# How do you tell if the instrument you are playing doesn't suit you?



## Jaws

I just wondered if there was a quicker way to find out if you were playing the "wrong" instrument than it took me to realise I was never going to be any good at playing the piano. It took me 7 years to get the kind of standard that most people manage in about 2 years of playing. 

Do people continue to play something that they aren't very good at or do they consider taking up something else that they can get further with? Just interested. 

I usually consider that it would take the average person about 8 years to get to the point where they could play a part in a community group on their own without another group member helping them. So I was thinking in terms of someone who never got that far, like my piano playing. I stopped playing the piano and concentrated on something that I could make progress on.


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## Headphone Hermit

would the answer to "do I enjoy playing it" help you to decide?


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## david johnson

I was a rotten piano player, but excel at trumpet. I'm convinced it has something to do with using both hands simultaneously. No matter how fast I play on any wind instrument, it's still only one note at a time. I've never had the problem with percussion. Still, my piano training was quite valuable and I am glad I had it.


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## hreichgott

I think you have to know what difficulties are peculiar to the instrument. If those specific difficulties prove too much for you, then try something else. Like with the piano you have to be able to coordinate multiple parts. With the organ you have to be even better at that. With strings or trombone you have to be good at finding precise pitch. With voice you have to be even better at that. With percussion you have to have unshakable rhythm. With double reed instruments you have to enjoy precision handicrafts. With the French horn you have to be good at persevering against all odds.


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