Re: last word on "difficulty"

[jim palmer <jimp@pobox.com>]

you _thought_ it would be the last word.

i probably not disagreeing with you here;  i like that you put quotes
around the word "easy."  but while there are varying 
levels of difficulty in the initial stages of learning each instrument,  
the expectations for the "easy" intruments are usually quite high.
you don't expect a tuba player to play eruption.
if you hear someone do it, you should be duly impressed.
you might be inclined to call the edp an "easy" instrument because
in about 15 seconds you can learn to hit record twice and have a
loop going.

i thought your choice of violin as a "difficult" instrument was 
interesting.
i consider brass to be much harder.  or let's talk about double reeds,
or the theremin, each generally believed to be increasingly "difficult"

let's not confuse simple with easy.



> I'd say that "the violin is more difficult than the guitar"
> and in fact that the guitar is an "easy" instrument.  When people
> ask me about an easy instrument, I always direct them to the
> guitar(*) -- I never direct them to the violin.
> 
> and here's why:
> 
> your average musically interested kid can pick up a guitar
> and in a few days learn enough to be able to play a few tunes
> and sing along without being too horrible.  in a few weeks
> you could actually entertain your friends.
> 
> but it takes MONTHS to get past the horrible stage on a violin.
> 
> 
> yet -- does that make Jimi Hendrix less of a musician than
> some violinist?  emphatically, no!
> 
> and do I listen to more guitars than violins?  absolutely yes!
> 
> /t
> 
> (* -- or drums -- another "easy" instrument that you can take
>        to great heights of mastery!)
> 
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>