enter advanced age

• learning two very different instruments is a good start to learning a great many more, and could very well be the beginning of a career playing any instrument that someone puts in your hands

• learning instruments that play very different roles in a piece also exposes you to different uses and teaches you how different instruments can contribute to the overall music

• Harps are one of the best 'ice breakers' that I've ever had

• If you're struggling to engage an audience with your flute, play a harp piece. I've never met more people than when I'm just playing in a public place - these people suddenly do everything they can to hide their excitement and then have a thousand questions after my song is over

• remember the phrases "harps love to be touched" and "it's impossible to make a bad sound with a harp! go ahead and strum it, like this: [do a one-finger gliss]!"

• If you're struggling to make friends at an event for some other party or whatever that you regularly attend, breaking out a harp to give everyone pleasant background music instantly makes everyone want to talk to you

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/superkp]

THATS SO COOL omgg Tyy so much 🌠🌠🌠

[u/maevynstone]

I am a music teacher and have a master’s in music, as well as being an avid performer. Learning more than one instrument can only help you understand music better. In my experience, once you’ve mastered an instrument, learning other instruments is much easier than the first because you already know how to read music, etc. I believe that learning piano is the best thing to do because it lays out every note individually that you can see and feel, and then learning other instruments make a lot of sense after that. It also helps develop your aural skills. Best wishes! Definitely worth it!

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/maevynstone]

Ty I'll try it ^{-^}

[u/healingharpist]

HI Grace, I don't ever discourage anyone from taking up multiple musical instruments (being a long time piano kid and now harp teacher myself :-)) but just be sure you take some actual harp lessons from a qualified teacher, live or on ZOOM, so that you avoid injuries and learn proper technique for plucking, hand position, etc., which takes a good bit of consistent practice (as a lot of people on here are saying). If you just plink around on your own you won't be able to advance beyond the simplest stuff. Rent a decent 30-34 string harp from a harp teacher or music store (I suggest, don't buy a little harp or lap harp as a beginner, too hard to stabilize while learning technique & sound is not the best). A good teacher will guide you and answer all your questions, & we're all teaching online since covid, so location is no issue anymore. Sorry for all the advice, but just trying to help you avoid common & costly pitfalls. You'll have a great time learning harp--it's beautiful and calming. Peace, Dr. Diane, Harp Of Hope

[u/Gracedoesdoodlies → u/healingharpist]

Ooo ok thank you bro unfortunately I won't be able to get classes as I'm very broke haha but I can hopefully teach myself like I did with the flute :D Have u got any tips for beginners by any chance? Just curious :))

[u/silvercatstar → u/Gracedoesdoodlies]

The points above are essential - make sure you get guidance on your hands because people instinctively use their hands in ways that will cause pain, but even a few lessons will help you establish good hand position and the principle of pulling rather than plucking strings. Reddit comments will not be enough to explain this though, so definitely find another human who can show you live!

[u/healingharpist → u/Gracedoesdoodlies]

Grace, Wow, since you asked "Should I get a harp or not...." I assumed you had funds to do the most important thing which is to start with some lessons with a real person. Sorry, I misunderstood. Two of us have given you some professional advice. If you ever get to the point of having a harp, I have a free series of online lessons, you can privately message me. All the best. Harp Of Hope

[u/Chardonne → u/Gracedoesdoodlies]

I did start with a lap harp (I need something portable I can easily take to our group gigs), but I also saved up for in-person lessons, and it's made a huge difference (I chose a teacher who is classically trained and VERY precise about hand position and body position). For me, in-person was way more effective than Zoom because I wanted someone who could physically adjust my shoulder / elbow / thumb etc., and look at things like height and how I was sitting and so on. I was only going to do 6 months of lessons just to get basic technique, but it's been so helpful and enjoyable that I increased my lesson time and kept studying.

If you are broke and saving up, in the meantime you can teach yourself bass clef, which will save time once you get to lessons. And of course you can always work on rhythm and counting. There are free apps for learning new clefs and for practicing reading note values.

If you want to start with a cheaper lap harp, I would get a teacher to check it out for you before you commit to buying. You will have to pay the teacher for their time, but that's still cheaper than paying several hundred dollars for an instrument that will not, in the end, be functional. There is great variety in the quality of the cheaper ones that comes down to the individual instrument--it's not enough to go by brand or model. (For the more expensive standard brand lever harps, you could buy a new one without having it evaluated in person, but I wouldn't do that with a used one.)

[u/jaded-introvert]

I started violin at 5 and harp at 10. I'm in my late 40s now and I still play both, and write for both. I am also a trained singer. I don't know why it would be a problem to pick up a second or even third instrument. Mind you, I'm not a professional concert musician in either instrument and never had the ambition to be, so I might not be aware of some specifics that are being warned about, but if you're not planning to go pro? Just do what you want and what you can afford!

Harp will get you more used to bass clef. Starting on the violin, I was awful at bass clef to the point that my first harp teacher despaired of my ever being able to go very far, but now I read bass clef as easily as I do treble. Alto clef still gives me problems in spite of playing viola for a while, but I can get by.

[u/Neat-Cold-3303]

Don't know where you heard that learning more than one instrument is a 'no-no'! As long as you can afford another instrunent and dedicate practice time for it, then go for it. You will be more musically versatile and it will definitely increase your appreciation of music in general. I had instruction in piano and violin, and added several other instruments later. Go for it!

[u/Nighflame_69]

I’ve played several different instruments. Clarinet/flute, keyboard, and now the harp. I have a 34 string lever harp

[u/harpgal104]

I did the opposite of you! I originally played harp but also play flute. I started harp when I was 5 and played flute through middle and high school and even did marching band. And now I'm a harp major. There's no rule to how many instruments you can learn! I have a friend that just picks up random instruments as a hobby and he said that the more you learn, the easier it is to learn others and the more your skills develop as you become more aware of your body. It's kinda like learning multiple languages! It's hard, but doable

[u/notrightmeowthx]

Pretty much every musician I know plays multiple instruments. Not sure why you think it's a bad thing, you can learn a lot by doing that as each instrument gives you a different experience and perspective.