If you have thought about getting music lessons for you or your child, you might have asked yourself this question.  Of course the only person that can ultimately answer that question is you or your child, but I’ll present a few things you may want to consider when making your decision. Here is a brief comparison among the piano, violin and guitar.

1- Cost 

 In general, pianos are more expensive than violins, especially when comparing to entry level violins.  However, you would be just fine learning on a keyboard, instead of a piano, especially if you are a beginner.  You can select a weighted keys keyboard to have the most similar experience to a piano. This option would make the piano option much more affordable.  The keyboard would also be beneficial if space in your home is a concern. As far as guitars go, they are in general cheaper than violins, again at an entry level quality.

2- Instrument maintenance

    Pianos require very little maintenance. You should keep it covered when it’s not being used to avoid dust and it’s recommended to have it tuned once or twice a year.  I’ve seen tuning cost run between $120 - $200. The best temperature to keep a piano at to avoid negative effects on the wood, strings and felt on the hammers is between 65 - 78 degrees F.  Luckily this is about the same temperature people are comfortable at, so most homes are at the right temperature for a piano, but something to consider if you plan to keep a piano in storage.   If instead you decided on a keyboard, they are equally virtually maintenance free. Just keep it covered to avoid dust.

Violins may need more maintenance. Violins will need routine cleanings, string replacements, peg replacements, bridge adjustments and more as it ages.  In addition, because the instrument is more fragile, you may find that if it’s dropped or accidentally stepped on (kids leave things on the floor at times) you might need to buy a new one. Cost of repairs may be higher than a piano because the violin is a tedious instrument to work with (compared to the piano), consequently, you’ll usually be paying more for the labor and expertise of your technician. Tuning a violin might be more difficult than tuning a guitar, especially at the beginning, but your teacher will teach you and eventually you’ll do it yourself, so no cost there.

Guitars would be somewhere in the middle of the two.  Guitars are more fragile than pianos but a bit steadier than violins.  You will eventually have to learn how to tune it yourself, but at the beginning your instructor can do it for you, and teach you.  You can also buy a guitar tuner, which are pretty inexpensive devices. You will also need to replace stings from time to time, which are fairly inexpensive as well (starting at about $5 each).

3- Portability

    This may not be an issue for some people, but if you want to be able to bring your instrument to practice on your vacation, or in the park or the beach, the piano wouldn’t fit the bill. 

4- Learning curve

   “Both instruments (piano and violin) are difficult to master, but when it comes to the start, violin is much tougher. There are all sorts of awkward positions that you would need to learn. Things like how to hold the bow, placing the chin rest at just the right angle and more. The other tough thing with violin is that you need to develop a strong ear early on with the tuning process. Young students might accidentally snap a few strings in the process. Musically knowing where exactly to place your bow isn’t an exact science. It’ll take new students some time to really polish their ability to quickly change positions while producing a solid tone.

Piano, on the other hand, takes a lot of the guesswork out of the equation. These instruments already come tuned, so it’s something a student can sit down and start playing right away. Determining where the notes are is much easier on a piano too.

Some of the challenges with the piano will be establishing proper bench height, having good posture and finger placement. The good thing is that it’s an instrument you can learn one hand at a time if you wanted to and still accomplish great results.

In the long run I believe piano will end up being the more difficult instrument. The repertoire will become much more demanding from a technical standpoint.

Having fluid dexterity in both hands will be important if you want to continue developing as a pianist. The good thing is that in the early stages of learning you have an opportunity to really hone in on those skills through simple repertoire” (This quote is from Joshua Ross, a classical pianist)

The guitar, as the piano, will allow you to produce simple music quicker, in comparison with the violin. There is less guess work too since guitars have frets and violins don’t.  If you want to achieve “mastery” all three instruments will take considerable time and practice. But you will be able to “get by” on the guitar sooner than you will on the violin.

5- Do you want to play and sing?

If your goal is to play and sing, both the piano or guitar would work very well.  

6- What music do you prefer?

If you like rock, the guitar might be better suited for you.  If you like classical, maybe the violin or piano.

When choosing an instrument,  follow your heart. At the end, you know best what’s best for you.  You have to pick something you enjoy and have fun with. And why limit yourself to one instrument? Maybe you want to try more than one.  

 Keep in mind that the consensus in the literature is that taking lessons is key to avoid developing bad habits that might limit your ability to grow musically and that might prove very difficult to unlearn.

Have fun playing music!!