Who plays musical instruments?

[Ankhanu 0]

I know it's some info available in everyone's user profiles, but, sifting through user profiles isn't as fun as chatting about it, so...

 

Who here is a "musician", or otherwise plays a musical instrument? What do you play, and why (that/those) instrument(s)?

[Aurora 2]

Not me /sad I wish I could!!

 

I dont have a musical bone in my body, altho I love music like nothing else

 

Even my mum tells me I cant hold a tune /lmao

 

But oh welll there is nothing like singing really badly and loudly while driving in your car

[erialc 2]

The only instrument I can claim to have played /play hahah so infrequently though is the Bodhran (irish drum) and because ...(I grew up around people playing all sorts of imstruments and partying)...well it has such a beautiful tone...it's a very tactile instrument...and you can feed it lol..mine sounds so much better when it's loosened up with some warmth and some guinness

[Guest gogoblender]

Great thread Ankhanu!

You're doing some kick ass posting ever since you've arrived!

Erialc I'm jealous of you and your Bodhran...I've only heard it played live once and this was at a party we were at with friends in Ireland.

It's the kind of instrument that is meant for friends!

I myself have taken a ton of piano but I don't have any keyboards anymore

Maybe one day I'll go out and grab one?

It's tons of fun ta play and pretty relaxing as well.

But...there's no comparison to a Bodhran for portability!

 

gogo

[OMGSTUFF 2]

I play guitar, bass, keyboard, and when the opportunity presents itself, I gravitate towards a drumset.

and I have a plastic accordian.

and my friend's melodica.

and an organ.

it makes noises.

[alex792008 0]

Been playing piano since I was a little kid, since my grandmother was the pianoist at her church, so I learned from her and from an instructor. Sadly, I don't have a piano or keyboard, just like Gogo, so I don't play regularly, expect when I go over to a friend's house that has one, or something like that.

[Ankhanu 0]

Well, thanks, gogo... really I'm just bored and opinionated

 

Bodhran is pretty awesome. I've only tried to play one once or twice, but I live in an area where celtic music is pretty popular, so I've had fair exposure to it.

 

Personally, I primarily play bass, with a smattering of guitar, some percussion and winds.

I've been playing bass for about 10 years, though my skill level is no where near what that time would suggest and guitar a little less, but most of that was just messing around with friends' guitars; I've only had one for 2 years.

I started with bass, because, well, not many people played bass; guitar players are a dime a dozen, and I love rhythm, it's the unrecognized understated element that many rock folk overlook instead focusing on the flashy soloing and such.

 

But yeah, what I play is bass and guitar, but I mess around with (but really don't know how to play) hand drums, drum kit, flute, keys, fife, tin whistle, recorder and some double reeded instrument that I don't know what it's called and no one's been able to ID for me (it's hand made from Armenia).

 

OMG and Alex, I envy your skill with keys... I don't know how skilled you are, but, without question, you're more skilled than I

[Lexian 0]

I own a keyboard, and once apon a time I owned an acoustic guitair. I can play two songs on guitair... amazing grace and leaving on a jetplane... very badly... haha... mostly I like to sing to leaving on a jetplane. its three chords. and I still suck at it... and about three simple ones on a keyboard. I have always been surrounded by very musical ppl and have no talent whatsoever in that area. although I would love to.. I dont have the patience to learn

[Schot 407]

Oh yah, cool thread!

 

Of all the very many things that have come into my life.. Music. It is the only true constant in my life and what a thing it is.

 

I learned Saxophone and Keyboard in highschool. Was the singer/writer in a rock/punk band where we would practice songs from sex pistols, metalica and the like. Thankfully I never performed in front of a large audience. Just amoung friends. I've got terrible stage fright, lol. And a few years ago was djing. Djing was definitely THE most fun of all. Wow! I just can not explain it. So much effort and concentration is required.

 

I'm a huge bass guitar fan tho. Would really enjoy learning that. Tinkering with a keyboard to create melodies is a lot of fun too!

 

Maybe I'll ask my sister for hers. She never uses it anyways.

 

Hey wait! We could, like... Start our own band! haha! And I've got the perfect band name. .... /whistle

[Guest gogoblender]

you wanna start a band?

with a sax?

/blink

not at home dude....

not at home

/viking

 

gogo

 

 

p.s. is there anyway you can plug yer sax inta a set of headphones maybe? /whistle

[OMGSTUFF 2]

OMG and Alex, I envy your skill with keys... I don't know how skilled you are, but, without question, you're more skilled than I

 

I took classical guitar lessons for awhle, so I'm more a guitar player than anything, my skills on the keys aren't anything to brag about. I have an alesis synth that I use just to play leads along with my friends when they play, I've got a pump organ and I really want to pick up a microKorg this summer as well.

[Ankhanu 0]

Microkorgs are sweet little synths. I was playing with one in store a couple months back, it took a lot of restraint (ie my wife) to keep from buying it

 

Of course, what I really want is a Minimoog

[Schot 407]

@gogo:

 

...

 

hrmph... <_<

[Ankhanu 0]

Ok, to add to the discussion, what kind of music do you play (most) as well?

