I'm just curious about how many musicians are here.
I could imagine indianasmith playing the banjo....man, I'd love to play the banjo.
Personally, I'm learning how to play the guitar.
I play guitar, mandolin, bass and tenor banjo. The tenor banjo is for Irish traditional, not bluegrass or dixie, it's four-string and played as a single note melody instrument for jigs and reels and the like, not chords.
So, only stringed instruments. I've been toying with picking up an Irish flute and seeing if I can handle a wind instrument.
I play piano. I don't know how to read sheets and I've only had short lessons but even when I'm just pressing random keys it sounds good. I do it if I'm home alone and I have nothing better to do.
No. But I wouldn't mind taking piano or guitar lessons. Maybe even drums.
drums.
The juvenile answer would be "skin flute," so I won't say it.
I can play some keyboard/piano. I have the worst attention span when it comes to applying myself to certain things so I'm not nearly as good as I should be. I can remember some chords on the guitar. I mostly just sing.
Played flute in high school, and now I just pick up my guitar once in a while to relax.
I play the drums.
Granted I'm terrible at reading music but I can play well enough. I like singing more.
I've been playing the guitar (both acoustic and electric) for about 10 years now. I played in a punk band for about a year not too long ago. I had to quit because it was conflicting with school, but I'm always looking for someone to jam with. :teddyr:
Ummmmm........I play air guitar pretty damn good. :wink:
I started playing guitar back in 1984. Was in various bar bands for quite a few years. But then we had kids, que sera sera. Nowadays I'm just proud of our two daughters who inherited dad's musical DNA. At least all my old equipment still gets some use :teddyr: I've still got a Fender Stratocaster and an Ibanez RG series electric.
I started taking guitar lessons back in 1977 or so, and spent part of the 80's playing mostly metal in a few relatively unknown local bands. I have also toyed with bass for some years now, and have only recently took it as a serious instrument in the last few years.
I can play by finger or pick, but I like finger playing better, the sound is warmer and more natural. Anyone whose played guitar can easily transcend to bass because of the fundamental single note structure both instruments have.
I've mentioned it many times, but again: I'm a professional bassoonist.
People sometimes pay me moolah to play the thing.
Here's a fingering chart in case you want to play one:
(http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t214/morrisawilliams/Bassoon_Chart_1_2.jpg)
Quote from: Flick James on March 09, 2011, 02:40:19 PM
I play guitar, mandolin, bass and tenor banjo. The tenor banjo is for Irish traditional, not bluegrass or dixie, it's four-string and played as a single note melody instrument for jigs and reels and the like, not chords.
So, only stringed instruments. I've been toying with picking up an Irish flute and seeing if I can handle a wind instrument.
Was it difficult to learn to play the mandolin?
Quote from: Cthulhu on March 10, 2011, 04:00:48 PM
Quote from: Flick James on March 09, 2011, 02:40:19 PM
I play guitar, mandolin, bass and tenor banjo. The tenor banjo is for Irish traditional, not bluegrass or dixie, it's four-string and played as a single note melody instrument for jigs and reels and the like, not chords.
So, only stringed instruments. I've been toying with picking up an Irish flute and seeing if I can handle a wind instrument.
Was it difficult to learn to play the mandolin?
Going from guitar, yes, because the strings are tuned at the same interval as violin, so all chord fingerings are different. I play it more as a melody instrument for Irish traditional music, so in that regard I think it's a easier melody instrument than guitar. However, the scale is so small that if you have big hands or fingers like I do, it can be awkward. An octave mandolin or greek bouzouki, if it's tuned the same way as mandolin, is an octave lower but if you have big hands it works better. Tenor banjo is the same, an octave lower than mando. With that however, it's actually a stretch and you can't play Irish trad melody unless you DO have long fingers. Since I play mostly Irish trad these days I've been thinking of switching to flute and get away from plectrum instruments, since they don't fit as well with Irish music as fiddle, flute, bagpipes, etc.
Mandolin is a great instrument if you're trying to play American folk music, however, like old time or bluegrass.
guitar mostly
I can plunk & strum a guitar well enough to perform in church. I also play baritone, which I played in high school & college and then took a 25-year break from. I started back with it about 6 years ago, and I'm just barely getting my lip back. I also play a little trumpet (poorly), a little trombone (poorly), a little keyboard, and the occasional recorder (which I'm learning to help me record my own massage music). I lead music at my church, so I sing more than anything else.
Quotebagpipes
I SERIOUSLY want to learn to play the bagpipes.
I caught myself looking up pricing online the other day for practice chanters...
Quote from: Raffine on March 11, 2011, 09:50:58 AM
Quotebagpipes
I SERIOUSLY want to learn to play the bagpipes.
I caught myself looking up pricing online the other day for practice chanters...
