Which instrument is more difficult to play, piano or guitar?

[Abbeygurl4]

My 14 year old ds is insisting that guitar is much more difficult than the piano. I think piano is harder, but I don't know enough about either instrument to really argue my case. My 10 year old dd plays piano which is probably why he insists the guitar is more difficult.

[Parrothead]

Guitar is easier if one is going with the standard rock chords of C, G and D.

 

Here is a list of songs one can play just knowing those three chords. http://ellenford.hubpages.com/hub/Guitar-play-more-than-50-rock-hits-with-3-easy-chords

[NicAnn]

Ha that's a loaded question in this house!

DH plays both. He says that they aren't comparable. Each takes a different set of skills. He says that piano is probably easier to pick up and ease into.

[Arcadia]

Give him a violin :)

Guitar is easier to strum along to any song once the basic chords are mastered. Piano does not not need frequent tuning but is very hard to tune a piano yourself or to change a broken piano string. Guitar is easier to tune and easy to change guitar strings (compare to violin or even worse a harp)

ETA:

I learn classical guitar playing at Girl Guides. I took piano exams. Hubby plays the clarinet and finds guitar easy and piano harder because of the hand co-ordination. I find playing the horn the easiest of the instruments I played. I found flute hard too but most portable.

[poppy]

I think piano is easier, and I think a student piano player can do more and sound better than someone just learning guitar.... which makes it more rewarding in terms of continuing to practice.

 

I say this as someone with small hands who never could really play the full range of guitar.

[PeacefulChaos]

Lol as a pianist (who also has great respect for those who can actually PLAY a guitar - not just strum basic chords) I cringe at the thought of saying it's 'easier'.  :lol:

We'll just say they are both very, very different.  And not comparable.  :D :D 

[Halftime Hope]

Piano is much harder.   You can pick up and play a guitar pretty easily: ds could play chords and strum well enough to "sound good" (basic stuff) within a year.  He's played now for 8 years and can do much more advanced strumming patterns, complex chords, he can transpose and pick, as well as do "funky" things with the body of the guitar. 

 

I know nothing about how difficult classical guitar would be.

 

It takes years of practice for a pianist to get really good in classical music.  The technique and sight reading alone take years to develop.

 

ETA:  Someone, somewhere is going to hate my opinion.  It's mine, and no one has to agree.

[maize]

I don't think you can say one instrument is harder than the other, it all depends on what you are doing with the instrument.

[NicAnn]

Besides, it doesn't matter which is easier...It matters which one you look better playing.

[Lucy in Australia]

Having learned both as a child, I would definitely say classical guitar is harder. On the other hand, if it's just chords on the guitar, I say piano is harder.

[Dory]

If one is just learning basic chords on the guitar, then piano would be much, much harder. If one is learning classical guitar, then it might be considered harder. It's hard to compare instruments like that though. I found guitar hard at first simply because of my poor fingers when I was younger. Neither would hold a candle to a cello, or a violin.

[Paula in MS]

If we compare apples to apples (chording a simple song), they are identical. Actually, now that I think about it, piano is easier for basic chording. Guitar takes a bit of practice to get those chord changes down. It takes a LOT of practice in some keys to get those chord changes. If you teach piano chords by rote and voice the chords in a way that they are easy to move to, it can be very easy. Think about a simple I IV I V I chord progression in C on the piano. Very simple. When I think about the guitar, I think about how difficult it is to get around with the same progression in G or E (common keys for guitar). I find it very difficult, but piano is my first instrument so take that into account. The violin.....very tough in the beginning. I don't know past that because I gave up. :). It would probably be a different story if I started on the violin or guitar, though.

 

It is hard to think this way, though, because most pianists don't begin their lessons with playing chords. Also, to play anything on the piano even at an intermediate level, like Fur Elise takes years of practice. Most people who play don't even begin to scratch the surface of what is available for piano.

[klmama]

I think it all depends on the musician and how interested he/she is in putting in the hours needed to learn to play well!   Simple songs can be played on either one fairly quickly, but playing more complex music well takes hours and hours and years of work.  If the student doesn't have the drive to do that, the instrument will seem hard. 

