Topic: Anyone play a musical instrument??

[Shorty McNostril]

I havent seen a thread like this before so i thought i would ask, who here plays an instrument?  What do you play and why did you start playing?  Also, if you don't play anything, is there anything that you would like to play one day and once again why?

I am a drummer and used to play violin many years ago.  I started drumming purely because i have always admired the art in it and decided that it was my turn to learn it and learn it really well.  I also got my new kit a couple of weeks ago as well.  It gets well used.    

I played the violin many years ago but got sick of it and stopped.  And now i am kicking myself for it.  I wish every day that i had kept it up.  

Anyway, what about you??

[nitsu niflheim]

I used to play the trombone in elementary & middle school, then switched to percussion bells I think in 7th grade then quit it all.

[decoyman]

I play piano and clarinet, and I also played violin for several years back when I was much younger. I also had a sax once, but it got stolen

I started playing piano because my parents made me I absolutely hated it at the time, but I'm really glad that I kept it up for like 9 years or so before stopping lessons. After I stopped taking lessons, I started composing a bit, and now I don't know how to play anything other than stuff I've written.

It's weird that you bring this up, Shorty, because I just brought out my clarinet this Christmas for the first time in probably 5 years. A couple friends of the family play clarinet too, and we played cheesy Best In Class (elementary music book) Christmas carols in our living room for an hour. There were four of us, and my sister plays flute/pic, so we had quite the little ensemble.

... UTTERLY LAME, yes, but it brought back lots of fun memories...

[Ian Sane]

I play guitar.  Naturally I can play bass as well and I have a mandolin I play but the tuning on it is custom so I don't reall officially know how to play the mandolin in general.  I've also fiddled with the harmonica and drums but I have no formal training on either of them and I'm not that good at them as a result.

I started taking guitar lessons in elementary school.  At that age I wasn't really interested in any activities and my parents were trying to get me interested in something.  Sports was their first attempt but I hated it and didn't try so they tried guitar.  My first guitar teacher sucked so I didn't really enjoy playing that much.  However after two years of that my parents realized I was getting nowhere and switched teachers.  At the same time I had saved up enough to get an electric guitar.  The new teacher was far better and got me more interested (case in point we played REAL songs instead of Frere Jacques) but he left the school a year later so I had to start over again with a third teacher.

Fortunately that teacher, Colin, was even better and remained my instructor until I stopped taking lessons.  He encouraged song writing and improvisation and grouped students together to get used to playing in a band.  My friend learned piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music and although he knew music theory and could play the piano really well he had never thought about writing his own materal until I told him that the songs I was playing were ones I had written myself.  I think creativity is very important with music training but it is rarely encouraged.  One thing that was cool was that there were a fair bit of guitar players at my high school.  About half of them had the same teacher as me and we were noticably better than the other players.  The other players would jam with us and we would teach them how to solo and there was a noticable style of playing at the school.  Almost everyone worth a damn was either one of Colin's students or a friend of Colin's students.

While I have a unique style of guitar playing I don't think anyone would consider me a really great guitar player.  I've focused more on songwriting than playing skill so I've developed an Ian Sane sound but I can't recreate Iron Maiden solos or anything like that.  I primarily use the guitar as a creative output so I rarely bother to learn other songs beyond my own.  My unqiue style is based on my lousy timing as I tend to start every bar just a little bit off but them subconsciencely compensate for it so that I'm in time by the end of the bar.  My brother plays bass like a metronome so when we jam it creates a nice contrast with the bass being really tight and guitar being loose.

One thing I like about the guitar is that before I really wasn't good at anything interesting.  Everyone else seemed to be good at sports or could draw really well or knew karate or something like that.  I only seemed to be good at boring stuff like math.  Learning guitar improved my self-esteem because it was the first thing I was good at that people would actually pay attention to.

I encourage parents to get their kids involved in music but to give them an instrument they're interested in.  Don't take trumpet lessons unless you like jazz or classical music.  The kid should be playing stuff he likes.  At the same time not everyone is good at music.  I find that it's something you either have or you don't and learning an instrument is just the technical requirement needed to unleash your full talent.  But you either have that talent or you don't so no one should be forced to stick to an instrument if it's clear they just don't have it because then they won't be interested.  There's something else to get into.