Are you talking about Scotish pipes or the Irish Uillean pipes. The Uillean pipes are fascinating. They are played sitting down, and you use a bellows attached to you elbow to provide air instead of blowing into a tube. They are more versatile than the Scottish bagpipes that are louder and played standing up and that you see in parades and such, in that they are fully chromatic. Scottish pipes are diatonic with a flat 7th so you are limited to only Scottish pipe tunes. Uillean pipes are what you hear all over the soundtrack of
Braveheart. They are so much more expressive and have that awesome warbly sound. It bothered me that
Braveheart was about Scotland, yet the Irish bagpipes are all over the soundtrack. But then there's no way the Scottish pipes can pull off what you hear in the soundtrack so it makes sense.
Does this count as an instrument?
(http://lightmycigarette.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/water-pipe.jpg)
Quote from: Flick James on March 11, 2011, 10:01:03 AM
Are you talking about Scotish pipes or the Irish Uillean pipes. The Uillean pipes are fascinating. They are played sitting down, and you use a bellows attached to you elbow to provide air instead of blowing into a tube. They are more versatile than the Scottish bagpipes that are louder and played standing up and that you see in parades and such, in that they are fully chromatic. Scottish pipes are diatonic with a flat 7th so you are limited to only Scottish pipe tunes. Uillean pipes are what you hear all over the soundtrack of Braveheart. They are so much more expressive and have that awesome warbly sound. It bothered me that Braveheart was about Scotland, yet the Irish bagpipes are all over the soundtrack. But then there's no way the Scottish pipes can pull off what you hear in the soundtrack so it makes sense.
Fascinating stuff! Thanks!
I went to a concert a couple of years ago that featured someone playing a set of Uillean pipes and was fascinated by them.
Right now though I'm actually more interested in the Scottish pipes.
Frankly, I want to play something that is good an' LOUD for a change. :cheers:
That reminds me: when I was in college I marched in a couple of parades playing crash cymbals. That rocked! :thumbup:
Quote from: Raffine on March 11, 2011, 10:43:02 AM
Quote from: Flick James on March 11, 2011, 10:01:03 AM
Are you talking about Scotish pipes or the Irish Uillean pipes. The Uillean pipes are fascinating. They are played sitting down, and you use a bellows attached to you elbow to provide air instead of blowing into a tube. They are more versatile than the Scottish bagpipes that are louder and played standing up and that you see in parades and such, in that they are fully chromatic. Scottish pipes are diatonic with a flat 7th so you are limited to only Scottish pipe tunes. Uillean pipes are what you hear all over the soundtrack of Braveheart. They are so much more expressive and have that awesome warbly sound. It bothered me that Braveheart was about Scotland, yet the Irish bagpipes are all over the soundtrack. But then there's no way the Scottish pipes can pull off what you hear in the soundtrack so it makes sense.
Fascinating stuff! Thanks!
I went to a concert a couple of years ago that featured someone playing a set of Uillean pipes and was fascinated by them.
Right now though I'm actually more interested in the Scottish pipes.
Frankly, I want to play something that is good an' LOUD for a change. :cheers:
That reminds me: when I was in college I marched in a couple of parades playing crash cymbals. That rocked! :thumbup:
Well, a full set of Scottish pipes will definately be loud. I went to a birthday party in L.A. for a guy who was a percussionist for a lot of cultural music groups. They had a piping and dance session that was incredible. Three Scottish bagpipers, the full pipes, along with a couple of drummers, and groups of both Scottish and Irish dancers dancing sets to the music. It was in a big backyard and the sound of the three pipers playing together absolutely filled up the place. It was sonically very intense, then throw in the dancers (some of them were hot, too) and the brown ale I was drinking and talk about an intoxicating experience.
Either way, yeah, get the practice chanter. Just don't get discouraged when you realize you're going to sound like a cat in heat for a while.
Oh, and Raffine, let me give you some IMPORTANT advice.
STAY AWAY FROM THE BAGPIPES MADE IN PAKISTAN. I'm not joking. They seem very attractive because of the price, and some sites will tout them as a great value and comparable to pipes twice the price. THIS IS NOT TRUE. I can't count the number of times I've seen posts on related forums by experienced pipers who say the same thing, or who say they wasted their money on a set of pipes that just can't stay in tune. If you're going to play bagpipe, get ready for some expense. It's not cheap. However, you can work up to it by starting with a chanter, then a practice set, and gradually work your way up to a full set. Do your research before you buy, and go to forums about it and get some good advice.
QuoteEither way, yeah, get the practice chanter. Just don't get discouraged when you realize you're going to sound like a cat in heat for a while.
You should hear me on oboe! :buggedout:
Quote from: Flick James on March 11, 2011, 11:24:50 AM
Oh, and Raffine, let me give you some IMPORTANT advice.
