Piano is way up there, not just because it's mechanically simple to learn and understand (press button, note plays, always same note in same place) but because there are just massive amounts of resources to learn how to play. When I had more time, I had a lot of fun playing songs on a light up keyboard hooked up to a computer using Synthesia. I would download a song I wanted to learn (eg Moonlight Sonata), and the keys I needed to press would light up, so I would play the song bit by bit, building muscle memory. I was able to use a music sheet just to remind me of what my fingers already knew. Is it the "right way" to learn? Probably not but it's fun and easy and that's what I wanted.

The ukulele is pretty easy as far as guitar-like instruments go. The strings are nylon and there are only 4, so it's easier to manage. If you like it, you can eventually learn to play the full guitar. And you only need to learn chords, not sheet music.

The Triangle. There’s that joke about the guy going to practice each week, he shows up, plays “ding!”, teacher goes “great work, you’re getting so much better! See you next week!”, and then he leaves.

As others have stated: you don't necessarily need to read music for it to be fun. And there are different ways of notation. Chords, for example, are a great way to learn music without having to read on a per note basis.

Acoustic guitar is fairly easy to pick up. It will take a few days of pain to get your fingers accustomed to pressing the strings though. Takes quite some pressure from your fingers. But after those first few days, you're golden. It's also easier to change in which "key" you play a song(oversimplified: how high or low the whole song is).

Piano is another pretty easy instrument to learn chords on. The upside of piano is that you won't have pain in the fingers for your first few days. You press and you'll have a sound. It is harder to play in different "keys" though.

Keyboard is an interesting one too: You'll learn chords like with the piano, but you'll have acces to more sounds, backing tracks etc in your keyboard if you'd go that route.

Flutes and such are quite easy to get into, but can be a bit less interesting if you only play on your own.

But in the end, most instruments takes practice and time. Just set your own goals on what you find important.

Speaking as a guitarist, I have to say guitar is the easiest instrument to pick up and almost immediately make a cool sound with. Also, you can use guitar tab to play songs you're familiar with. Tabs don't really show rhythm, unlike sheet music, but are simple to read.

Triangle. In all honesty piano/keyboard is great. It has basic music theory built in.

Here's everything I have learned to play because it was easy as shit:

• Flute (hardest thing is getting the mouth placement down. Once you have that you're on easy street; and I think this is probably true of all woodwinds and brass instruments)
• Mouth harp (boingy boingy boingy)
• Ocarina
• Harmonica
• Theramin (pretend you're a wizard!)
• Tambourine
• Taiko drums
• Bongos
• Xylophone
• Cymbals
• Cannon

The only instrument I have learned that was difficult and took years to get even semi okay at was piano. And I mostly attribute that to my small hands, because I can play so much better on a MicroKORG than a full size keyboard.

practice. Nothing is easy without it. With it even the hardest is possible. So he question is how willing you are to dedicate practice time. Half an hour per day, every day for a few years.

Mayonnaise

Singing, your throat becomes the instrument

Ocarina

Recorder.

The kalimba is super easy to play. Basically anyone can just pick one up and make something that sounds good!

I barely read music. I think guitar or ukulele are the easiest to sound decent on. Strummed instruments just require a lot less technique to get a good sound from. Learn E, A, and Bm7 on a guitar and you can play the blues.

Theremin

Pan flute

Piano

Harmonica or accordion.

The bass is a great instrument as it's easy to pick up and be able to use decently but it also has a super high skill ceiling.

Trombone, full stop. If you have hand issues, the trombone is definitely the instrument to start with. There are other instruments of course, but for your particular predicament that's what I would recommend.

If your issue is mainly about reading sheet music maybe a Veeh Harp would be for you.

It is a string plugged instrument played from note stencils, which are pushed between the strings and the resonance body and enable playing from sight.

https://youtu.be/vQaGn9_iMMQ?feature=shared

https://www.veeh-harfe.de/copy-veeh-harp/?lang=en

https://www.harmonyharp.com.au/

Guitar and ukelele are relatively easy to learn and don't require reading music. Ukelele would probably be a bit easier on your joints though.

I don't know about easy to be expert, but you can have a lot of fun learning and playing simplified versions of pop songs on a basic guitar. IMHO, every household should have one.

I'm a woodwind person. I have the most fun with flute, but the sax is more accessible in my experience. You could also have fun with a penny whistle, there's a lot of rep for it and you can play bagpipe repertoire on one too.

The biggest thing is to practice and respect the instrument. There's a lifetime of mastery ahead of you, and approach it with patience and hard work.

Also, have fun!

There are some very simple, affordable little drum machines out there that are a blast to just sit and bang around on. It's a good way to lightly start getting into rhythm and timing. It's also something that won't demand a lot of dexterity. It's an unconventional answer, but it's also something that can get you rolling on music without needing to read sheet.

Or if guitar seems up your alley but chording seems intimidating, bass guitar is a great intro to that world. You can learn all the fundamentals of guitar, and if it becomes natural for you, switching over to guitar is almost seamless.

Arpeggiator

I have no personal experience but I've heard people say that a saxophone is rather quick to learn to play at a level that it sounds good.

Bongos or cajon are so fun and there are a ton of videos online. Also, uke.

I don't play an instrument -- only one in my family who doesn't -- so I'm not coming from a position of any expertise. But, I'd think that it'd depend an awful lot on your specific situation.

• Do you want an instrument that's portable? Do you want it to be something that you can easily carry around with you, something to use at home, or something that can easily move in a vehicle? I mean, a harmonica and a grand piano are pretty different beasts.

• How loud? Practicing an instrument can be kinda noticeable for people in the area, and some are a lot louder than others. If you're living alone at a farmhouse, that has a different impact than if you're in an apartment building.

• I'd probably play something that you like to listen to. I don't know what instruments you like to listen to.

• I have no idea how much you want to spend. There's a pretty big price range.

If I were going to learn to play an instrument, I suspect that I'd learn the keyboard so that I could hook a MIDI keyboard up to a computer and take advantage of that. I could just put on headphones and play it essentially silently WRT everyone else, whenever I wanted. And it'd let me drive a lot of synthesizer software. But those characteristics may be of no interest to you.

Lap Harp