[segagamer12]

I ama very musically taleneted person and play several instruments. I started out as adrummer, stillplay everychance I get. I eventaully learned how to play the keyboard and piano a little bit, red books on how to play never took formal lessons. I tooka guitar class in HS and played that froa  year and gave up for various reasons.

I tought myself how to turntable as a dj not technically an instrument but musical in its own way.
I also know how to play the harmonica some but dont own one so dont practice much. I am best on drums and turntabels but i am ok on keybaords. I like pianos a lot but dont get much real practice, even though I have a keyboard I only use it for samples. I played the saxaphone for one semester in band and switched over to clarinet then went back to drums.

The instrumentsd I CAN officially play are Drums, which I am pretty good at, Keyboard, getting better, guitar, I can play enough to get by, and turntables, very proficient turntablist yet sadly my stuff was stolen and I havent had the fudning to reinvest so i havent doen that in a while.

My older sister plays classical style guitar and she plays a lot of folk music and she is teacing me more how to play her style which belnds nicely into what I am doing now. My youngest sister polayd guitar also but she is trying to be a -3cord-greendayripoff- so she doesnt play it very well.

I have heard Ians songs and actually have one on my Ipod, he said it was ok to show people so i do its  cool song. so if you geta chance to listen to his band check it out they got one good song anyways.

[vudu]

Oh my flipping lord.  I know you have typing problems but com'on; you're killing me here.

Quote
I ama very musically taleneted person and play several instruments. I started out as adrummer, stillplay everychance I get. I eventaully learned how to play the keyboard and piano a little bit, red books on how to play never took formal lessons. I tooka guitar class in HS and played that froa year and gave up for various reasons.

Grammatical errors aside, there are eight spelling errors in that first paragraph; I think your space bar might be broken.

Do yourself a favor and download Firefox 2.0.  It has a built-in spell checker that will help you fix many of these problems.

When you have this many typos in your posts it makes people think less of you and they'll be less likely to read your posts and take your opinions/suggestions/ideas seriously.

[segagamer12]

I tried firefox it sucks. anyways most speeling erros sarent bad enough you cant get what i am saying though so why fuss about it.  

[segagamer12]

I am a very musically talented person and play several instruments. I started out as a drummer, still play every chance I get. I eventually learned how to play the keyboard and piano a little bit, red books on how to play never took formal lessons. I took a guitar class in HS and played that for a year and gave up for various reasons.

I taught myself how to turntable as a dj not technically an instrument but musical in its own way.
I also know how to play the harmonica some but don’t own one so don’t practice much. I am best on drums and turntables but I am ok on keyboards. I like pianos a lot but don’t get much real practice, even though I have a keyboard I only use it for samples. I played the saxophone for one semester in band and switched over to clarinet then went back to drums.

The instruments I CAN officially play are Drums, which I am pretty good at, Keyboard, getting better, guitar, I can play enough to get by, and turntables, very proficient turntablist yet sadly my stuff was stolen and I haven’t had the funding to reinvest so I haven’t done that in a while.

My older sister plays classical style guitar and she plays a lot of folk music and she is teaching me more how to play her style which blends nicely into what I am doing now. My youngest sister played guitar also but she is trying to be a -3cord-greendayripoff- so she doesn’t play it very well.

I have heard Ian’s songs and actually have one on my Ipod, he said it was ok to show people so I do its cool song. so if you get a chance to listen to his band check it out they got one good song anyways.



THERE NOT $*$ OFF!

[BlackNMild2k1]

Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
Oh my flipping lord.  I know you have typing problems but com'on; you're killing me here.

Quote
I ama very musically taleneted person and play several instruments. I started out as adrummer, stillplay everychance I get. I eventaully learned how to play the keyboard and piano a little bit, red books on how to play never took formal lessons. I tooka guitar class in HS and played that froa year and gave up for various reasons.

Grammatical errors aside, there are eight spelling errors in that first paragraph; I think your space bar might be broken.

LMAO no vudu, you are killing me, seriously.

back to the topic though, I used to play the drums but I gave that up after middle school. It was just an easy class to take and percussion was the simplest to do. I wish I had learned to play the piano though, and maybe a little guitar and saxaphone too.

[vudu]

Quote
Originally posted by: segagamer12
I tried firefox it sucks. anyways most speeling erros sarent bad enough you cant get what i am saying though so why fuss about it.

Please tell me you did that on purpose.

I fuss about it because simple typos make people think you're stupid.  Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes influence the reader's perception of both you and your ideas.  They are distracting and they erode any credibility you may have.

