Learning multiple instruments at once? Am I crazy?

[Grimm]

I am a 15 year drummer but that doesn't count for much
I started learning mandolin last year and it's everything i dreamed! But then I found myself buying other things. I bought a guitar a few months ago and an openback banjo a few weeks back. I thought at first I might be nuts but I am having a lot of fun. Now when I put down my mandolin for the day instead of watching tv... I pick up the next instrument!
I can't tell at this point if this slows down my learning with one instrument, or speeds it up? I've noticed some techniques I learned on the mandolin made my progress faster with the guitar. And I think some things I learned as a drummer make clawhammer easier?
Mainly I am wondering if it's too early to be trying to juggle this many new instruments. I know 1 year is hardly scratching the surface of mandolin.
Should I slow down? toss the guitar out the window? or keep truckin'

[Marty Jacobson]

There are people at every jam who can play all the chords, but have a weak sense of rhythm. Your background as a drummer is much more relevant than you're giving it credit for. Who cares if you can play the right note, if you don't know when to play it?
You'll be tearing it up in no time. It's natural for my focus to ebb and flow from one instrument to another, just play whichever one strikes your fancy at the moment and you'll come back to the other one when you're ready. If it's been a week or two, probably a good idea to make sure you pick the other one up just so you don't miss an opportunity to get back into the flow of it if the time is right.
But as long as you're playing, you're learning relatable skills which will translate to the other instruments.

[allenhopkins]

...but I am having a lot of fun...

All the answer you need.

[catmandu2]

Marty is spot on regarding the importance of rhythm (the value of drumming, etc). It's what music is predicated on; even free playing, solo, whatever - the player(s) always has a sense of time in mind...pushing at time is one of my strongest urges (I'm a drummer too), and drumming with (all) instruments is the funnest (sp). Everything in our experience is some analogue expression. Finding common affinities among instruments is a natural for some - use/enjoy it.

Try an accordian some time Grimm. To assuage the drum thing (too old to "rock" ) I find the time you can exploit with fingers is akin to doing it with larger muscle groups - and more convenient to haul !. Check this out: https://youtu.be/fswwgc2ev3U

[LostVenture]

There are no rules, that I'm aware of, concerning how you learn or what instrument you concentrate on.
As Mr. Hopkins mentioned, just have fun with it.
For what it's worth, taking what you learn from one instrument to the next, can only help your overall development. I know that playing guitar for 60 years, before I picked up a mandolin a year ago, has helped me continue with both instruments.

[MikeZito]

Within a span of 5 years I took up bass, guitar, drums and keyboards. For me, each instrument helps to build on the other; (kind of a 'cross-pollination' as someone here at MC recently put it). I have no real talent for any of the instruments that I play, but as Allen noted in Post #3 - as long as you are having fun, that is all you need to know . . . the skill WILL come, in due time, and you will be a better all-around musician for your efforts.

[Bill Clements]

Now when I put down my mandolin for the day instead of watching tv... I pick up the next instrument

Bravo.
We’d all be better off if we followed your example.

[farmerjones]

The Music is really in your head. Whatever's in your hands is just a tool.
Now, find a buddy or two to pass tunes back and forth.
You know what they say: "Two heads are better'n one"

[kurth83]

Yeah, less TV and more practicing, and for me the video games also compete for attention.

I think it's good to learn a lot of instruments, eventually some will stick more than others.

I think you will see some synergies and some slowdown by time-sharing like that, overall I would bet that slower is what you will get, this is not necessarily bad though. I prefer to focus on one instrument at a time, while maintaining the others that I am still interested in.

If you want to cover everything to become the most well-rounded musician possible (which is a fun but potentially long journey), I suggest covering rhythm, chordal, and melodic instruments.

Keyboard is required as the best way to learn chords and music theory IMHO. And learn to read music while you are at it, that should keep you busy for a long time. :-)

I still remember how my world opened up when I learned chords on piano, I was just a trumpet player at the time, and knew that I was missing out on a vast part of music by being limited to just one note at a time.

Same thing happened when I learned drums, rhythm at that level was new to me.

To me mando is not a melodic instrument in the same way a wind instrument is, where you can use vibrato and express a melodic line to a far greater degree than with a percussive instrument like mando or piano.

The easy way for melody is to just take voice lessons and learn how to sing correctly, unless you have a secret desire to play saxophone or violin for example, both of which can express a melodic line very nicely. I was surprised how much difference voice lessons made in my singing. It's easy to sing wrong, and most do by default, and I didn't know that until I got a teacher.

[Pepe]

Enthusiasm, stoke or whatever you want to call it is the fuel needed to learn & improve. The more you have, the more you can do. As long as whatever you're doing is feeding your stoke, you're doing the right thing. Given the combination of available time and a super absorbent mind at your age, it's likely the best time in your life to do it (not that anyone shouldn't who might be older...like I was...).

[HonketyHank]

You need a theorbo.

[Jeff Hildreth]

What's a multiple instrument?

[Marty Jacobson]

What's a multiple instrument?

It's called a theorbo.

[NursingDaBlues]

You need a theorbo.

It's called a theorbo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeUcGD4rRRc