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If you are looking for an outlet to make music and you aren't glued to an instrument choice yet, I'd like to advocate for the humble ukulele.

A tenor or baritone size uke is very easy to play (chords are shaped the same as on a guitar but there are only 4 strings so they are much simpler) and can be picked up very quickly and it's satisfying.

You can pick up a very good Kala tenor or baritone uke on Amazon for under $100 and be very happy with it (although I'd change the Aquila strings that commonly come on these for Martin Clear Fluorocarbon strings immediately if you can, much nicer sound - a lot of music stores will carry these but you can also get them online for cheap, less than $10 for a set).

I started on a soprano but ended up with a baritone and I've been playing that Kala bari for years now and I love it so much. I often say it was the best $85 I've ever spent, no contest. This is it, or very close - the price went up a few bucks but still super cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Makala-Baritone-Mahogany-Ukulele-Kala/dp/B001LTZZSG/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=kala+baritone+uke&qid=1555525149&s=gateway&sr=8-3

There are a lot of devices like that out there. I was just looking for something simple for my gf to practice on as I just taught her how to play. Ultimately I taught her how to use amplitube on my pc, but I did find a few things out there. I haven't tried any of these, so heads up!


Vox has a few headphone amps out there. I feel like one of them had an aux in. This thing looks like it fits the bill for you perfectly.

http://www.voxamps.com/soundboxmini

Line 6 has their old pocket pods and now the sonic port, though the sonic port is meant to get your guitar into your iphone, not to act as your amp.

http://line6.com/interfaces/#sonicport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrsO3VyosMc <--pocket pod video i randomly grabbed.

I also found this while doing some research.
http://www.amazon.com/Korg-PX5D-Pandora-Effects-Processor/dp/B000ZKSYPS

Good luck!

• Check out r/audioengineering - they have a weekly "no dumb questions" thread especially for beginners, and a weekly "gear" thread. They're a great source of information.
  
• All of the other suggestions for mbox, focusrite, etc. are great. Me, I live in the protools world, so I would suggest an mbox.
  
• Here are some suggestions for mics:
  
  • Shure SM57 - workhorse dynamic mic. Also sounds great with the windscreen attachment. Could be found on ebay for less, still in good shape. Durable, reliable mic.
    
  • AT2020 - large diaghragm condenser.
    
  • AKG P-170 - small diaghragm condenser.
    
• Great book on home studios
  
• Great book on mixing for the home studio
  
  Have fun and good luck!

not sure if you know enough about his process, but you have pretty much one decision to make: do you wanna get a keyboard with fewer keys and more knobs/sliders/drum pads, or more keys and fewer knobs? If you want more knobs, the Akai MPK mini MKII is a great option. If you want more keys, M-Audio Keystation 49. For something in between, Alesis V49. Good luck!

As always it starts with playing something very simple and singing over that... playing quarter note chords on the piano with a few chords and figuring out a melody with your voice is a great way to start... watch some videos of people playing and singing at the same time, you'll notice that the parts they play will sometimes get simplified when they are singing, and then become more intricate when they can focus on just the parts.

I would like to point out that many piano books aren't actually the exact way the artist plays the song, in fact most of the songbooks include the melody line in the right hand that should be sung, and not played...

If you were to get the Beatles Score Book, you'll quickly realize that a lot of the melody lines are sung over a chord progression that is much easier than playing the chord progression and the melody line while singing the melody line as well...

I got a lot of value out of Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art": https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1590710037/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

In summary: waiting around for artistic inspiration/motivation is a mistake.

Successful and/or prolific artists don't wait to feel motivated, they work every single day no matter what.

I have found that when I'm in a rut, but I force myself to start writing, I can still eek out some decent ideas.

That leads to another good point: "From quantity comes quality".

Not everything you do has to be groundbreaking, and you don't even need to release all of it. But when you sit down every day to create, you're bound to create some good stuff.

Hope that helps.

I’ve been playing thirty years and taught quite a few along the way. The modern way is probably YouTube but I can’t help you there. I recommend you start with this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0711982260

It’s an easy and quick book to get into but remarkably deep and effective.

Then move onto this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0825640571

This book is tough and requires some dedication. Where you go after that is based on your personal direction. Crack the basics first.

If you really want to make progress, get a teacher. They will turbo charge your development and spot mistakes.

This is a pretty good one. It's centered around jazz but the concepts are super transferrable. You probably need to be able to read music for it though.

​

Outside of that, I'd guess that almost any book on functional harmony would teach you what you're looking to learn. Hope this helps!

Get something like this to get you started. Learn the positions, notes and scales. Once you know that, you can go as far as your musical talent and willingness to work hard will take you.

In a lot of ways, trombone is one of the easier brass instruments. There are 7 slide positions, as opposed to a wind instrument with seemingly limitless fingering combinations. Getting the right embouchure is key to being able to play with good tone and a wide range.

Have fun!

I love the melodica idea! Definitely this. I play lots and lots of instruments, and this is one of my favorites to just noodle around on - it's so easy to dismiss it as a toy, but it's really capable of a lot of expression, and even virtuosity if you work at it.

edit: This is the one I play: http://amzn.com/B000Y7LVES

Garageband is a good option, since you have a mac. Audacity is free. You can find some other DAW programs for free if you know where to look. I plug my guitars (electric & acoustic) and mic into this interface and it works great for the level of quality I'm looking for. It aint free...but it's relatively cheap as far as recording goes and I'm sure you could find something similar for less if you look.

Congrats for starting up music again, that guy sounds like an abusive loser.

There's a book called, "Practicing: A Musician's Return to Music," that is a good read. It's one guy's story about getting discouraged, quitting for years, and starting up again. It's insightful and encouraging. Maybe that might be a good read?

Honestly, I quit for a few years too, and one of the biggest helps to start again was going to counseling.

Do you struggle with the music or the lyrics?

Most people struggle to write good lyrics. Most people's first songs are pretty awful lyrically. You can improve with practice.

Pat Pattison is the professor of songwriting at Berklee College of Music and an incredible teacher. He does clinics and has published some books and videos. Write Better Lyrics is a great introduction into how to think about your lyrics.

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Better-Lyrics-Pat-Pattison/dp/1582975779

The first thing to do is look for a copy of The Beatles: Complete Scores. Here's the Amazon link. That will help a lot with the other tips that have been given.