[markvdb]

Pro guitar teacher here. I recognise some things in what you say that leads me to speculate you might benefit from an accessible wind instrument. The saxophone might be something for you.

Some reasons:

- Wind instruments are fairly physical to play. That can be rewarding/refreshing after a day of playing in the geek world. As an aside, this makes them great for the many people with ADHD/ADD too!

- Most wind instruments are monophonic. The complexity of an accompanying/polyphonic instrument is its own can of worms...

- In many parts of the world, especially the western world, it's relatively easy to find a larger ensemble fairly quickly. The group can be a real anchor point.

[jacquesm]

Seconded, ex-sax player (long story short: lung damage from long ago caused me to have to give it up), the sax is an extremely rewarding instrument. Try a tenor and an alto and figure out which one you like the timbre of best, and stay away from instruments that are too cheap, better a half decent second hand one than a crappy new one. Start off with a #2 reed if you've never played a wind instrument before and figure out if that's good for you or if you want it heavier or lighter.

Don't get discouraged if you run out of wind quickly in the beginning, that will build up fast, and don't overdo it with practice until you've built up some lip strength or you'll end up with claret all over your nice reeds.

[gatonegro]

Thanks, I honestly had never considered wind instruments. My only experience with a wind instrument was playing one of those cheap plastic recorders in elementary school.

That bit about them being good with people with ADHD reminded me of a friend I had in university. She had ADHD, and had been playing the saxophone since she was 14 or 15, and said that she found it very relaxing.

I keep coming back to this idea of learning an instrument every year or so, and the last time I thought about it I was considering the violin. I absolutely love the sound of it. But I might have to give this some thought, because apparently I've just been ignoring an entire family of instruments.

[lioeters]

You might find drums and percussion instruments to your liking. I had a good friend who likely had ADHD, or something like it, with over-active mind, constantly shifting attention/focus, expressed in his manner of speech and fidgeting (always jumping legs up and down). He was a drummer, and it was very noticeable that when he played drums, his mind could stay focused for hours, and even his fidgeting stopped. It was like his nervous energy would get channelled out of his body into the music.

[deskamess]

Thanks for the comment. I just posted asking about ADHD. What wind instrument(s) do you recommend for ADHD? Would polyphonic instruments pose a problem for someone with ADHD?

[markvdb]

The saxophone is supposed to be one of the easier ones to get a musical result out of. It is also fairly physical.

Polyphonic instruments posing a problem with ADHD is not an absolute rule, but I've seen more than a few people, especially at younger age, benefit immensely from a change from piano or guitar to the saxophone specifically.

The reasons could be many. Less reading while still struggling with technicalities, more deterministic fingering, less going on are just a few.

[sogen]

Any other recommendations of Wind instruments?