[SKL]

Interesting to see the diversity in responses!

 

I would say guitar is easier, just based on what I saw when my kids were 5 and taking lessons in both.  "Ode to Joy" was in the guitar book after only a few lessons.  Not so in the piano book. ;)  There are so many complex things you need to do on the piano before you can really say you "play."  A guitar can sound pretty good with little note knowledge and a good feel for music.  Some of the most famous guitar-playing musicians were unable to read notes.

[Seasider]

Well, a guitar sure is easier to carry!

 

FWIW, I have my kids each learn piano plus at least one "traveling" instrument. Something they could take to a party or camping (guitar, recorder, ukulele, Appalachian dulcimer, mandolin and cajon players here).

[Alte Veste Academy]

As someone whose kids play both, and forgetting individual strengths and weaknesses (which is kind of unfair and probably makes this question pretty close to impossible to answer, LOL), I would personally rank them from hardest to easiest as classical guitar, piano, non-classical guitar.

 

When DD and DS10 first started taking music lessons, DS10 began with piano and classical guitar simultaneously. DD began with piano and violin simultaneously. They both thought piano was much easier.

 

DD's violin teacher had been taking violin since the age of three and piano since the age of five. She had been teaching both for years and played just beautifully. One day DD and DS finished their guitar and violin lessons at exactly the same time, and DS's teacher was telling him to be sure to practice the chords he learned several times each day every day of the week, that they would be hard at first. DD's teacher exclaimed, "Oh, did you learn chords today?! Oh, yes, lots of practice!"

 

Then as an aside to me, she said, "That is when I had to quit guitar! It was too hard!" LOL As you can tell, I still get a kick out of that!

[Alte Veste Academy]

A guitar can sound pretty good with little note knowledge and a good feel for music. Some of the most famous guitar-playing musicians were unable to read notes.

This is why some have remarked on the difference between classical and non-classical guitar lessons. There is a big difference. DH plays guitar beautifully but only chords and tabs. He insisted that our kids learn to read music because he always felt he was at a deficit. (I don't play a thing, so I think he rocks, but whatever... :lol:)

 

One of the coolest things for us is to see my DS play something on his guitar and literally spin right around and play the same thing on piano...and vice versa. Can't do that if you are learning only chords and tabs on guitar!

 

And I agree it is awesome for kids to have a portable instrument. Nothing beats a guitar around a campfire.

 

ETA: I have a book on picking the right instrument for your child and I want to say that guitar is the most often quit, precisely because it is assumed to be so easy. Yeah, well, those rockers aren't dummies! They have a gift!

[SKL]

I have a brother who taught himself to play guitar by listening to Peter, Paul & Mary.  :)  He would play all the guitar parts at the same time.  After that he bought a classical guitar book.

 

That's something I always wanted to do, if I could ever find the time . . . .

 

Then again, my dad can play the piano pretty well and he can barely read (dyslexic).  My younger brother sounds like he's had piano lessons for decades, yet he's never had one.  I guess it might run in the family . . . .

[Mommyof4ks]

Guitar is by far harder than piano to learn. My youngest took guitar last year, and he only learned a few songs, because the fingerlings take time to learn. The piano just requires learning what the notes are, and they repeat all the way up and down. Both instruments take a lot of practice to learn difficult music, but simple music is much easier to learn on the piano.

[Angie in VA]

I'd say violin! But that may appear snarky, so I'll just say: I don't know. I only play my iPod and the car radio, w/ the occasional dabbling in cds.

 

 

[Wilma]

Probably any instrument is equally difficult to become an expert in - some are just easier to be decent on. Like oboe vs. clarinet - it's way easier to sound decent on clarinet, but both take practically a lifetime to be amazing at. Also trumpet vs. French Horn. Ditto guitar and piano. Guitar is easier to be decent at (non-classical, anyway) but the sky is the limit once you've begun.

[Laurie4b]

My 14 year old ds is insisting that guitar is much more difficult than the piano. I think piano is harder, but I don't know enough about either instrument to really argue my case. My 10 year old dd plays piano which is probably why he insists the guitar is more difficult.

 

Why does it matter? :confused:   I don't get the point of the argument . Is it for bragging rights?