10 Simple Things Actors Can’t Make Look Convincing
3. Playing Musical Instruments
Playing music on a professional level comes easy to a select few. Whether it's the violin, the drums, or... I don't know... the bassoon, it takes hundreds of hours of practice for a musician to become decent, and thousands of hours to become great.
Since time is of the essence during a film production, actors who are expected to play an instrument for a role may either prepare thoroughly and do their best to learn an instrument, or just mime.
Some actors do go the extra mile, however, learning how to play the instrument for real. Joaquin Phoenix mastered the guitar for Walk the Line. Robert De Niro perfected the saxophone for New York, New York. Tom Hulce learned the piano for Amadeus, to the point where he could play upside-down.
This is impressive, since it would be easier to fake it, right?
Not at all. Any musical artist can spot an actor pretending to play an instrument from a mile away. There's nothing more distracting for some viewers than watching a performer holding an instrument incorrectly, pressing the keys in the wrong order, or strumming the strings in an unnatural way (especially when they're not in time with the beat). Even if the actor gets 99% of the movements right, that 1% is a dead giveaway.
As hard as it is to master a musical instrument, it's harder to fake it.