Learning an instrument is a wonderful way to relax and give your brain a thorough workout, not to mention the joy it can bring to yourself and other Bethesda Gardens assisted living community residents at Fort Worth. Many people believe that childhood is the best time to learn an instrument, but the truth is that you can enjoy making music and pick up new skills at any age.
However, some instruments are easier to learn in your senior years than others. Which one you pick depends on what type of music you want to play, how much space you have available and your budget. Below, you can find a list of the best instruments to learn in an assisted living community.
While the piano is always a popular choice, you may prefer not to have such a large instrument taking up space in your assisted living suite. A perfect alternative is a keyboard, which offers all the benefits of a piano in a portable package that you can store away when you're not using it. Furthermore, you can use preset backing chords to create impressive-sounding performances even before you've progressed to playing with both hands.
The keyboard is an excellent instrument for budding musicians of all ages because you'll almost certainly be able to find a local tutor. If you don't want to spend too much on lessons, there are also plenty of high-quality books available to help you teach yourself. There are even free tutorials available on YouTube that can teach you to play your favorite worship songs or hit singles.
As a keyboard player, you'll have plenty of opportunities to make music with other assisted living community residents. You may even wish to consider offering your services for worship sessions once you've mastered the basics.
If you're looking for an instrument that's easy to learn, you may want to consider the ukulele. This traditional and affordable 4-stringed instrument is straightforward enough to pick up quickly, and you should be ready to play your first song within a few lessons. The ukulele is ideal for assisted living community members because it's compact and easy to carry around.
While it might be a little harder to find a local ukulele teacher, there is no shortage of high-quality, free materials and videos available on the internet. YouTube is a great place to find ukulele tutorials from expert teachers from all around the world.
As ukulele playing is based around simple chords, it's the ideal instrument for slotting neatly into pretty much any ensemble. As you progress, consider offering your ukulele skills to accompany singers or other instrumental players in your community.
There's a good reason that the guitar is such a popular choice for assisted living residents. This instrument is small enough to store in a closet and isn't too heavy to carry around with you. It's also extremely versatile, with a huge repertoire of classical and modern music to choose from. You can also choose between an acoustic or electric instrument, depending on the kind of music you want to learn.
You shouldn't find it too difficult to find a local guitar teacher, but there are also plenty of free online tutorials available. As the guitar is such an integral part of most bands, you may even be able to find other community members at Bethesda Gardens in Fort Worth to form a group with.
The percussion family of instruments is diverse, and anyone with a decent sense of rhythm can start learning percussion, whatever their age. If you've got plenty of space in your assisted living apartment, learning to play a full drum kit is a great way to improve coordination while having fun. People who want a smaller instrument could consider a more unusual percussion instrument like the bongos or djembe.
As a percussion player, you'll find plenty of opportunities to make music with others and enjoy socializing with other like-minded musicians. Joining a band or drumming group is a great way to relax and make new friends. You could even use your skills to accompany worship songs at church.
Don't let painful memories of shrill children's recitals put you off learning the versatile recorder. This traditional instrument has plenty of great benefits — not least being that it's highly affordable and small and light enough to carry around in your bag. There's also a diverse repertoire for beginner recorder players, from baroque music to modern classics. If you're a fan of folk music, an excellent alternative is the tin whistle.
Recorder teachers aren't as easy to find as guitar or keyboard tutors, but this instrument is one of the easiest to learn if you want to teach yourself. You can buy DIY books to learn the basics of recorder playing from most good music stores and online. If you find it easier to learn through watching a demonstration, consider searching on YouTube for beginner recorder tutorials.
