QotD: I wish I could...

Play any instrument or speak any language, which do you choose?
Question submitted by cruftbox.vox.com.

Hmmm, this is rather tough for me to answer, since I've always wanted to do both.  I think I'll answer this practically: it's probably easier to learn to play any instrument than it is to learn to speak any language well.  If you already play an instrument (or two, or three), you've already grasped fundamentals, such as rhythm, beats, reading music, etc.  You may not play the newer instruments as well, but with a good amount of practice, I think you'd improve dramatically.  Musical instruments share a common ground in that they all "speak" the language of music.  Languages, on the other hand, can vary dramatically, making it much more difficult to learn new languages when there are absolutely no commonalities in syntax, grammar, and vocabulary.

Thus, I pick the ability to speak any language.  Additionally, I can see myself using multi-language fluency in my career, while I can't imagine that anyone's going to ask me to join a band anytime soon.