I'm honestly not trying to be a jerk here.  However, I feel your posts tend to be a chore to read and oftentimes I find myself skipping them because I can't be bothered to put forth the necessary effort required to read them.

[segagamer12]

I see fine. I am trying my hardest. I already explained myself but no one gets it. Yet i have improved have I not?

Anyways I guess I will try harder, or type slower but that hurts too much. I do sometimes type it up in works and pist it here, when I have something really important to say and dont want all the you misspeleed a pwerd  stuff afterwards.  

[Shorty McNostril]

Wow.  Go Ian in the really long post.  He is obviously into his music.  

I have a question.  My friend that the keyboards are alot harder to play than drums.  Now i sort of disagree with this, me being a drummer and all.  That said, i have never tried to seriously play the keyboards and thus have no idea how difficult they would be to play.  And my friend has never even touched a drum kit before.  Can someone please clarfiy for me which is harder to play.

Oh yeah, and keep bringing on the instrument stories.  This is interesting.

[segagamer12]

Well as someone who plays both I qualify to answer I suppose.

It depends on how you play I think. The keyboard has notes you have to remember and fingerings and etc. Drumming has a lot of that too but drummers dont think in terms of notes they tend to just remember rhythms and dont read sheet music too much.


Having played in concert bands and marching bands, I know that drumming can be even more complicated than people tend to think. If your just talking about playing a drum kit even that can be difficult for some people.

Playing a keybaord or piano is the same as they are percussion instruments anyways, so they are more aboud rhythm, yet they can play melodies where drums can't.

If your playing keyboards for rhythm than they can be easy to pick up on, if for melodies than can be trickier.  

[Ian Sane]

"My friend that the keyboards are alot harder to play than drums. Now i sort of disagree with this, me being a drummer and all. That said, i have never tried to seriously play the keyboards and thus have no idea how difficult they would be to play. And my friend has never even touched a drum kit before. Can someone please clarfiy for me which is harder to play."

Well keyboards would require you to know specific notes and such while drums is more based on timing.  With drums you don't have to worry as much about what key you're in or anything like that.  I'd say it's a whole lot easier to hit a bum note on a keyboard than a drum.  You could probably self-teach yourself drums a whole lot easier than keyboards.  Though I find timing the kick drum and high-hat with the drum sticks pretty damn hard.

If you don't play on a drum kit then I would say drums are much easier.  Like if you're just playing a drum.

[segagamer12]

I didnt want that post to be too long. Thinking back I don't remember when I got into the drums. I know my parents got me a toy drum kit wheni was maybe 2 or 3 and I had that for years. I also had a toy xylophone that I played with a lot. I do remember getting into rap music at a very early age. My first tapes were Vanilla Ice To the Extreme and On the Rap Tip.

That was where my interest in drumming really took off. I wanted to be able to make beats like I heard on those songs. I tried getting into drumming at school when I was in 6th grade I think. I still have my very first pair for drum sticks I kept them for all these years. I got into playing the drum set when I was in Jrhigh I played in pep band and marching band. Marching band was fun cuz I got to get out of class a lot.


I didn't really get better till highschool. I gave up on actually drumming as the sounds I was looking for weren't possible and we were poor so I never had a drum set. So I got a job in 11th grade and bought some Dj gear, you know turntables, mixers, samplers, tape deks, etc, then started experimenting with those.  I put together a demo tape with some friends of mine as we had formed this rap group, and found out it wasn't going to work.

So kept at it only I was solo now. Then I discovered Acid. That sparked new interest in me as far as music goes. I could finally produce music in Acid that sounded a lot closer to what I had been trying to make all along.
Then I upgraded to other digital programs like Music Maker and Melodyne and my music got even better.


Now I have sorta branched out of hip-hop and am more into techno music than anything but I still enjoy playing the drums and keyboards from time to time.

[segagamer12]

not nescsarily true Ian, I taught myself both and foudn drumming was easier for me. Drum kits can be easy if yor are well cordinated. There are a lot of things you can do with a single drum, snare, bass, timpani, etc, that make sit a lot more complex than just beating the sticks.

[Ian Sane]

"Drum kits can be easy if yor are well cordinated. There are a lot of things you can do with a single drum, snare, bass, timpani, etc, that make sit a lot more complex than just beating the sticks."

