Subject: Squeezebox window-shopping From: Pip Radish - PM Date: 06 Aug 09 - 10:36 AM
"I also want an instrument where simply hitting a chord and holding it for a couple of bars can sound good, which rules out guitars & similar (hitting a chord and letting it hang just makes you sound like you're pretending to be a medieval minstrel)."
Well, you could pick a simple pattern or strum. I admit, I'm not a big fan of strumming, but like so many other things, it ain't what you do, it's how you do it.
"Does this make sense?"
Sure.
"Any comments/suggestions/awful warnings/whatever would be welcome."
I think a dulcimer, an autoharp or a zither might be a good choice. However, my Awful Warning is that one gets out of an instrument what one puts into it (like when you drop your flatpick into your guitar). All instruments are difficult and I really believe that if you don't want to put the effort into learning to play it well (though that doesn't mean you have to learn to play complicated things), it would be better not to do it at all. Not for moral reasons, but because it will be frustrating and end up not improving your music-making.
Do you not have anyone to accompany you? If you have a voice, that's a great gift. I wish I had one. I also wish I had someone to accompany. An instrument can be a good prop, but I don't think that's a good reason for playing one and I do think it's a lot better to sing without also playing an instrument at the same time. In fact, playing an instrument at the same time will probably make your singing worse.