STAY AWAY FROM THE BAGPIPES MADE IN PAKISTAN. I'm not joking. They seem very attractive because of the price, and some sites will tout them as a great value and comparable to pipes twice the price. THIS IS NOT TRUE. I can't count the number of times I've seen posts on related forums by experienced pipers who say the same thing, or who say they wasted their money on a set of pipes that just can't stay in tune. If you're going to play bagpipe, get ready for some expense. It's not cheap. However, you can work up to it by starting with a chanter, then a practice set, and gradually work your way up to a full set. Do your research before you buy, and go to forums about it and get some good advice.
Thanks again for the advice! Considering what I had to pay for my bassoon it'll hopefully seem like a bargin.
'New car or new instrument?" is not a outrageous question.
I'm going to make myself wait at least a month or so to make sure this isn't a passing fancy. A few years ago I thought I would stop breathing if I didn't immediately get myself a hammer dulcimer. I never got one but I continued breathing - even to this day. :thumbup:
Quote from: Raffine on March 11, 2011, 12:31:48 PM
QuoteEither way, yeah, get the practice chanter. Just don't get discouraged when you realize you're going to sound like a cat in heat for a while.
You should hear me on oboe! :buggedout:
Quote from: Flick James on March 11, 2011, 11:24:50 AM
Oh, and Raffine, let me give you some IMPORTANT advice.
STAY AWAY FROM THE BAGPIPES MADE IN PAKISTAN. I'm not joking. They seem very attractive because of the price, and some sites will tout them as a great value and comparable to pipes twice the price. THIS IS NOT TRUE. I can't count the number of times I've seen posts on related forums by experienced pipers who say the same thing, or who say they wasted their money on a set of pipes that just can't stay in tune. If you're going to play bagpipe, get ready for some expense. It's not cheap. However, you can work up to it by starting with a chanter, then a practice set, and gradually work your way up to a full set. Do your research before you buy, and go to forums about it and get some good advice.
Thanks again for the advice! Considering what I had to pay for my bassoon it'll hopefully seem like a bargin.
'New car or new instrument?" is not a outrageous question.
I'm going to make myself wait at least a month or so to make sure this isn't a passing fancy. A few years ago I thought I would stop breathing if I didn't immediately get myself a hammer dulcimer. I never got one but I continued breathing - even to this day. :thumbup:
Sounds like we have some similar musical leanings. Yeah, I felt the same way about bagpipes, but I never got any because they're freaking expensive for a decent set. If you like Irish bagpipe music, let me recommend some groups that have great players:
Bothy Band
Planxty (Liam O'Flynn is one of my favorites)
Dervish (more recent group)
Great stuff. Of course there are other instruments included like flute, fiddle, mandoling, etc. but Uilleann pipes work better as an ensemble instrument than the Scottish pipes. Great piping though.
I don't play so much as dabble in instruments, but I'm sometimes told I'm better than I think. :lookingup: Anywho, I can make sounds with keyboard instruments, drums, guitar, and bass guitar. I'd love to learn a wind instrument (melodica doesn't really count, I've got one of those).
I'm suprised nobody has joked about playing the kazoo.
Quote from: Flick James on March 11, 2011, 01:48:21 PM
I'm suprised nobody has joked about playing the kazoo.
The joke used to be "I can play the radio and record player" - but nobody knows what a radio or a record player is any more. :teddyr:
In a former life (college) I played tuba. Ironically since it was a small school I played in both the pep-band belting out "go team go" from the sidelines as our football team lost (they really sucked, mostly I used these games as a time to catch up on my chem homework in between belting out various pep songs) as well as played in the chamber orchestra wearing a tux. Sometimes this would be in the same day, same tuba, same player, same everything just different music and very different settings.
Alas, I do not actually own a tuba and they are really expensive so it is a skill that is slipping away from me as time goes by.
I took a dozen piano lessons about 15 years ago. I did pretty well but stopped due to motherhood commitments. But I'd like to take it up again.
I enjoy singing, so I mostly stick to that.
Vuvuzela, some violin, and little bit of keyboard/ synthesizer..
Played the clarinet and violin but haven't picked them up in years.
Quote from: Raffine on March 11, 2011, 02:15:47 PMThe joke used to be "I can play the radio and record player" - but nobody knows what a radio or a record player is any more. :teddyr:
Isn't
that the truth? :thumbup:
I play both electric guitar and bass.
Been wielding the 'ol axe for about 10 years. Played in a few bands between 18-20, then all the fun stopped and I don't pick up the guitar as much now as I used to. Plus, I injured both my hands so they seize up like MFer's after ten mns of jamming. Can play bass, drums and piano at a very basic level also.