Who plays a musical instrument?

[Chimpyang]

I was looking at the animation of the String Quartet that was made and a thought ran across my mind...who here plays a musical instrument?

I play the violin and have done so for 8 years, right now i've jsut finished my grade 7 (out of 8 possible grades). What about you guys?

[TonyJ]

I play the viola and have done since my uni days in Bath back in the early nineties - while there I played 1st desk with the University Orchestra and then later with the Bath Festival Orchestra, who I later went on to do a spot of conducting with as well.

Music remains one of the three biggest passions in my life and long may it so remain.

[ah_dut]

doing: grade 5 cello, grade 8 piano, grade 7 singing

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

I'm a drummer, prefered genres to play is obviously rock or metal but i can do more slower tempo stuff, depends what mood i'm in

[Louis VI the Fat]

I'm a guitarist, prefered genres to play are obviously rock or metal. I suck at more slower tempo stuff, regardless of the mood I'm in.

[Somebody Else]

Took me four years not to get to grade 1 piano. I can't play a musical instrument.

[Mouzafphaerre]

-
*clears throat*

I sing (not so brilliant tenor voice), play the Ud, blow the Ney and (microtonal) Recorder, beat the Kudüm (singing along), also tweak the Rebab from time to time.
-

[DemonArchangel]

Any and all keyboard instruments.

[Beirut]

This is my baby.



Been playing for 25 years but still don't play very well. Well enough to amuse myself though. Mostly Floyd and Deep Purple.

But one day I will have a Hammond B3 with a smokin' hot Leslie. Oh yes. I will. I've played a few and I get goose bumps every time.

[TheSilverKnight]

I'm what some people would describe as a modern day Mozart...or some other modern day composer embodied in a 17 year old British lad

I can play these instruments perfectly: Violin, Cello, Tuba, Trumpet, Piano, Harpsichord, and Clarinet

I can play these instruments alright: Trombone, Flute, Oboe, Bass, Viola

I can also compose yes, it's shocking...I compose Baroque and Early Classical Style music, but I've also experimented with Romantic and Impressionist styles.

[IrishMike]

Good god SilverKnight.

(Bows to greatness in awe ) I have enough trouble with one. How do you do it? Just please don't go as crazy as mozart.

[TheSilverKnight]

Good god SilverKnight.

(Bows to greatness in awe ) I have enough trouble with one. How do you do it? Just please don't go as crazy as mozart.

I have a lot of skill, a lot of extra time, and a very creative brain.

And don't worry, craziness like Mozart isn't my forte haha musical joke

My mind is very creative, as I work on stuff all the time, in school, at home, I even think of musical melodies when I'm sleeping

I currently have several portfolios filled with 100+ pages of music in each, all grouped. I specialise in the Baroque Concerto and Suite, of which I've written many, though I have adopted Haydn's and Mozart's Symphonic style, adding a bit of Baroque flavour in each, showing most particularly in the harpsichord passages in the fast-slow-fast pattern of Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Impressed?

[Togakure]

I studied classical piano privately beginning at age eight, for eleven years. I specialized in Chopin (Etudes, Ballades, Polonaises, Fantasie Impromtu, Nocturnes, Waltzes) and Liszt (Hungarian Rhapsodies), and did well with JS Bach also (preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier, and of course, his inventions). I never did get Mozart down; his stuff required a "dainty" touch which just wasn't me. I did do well with some of the impressionistic composers, primarily Debussey and Ravel.

My last classical performance was my senior recital at the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento, CA. I was honored with the last place on the program, performing Chopin's Ballade in G minor, amidst many friends with whom I'd competed over the years. That concert signified the end of an era for me. My final piece of formal study was Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata, but I never did perform it live. Rock and roll was calling me ... .

