heyhey,
this here might contain two questions actually.
- got an idea, what instrument might suit me?
- how, actually learn?
background
i am not new to learng stuff by myself, mostly languages in the widest sense. the only thing i can’t really get my head around is music. i know rudimentary how to read notes, but ofc don’t really grasp what they mean. when i learned a bit about electronics, that explained a lot more about music for me. i tried to learn the recorder (bc its was there) and keyboard (bc super versatile). by now, that all didn’t work. i am a beginner.
i guess that is abt how these are played. i am used to grab a book sit down in a comfy position and read. keyboards need setup and are relatively large. the recorder is small and portable, but you need a decent body position, to control your breath.
i was thinking about some kind of ukulele, maybe? how do i build a habit, that works for practice?
Based on a comment in this thread, it seems like you want to learn some basic music theory, to get a feel for how music is put together. Based on that, I recommended electronic keyboards as the instrument. Keyboards are laid out in a fairly intuitive manner that can help you learn how scales and chords are built, and more advanced music theory depending on what you want to learn. Also, electronic keyboards can be quite cheap, and the sound making part (synthesizers) can live in a computer and be pretty affordable as well. But don’t get a keyboard without full sized keys…that will limit your fun and have you learning bad muscle memory. You want to use a keyboard the size you would keep using if you eventually put thousands of hours into playing that instrument.
For shopping, you want a ‘midi keyboard controller’ with a usb connection. It should be velocity sensitive (all the but cheapest ones have this…hit a key faster and note is louder), and I’d recommend 61 keys or a bit more (but that is not critical at first, to just start learning theory and building muscle memory. But I don’t recommend a mini-controller with only like 12 keys or so…that is not enough to learn what you want). Keep in mind that keyboard controllers often don’t make sounds by themselves and instead are supposed to connect to a computer or some such, where the synths are. You can of course buy a keyboard that makes sounds and will function as a controller, but that costs more money, although it also might be much more helpful for you, especially if you don’t have a computer.
And all electronic instruments usually require something else to make sound, which means you would be taking a step into having a tiny home music studio, buying speakers and an amp etc. Once again, you can find something that does all of that, but it won’t be GREAT at doing all of that while also being cheap. But that’s a fine way to get started, and if get hooked, then you can start buying gear to turn it into a more serious hobby home studio setup.