Also, what gear do you have? (pics certainly welcome)

 

 

I play primarily rock, with a bit of an indie bent. I'd like to get into synth music as well, but well, I don't have one to play on Since I'm not that good, I use a lot of power chords, but I'm kind of working on diversifying my chord base

 

My set ups are:

Bass

.: Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass; Yamaha BBN5 and a cobbled together fretless from several sources

.: Yorkville 200B bass amp

.: Korg AX1B bass processor (rarely used); Boss CEB-2 Bass Chorus, Marshall Jackhammer

 

Guitar

.: Godin Exit 22 - S

.: 1972 Fender Twin Reverb

 

Others

.: World Beat 12" Ashiko (hand drum)

.: Yamaha flute

.: Cooperman Fife & Drum Co. Fife (Bb)

.: Tin Whistle (C & D)

.: Recorder

.: Alto Recorder

.: Unidentified hand made 8 hole whistle from Armenia

.: Unidentified hand made 9 hole double reed from Armenia

.: Cowbell

.: small pan flute

.: 4/4 violin

 

Of course, as mentioned, the bass and guitar are all I can actually play with any proficiency.

[fRACTAL 0]

I play a viola /rolleyes

soon to be learning base so I can form a metal band /lol

/devil

 

GoGo I htink of you when I see /devil its kinda scary /lmao

[Guest gogoblender]

I've always played classical. heh, my teacher never let me play anything else. Course, with that kinda training it really gave me a pretty good gift for appreciation regarding a music style that perhaps isn't as ubiquitous as pop.

So...thank you Mrs. Lauffer...Didn't know it then but you gave me a great listening range. And...lol, when I do get my hands on a piano I like to bang out pop stuff or melodies that I find kinda catchy that I hear from di.fm or live dj's. It's funny...I know that electronic keyboards are all the thing but....they still don't feel like a real piano. Funny how that's gonna change I guess. As teh keyboards get better and better there will come a day when my weekly visits to the music store will surprise me with a keyboard that absolutely replicates the sound, feel and feedback of the real thing.

Until then...it's me at my parents place with their old Heintman classic

 

gogo

 

p.s. Tim thats so cool about the Viola man. lol, I've got a few friends in bands that play Viola and have made some really awesome tunes with taking an old-school instrument into today's music scene.. One of them play Viola with a local group from eastern canda called the arcade fire.

[Ankhanu 0]

Viola is wicked awesome And yeah, blending these traditional instruments into modern music can have awesome results. I haven't heard the Arcade Fire (somehow... everyone's always talking about them), but Voltaire, from New York, incorporates some freakin' amazing violin in his songs, I love it.

 

Anyone here have any Stephane Grapelli mp3s:)

[danwilliams 0]

Well its very rare for me to play a music instrument seeing as I normally record them withthe line of work I have been in working in recording studios, but I can play pretty much any woodwind instrument (have played oboe, clarinette, flute and saxaphone in orchestras and bands) I an play the piano/organ, drumkit and bass guitar, never bothered with normal guitar has too many strings!!

 

I've also had experience at playing a trombone and a barritone horn over hte years, but I have to say having scottish relatives has been great because I learnt to play the bagpipes and I have a half size set of them somewhere!

[Ankhanu 0]

Awesome Dan!

If you'd like to play a more guitar-y guitar, but want fewer strings, you could try a tenor guitar, they're only 4 stringers.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Here're some of my instruments;

.: Yamaha, Godin and fretless

.: Ashiko and little drum thing

.: Godin and Fender amp (I really love that amp)

 

I'll find more images to upload later.

[danwilliams 0]

well to be fair I can play a 5 string bass, but I don't actively play musical instruments anymore... well withthe exception of he organ which is great fun when sitting at school in the recording studio and all you can see is a massive electric organ in front of you through the window of the recording studio and you have to go in and have a play.

[Adrienne 0]

You all play a bunch of really interesting instruments. I play piano primarily (also a Heintzman!) but I can also play clarinet and fife....not nearly as well though.

 

As for style..I primarily play classical music or hymns as that is what I was taught with mostly and also because I really like the "big" chords.

[Guest gogoblender]

wow, hyms!

Adrienne, mind sharing with us some info about the hymns?

Is this kinda like church?

heh, I used ta sing in tons and tons of choirs so I'm interested by this.

Thanks!

 

gogo

[Ankhanu 0]

I just took some shots of my instruments, so here they are:

Wind instruments

Left to Right:

.: Bontempi electric pump organ

.: (top and middle) pan flutes

.: (middle) Artist harmonica, not sure of key

.: (bottom) Yamaha flute

.: Aulos alto recorder

.: Aulos recorder

.: Generation tin whistle (D)

.: Generation tin whistle ©

.: Cooperman Fife & Drum fife (Bb)

.: unknown hand-made whistle from Armenia

.: unknown hand-made double reed from Armenia

 

Guitar and amp

.: Godin Exit 22 S

.: 1972 Fender Twin Reverb

.: Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass

 

Basses

Left to right:

.: Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass

.: Custom fretless Precision Bass (Yamaha RBX fretless neck, Profile P-Bass body, eBay special pickups and pots)

.: Yamaha BBN5

 

Percussion

.: World Beat Percussion 12" Ashiko

.: Little cheap djembe like drum

 

 

Missing:

.: Rhythm eggs (3)

.: Yorkville 200B amplifier

.: 2 small guitar amplifiers

.: 4/4 violin

 

 

And I want more, damnit!

[Eruntalon 0]

Guitar, bass, harmonica and acordeon

[Dementia 0]

I play guitar ^_^