From James Beggs newsletter: It is the general perception that the violin, oboe and french horn are the hardest instruments to learn but an interesting piece of research by physiologist Geoffrey Walsh of Edinburgh University casts a different light on the subject. As one of the worlds leading experts on the human hand and as an accomplished flautist himself, he undertook a five year project to answer this question. He tested some 2000 musicians including some of the worlds best soloists and orchestral, band and group members. Using specially devised tests and aids, he was able to measure the dexterity of the fingers of each of his subjects. Dr Walsh concluded that overall, woodwind instrumentalists came in third behind string and keyboard players but for superior finger dexterity, players of the Great Highland Bagpipe were the clear winners. It was of particular interest to him, that in a piobaireachd, the player could execute up to 8 grace notes between the main notes in less than a second and this dexterity therefore puts pipers amongst the most skilled of all musicians. Some would conclude that in fact, the Great Highland Bagpipe is the most difficult of all instruments to learn and master. I play a number of instruments including the violin and pipes and I would say that no instrument is easy to master. Some are less difficult than others in the early stages but they all require a great deal of time, application and innate ability if you are to achieve any sort of decent standard.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:13:49 +0000
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