Learning two instruments at once (piano, guitar): bad idea?

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Alphathree33

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Dec 1, 2000
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Situation:

* I've been taking classical guitar for 1.5 years with weekly lessons and loving it
* I also really love piano and have been wanting to start taking formal lessons

Advantages:
* Get to learn two instruments at once
* Broadens my musical horizons

Disadvantages:
* One instrument might suffer at the expense of the other
* Expensive (have to buy a piano, pay two teachers, more time to practice, etc.)

MY QUESTIONS:
* Will there by synergies?
** e.g. the music theory is obviously the same. sight reading skills will overlap. (I can sight read beginner pieces quite easily on a piano today despite having no lessons, strictly because of my guitar sight reading skills)
** my fingers are already getting quite flexible and dexterous

* Generally, do you recommend trying to learn two instruments at once? I know some people play like 5 or 10 instruments and I always wondered how they did it.
 

Pepsi90919

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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what you really mean to say is that you already know guitar and want to supplement it with piano, which is fine and acceptable
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
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Theory is the same, technique is different. It is possible, but it all depends how often you can practice at this stage of the game. The more you practice (correctly) the faster you will learn. Much of the technique is muscle memory, and that just takes practice. The theory will come in time.
 

TecHNooB

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2005
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This is good. As long as you keep in mind that it takes many years and several hours of practice per day to get good.
 

Alphathree33

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Dec 1, 2000
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what you really mean to say is that you already know guitar and want to supplement it with piano, which is fine and acceptable

I wouldn't say I "know" guitar. I'm on Grade 3 out of 10 possible grades. That takes me well beyond most people, and yet still so incredibly far away from being truly good at it.

In other words, there's a longer road ahead of me than behind me on that instrument.
 
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