I think the problem is I'm not well co-ordinated.  But I find that I can adapt to percussion where I'm just focusing on one thing really easily.  My percussion skills though would probably be laughed at by a really serious drummer.  They're just "good enough" that I don't sound like sh!t.

[Nick DiMola]

Drumming is a pretty tough skill to learn, and I imagine keyboard is as well, but they are different skills. When learning the keyboard it may be very easy to segue into guitar or another instrument based on musical notes. However, learning the drums takes a lot of mental work, requiring you to do upwards of three things at a time while keeping the beat and playing some variations. I'd say comparing one skill's toughness to the other is really ridiculous. Some people may find one easier than the other all depending on their brain and their musical background/abilities.

On a side note, I play guitar. I started about 9 years ago and I love playing. It is very relaxing to sitdown with a guitar and just play, whether it is your own creation or someone elses. I am self-taught, though I would love to take lessons and learn a thing or two about scales and progressions from a musical theory standpoint. Generally I play classic and modern rock/metal. I started on the acoustic learning some Pearl Jam and Jimmy Buffett. When I bought my electric guitar I got heavily into playing the stuff I really loved. I immediately learned Metallica and heavier, faster playing with distortion. It does make you get a little sloppy though, so I like to flip back to my acoustic on a regular basis to tighten up my skills. I often thought about trying to create or join a band, but life never seemed to take me in that direction. Hopefully sometime in the future I'll meet up with a few guys who just want to play in the garage for fun and just jam out once or twice a week.  

[IceCold]

TASTES like a poll

I used to play piano and recorder a lot. Trumpet and guitar stints, too..

[Shorty McNostril]

No poll here.  None intended anyway.  

Anyway thanks for the info on he keyboard/drums thing.  

Keep this going.  See how many of us are muso's.

[segagamer12]

well tells more of your story shorty, you seam to be pretty vague.

[matt oz]

In elementary school I played the recorder and the clarinet, and continued the clarinet through middle school.

Started piano when I was 5, taught myself till I took formal lessons for a few years from age 12 on.

Bought a guitar at 15, taught myself a bit, then stopped.  Now I'm looking for a good DVD to learn from.

I'd like to learn the drums and the cello.  Cellos just look so cool.  I wanna be a crazy old man living in a huge house by myself, playing my cello in my solarium.  That would be so badass, except I'd be old and crazy, so no one would care.

[Shorty McNostril]

Quote
Originally posted by: segagamer12
well tells more of your story shorty, you seam to be pretty vague.

Ok. Lets see.  I started playing violin in year 4 primary school and did that for a few years.  I played in a couple of concerts and things but i was by no means proficiant at it.  I eventually got bored with it and chucked it in, which i now regret.  

I didn't play anything for many years after that, nor did i have any desire to.  That was until i bought a few music dvd's and began noticing the drumming and how it was actually done and how cool it would be to be able to control 4 limbs for "independantly" (for lack of a better word).  But my finances weren't very spectacular at that point in time and thus i couldnt afford tuition or a kit.  Eventually my desire grew enough that i decided to get some lessons (on an extremely small junior kit) and eventually got my own kit.  I guess that is how it stands to this day.  Nothing very noteworthy has happenned in regards to my drumminhg yet but i would like to eventually get some friends together and have some fun.

That's pretty much my story.  Nothing too exciting but that's the way it went.

[Dasmos]

I primarily play only Guitar, but can also play Keyboard/Piano, Drums and Harmonica (sorta). My Dad started teaching mr how to play guitar when I was 9, but when my parents divorced when I was 12 I sort of gave it up for a couple of years. I picked it up again when I was 15, and for my 16th birthday I got my first electric guitar.

About 6 months later my Uncle won the lottery ($2.5 Million) and he bought everyone in the family a rather extravigant gift, I was given a Gibson Les Paul. Needless to say, I played the thing endlessly and it could probably be attributed to my falling grades in school.

I still play almost religiously, spending hundreds of dollars on amps, effects pedals and whatnot.

[King of Twitch]

I played flute and piano in grade school and I hated it either because I hated the stupid songs or theory got too complicated. I've taught myself guitar for the past 5 years and I love it for the opposite reasons: I can choose what songs to play at whatever difficulty I choose.

Well I guess that's the definition of being a grown up. When you were young you were told what to do, when to play, and to keep practicing scales scales scales. When you're an adult you decide what paths or what instruments to try. Don't like it? Start another one. Make your own music.

I have an ocarina too but I had to put it away.