At fourteen or so I became interested in modern music and played in the school jazz bands, where I first got my hands on a Fender Rhodes electric piano and a Farfisa electric organ. I started my first job at age 16, working as a dishwasher Friday and Saturday nights from 11pm to 7am (during the school year too; it sucked royally), in order to earn the money for my first synthesizer (a Korg MS-20 monophonic). With my Korg and a used Farfisa, I joined my first garage bands. I became known in the neighborhood for a few original pieces and my Farfisa renditions of Led Zeppelin songs. I played so loud it distorted my little amp nicely, though in truth it sounded ridiculous compared to Jimmy. I never could understand why folks liked it so much. Heh, they were probably just too stoned and drunk to care. It WAS Led Zep, after all.

In my teens I also played the organ for my Sunday School (until they got sick of me playing "Your Time is Gonna Come" and "Thank You" afterwards; when they said I couldn't anymore I told them to find another organist), and the occasional wedding for a spot of cash.

After high school I spent a couple of semesters listlessly spinning my wheels in the CSU music program at Sacramento state uni. I was SO tired of the classical scene, and wanted so badly to ROCK! Finally, I talked my pops into allowing me to spend my college money on a set of professional keyboards to pursue a career as a performer (quite a miracle of persuasion, that). I spent about $12,000 on a rev. 2 Prophet-5 (which I still have, though it is inoperable at the moment), a Yamaha SK-30 string machine/organ, a Crumar T1 organ (great quasi-B3 with a bite, popularized by the group Kansas), a Moog Source monophonic, and later, the first Prophet MIDI multi-track keyboard and drum machine. Necessarily, I also invest over $1000 in Anvil flight cases for all of the above. In my career I also had the privilege of playing on keyboards owned by others in the various bands: Yamaha DX/TX-7s, Mini- and Memorymoogs, Prophet VS, Roland Juno 60 and Jupiter 6 and 8, Korg Polysix, Monopoly and M1, Roland and Yamaha digital pianos, etc. All in all though, I think my favorite will always be a concert grand piano (I like Kawai, Steinway, and of course, Bosendorfer) in a deserted concert hall, alone with the lights dimmed.

My timing in primary keyboard purchases was a pity, as all except the latter two I mentioned were pre-MIDI keyboards, which plummeted in value shortly after I bought them (thanks to the advent of MIDI). But, because I couldn't change my setup at the push of a button (which MIDI enabled), I had to adapt to dialing while playing, and became a formidable electronic keyboardist as a result. I played professionally in clubs throughout the western USA from 1981-1986. It was a RIOT, but none of the various bands I joined ever hit the big time.

The biggest show I played was an outdoor festival called Cornerstone on the outskirts of Chicago in 1986, for about 10,000 people. That was an awesome experience. The most well-known musical celebrity I've ever met was Billy Powell of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who made my career by coming up behind me while I was tearing down my rig after a gig in Kitchener, Canada, and complimented my manic, octopus-like style. We chatted for a while about how different we were as keyboardists--him playing one instrument with one sound masterfully, and me constantly churning out several parts at once, and many in the course of one song (albeit with far less finesse than a piano allows with its touch sensitivity). He was a really cool guy, and hands down, my favorite honkytonk piano player (Sweet Home Alabama, anyone?).

I have been musically dormant for the last 5 years or so--life's challenges, etc. My main axe when I was last composing was a Generalmusic S1 Turbo, which allows me to compose 16 tracks with it alone, including digitally sampled drums. Most of today's music workstations kick butt over the S1, but it has most of what I need to sketch. I also made heavy use of my Emu sampler. One thing I learned over the years--you'll spend yourself into poverty if you always need the latest and greatest as a keyboardist (or as any type of musician, for that matter). Key is to find tools that work for you, and then get the most out of them. You can do SO much with very simple things. Look at Brian May in his early days with Queen, for example ... .

I hope to rekindle my creative spark sometime soon, but there are still other challenges that must be addressed first. Funny how a stressful life just kills the ability to be artistically creative (for most anyway).

Anyway ... blah blah blah. Cheers to all the musicians out there .