Current Events > Choice: Language or Music Instrument

(+) Yeah! (+)

For me this is tough pick. Being expert in music is cool, you can show off and impress people or just play for own pleasure. But being able to speak 8 languages, you can understand different cultures a lot more deeply, make travelling a lot easier and you can also impress people with this skill.

Which do you guys choose?

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Being an expert in 6 instruments would make my job a lot easier, so that

Good question.

Languages

I could more easily learn an instrument than another language personally.

Speaking of does anyone know a good good way to learn a new language? Like those Rosetta stones do they work? Or is there something better now!

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Hmm, seeing as I'm already fluent in English and Spanish, having these languages at my disposal would be incredible during my travels:

- Japanese
- Arabic
- Russian
- Cantonese
- Portuguese
- German
- Navajo
- Afroasiatic

or, OR

Since I'm already a pretty good drummer, can shred it at parties playing these bad boys

- Guitar
- Piano
- Sax
- Harmonica
- Violin
- Harp


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Languages no question. Gonna just assume the 8 include new languages, so I'll exclude my native English and German that I'm somewhat intermediate with in learning and say:

Danish
Arabic
Italian
French
Mandarin
Spanish
Swahili
Russian or Japanese

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Language. I can't think of 6 instruments that I care enough about to want to master.
I'd go with
Russian
Arabic
Mandarin
Hindi
Portuguese
German
Spanish
Latin

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8 is a lot of languages.
I'm already fluent in french, so if I took:
spanish
japanese
mandarin
arabic
italian
russian
german
gaelic

I'd be pretty well set for traveling.

on the other hand, I'm also a professional musician -- I play trumpet, ukulele, and sing at a professional level

piano, bass, and drums would be good additions and I'd be able to get way more gigs. after that I'd probably just take french horn, trombone, and tuba to further my brass playing and get more brass-doubling gigs.

honestly I think having the languages would be a bigger asset. piano is the only other instrument that I'm really wanting to learn better right now.

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Languages EZ

Spanish
French
German
Mandarin
Japanese
Arabic
Hindi
Portugese

That's most of every continent aside of maybe Africa.

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Mistere Man posted...

Good question.

Languages

I could more easily learn an instrument than another language personally.

Speaking of does anyone know a good good way to learn a new language? Like those Rosetta stones do they work? Or is there something better now!

@Mistere_Man Honestly Rosetta Stone is shit, or at least not worth paying any money for. There are plenty of free apps that serve the same purpose. Duolingo, while only one tool in a learners arsenal, is great for starters and beginning to grasp the basics of a language. Something like Babble or Memrise is probably interchangeable.
A spaced repetition (ie flashcards) app like Anki is invaluable. If you can make your own deck thats ideal, but also far more time consuming. Buy some basic grammar/verb books and practice by hand. Assimil is EXCELLENT if you can find it in your starting to target language. Engage with the language as often and as deeply as possible. Listen to music in it, read childrens stories in it. Basically, read as much as often and as early as possible; theres no better alternative. Watch Youtube videos about it, movies, tv. Use English subs at first, eventually switch to your targets subs when comfortable enough.
What language(s) did you have in mind?

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Thank you very much! I will look into those ideas. Oops I forgot to list the languages. I was thinking Spanish, French, or Chinese personally. Of those I think I would get the most use out of Spanish.

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Language. I love music and learned to play by ear, but the fact is, I just don't have it in me to make up my own songs. And playing the songs I like would be better if more than one person/instrument is involved.

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Mistere Man posted...

Thank you very much! I will look into those ideas. Oops I forgot to list the languages. I was thinking Spanish, French, or Chinese personally. Of those I think I would get the most use out of Spanish.

No problem! And nice! Just remember that ultimately language acquisition for adults who arent immersed and learning out of sheer necessity ultimately boils down to motivation. Youll learn quicker and more efficiently (and enjoy it more) when its a language you enjoy, regardless of utility

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For me the languages would be more far more valuable.

Instruments are pretty easy to learn for me, and I would have little to gain from instant expert skill in any single one.

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Are they random languages or do I get to choose?

This was recommended for me on YouTube a few days ago. And wow.

https://youtu.be/Rj8bxm0fERw

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Instrument for sure. There are tools one can use to bridge language gaps, but the ability to play music is irreplaceable.

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if i get actual good songwriting ability with the instruments, instruments easily. otherwise languages.

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can i pick programming languages as well?

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Choco posted...

can i pick programming languages as well?

No. Only human language.

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Cobra1010 posted...

No. Only human language.

Programming languages were invented by humans though.

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Languages, easily.

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Cobra1010 posted...

This was recommended for me on YouTube a few days ago. And wow.

https://youtu.be/Rj8bxm0fERw

Not gonna watch but very likely BS. Most youtube polyglots are fluent in 1-3 languages and know some basic stuff in a few others. Its easy to fake it for a video.

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Language is just more expensive and time consuming to learn, so that.

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Cobra1010 posted...

No. Only human language.

aww.

i mean i'm still picking the languages but 8 is more than i care about lol

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I feel like languages would be more beneficial long-term, especially when it comes to employment.

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