QLC musicians

[Alexsy]

i'm just curious, how many people on here play an instrument -- what do you play, how long have you played, and why do you play it? if someone's asked this before, go ahead and delete this post ... but i didn't see it, and the "extracurricular activities" threat piqued my interest, seeing as lots of ppl on there said they wanted to pursue music of some type ...

anyway ...

i've played the guitar for 9 yrs now. don't let that fool you: i don't know much about theory or anything, so i'm not as good as "9 yrs" sounds. but i'm still pretty good :)

i have 3 guitars, one of which is junk, the other two are quite cool. i can't imagine what i'd do without them! they're my stress-relievers, outlets, etc etc. i'm really glad i got inspired by 7th grade music class to pick up the guitar!

i've lately gotten into the 1960s pop, like the beach boys, and heavier stuff like the who, the kinks, the yardbirds (a grrrreat group, btw) ... back then, popular music and "talent" could actually be uttered in the same sentance with a straight face ... lol ...

so ... ? anyone else?

[natbumpo]

I was one hell of a recorder player in the third grade, until that nasty retainer accident...sniff...I...sniff....I'm sorry...I promised myself...sniff...I wouldn't do this.

:razz:

[labrat2111]

I used to play clarinet in elementary and junior high. I traded that in for a guitar when I was 16 or so and I played for about 4 years but I was never much good. I'm pretty tone deaf and I can't sing to save my life. I still have my guitar and take it out to play every now and then. Plus my cat loves sitting on top or in my soft guitar case when he can.

[RockTheGlobe]

I played trombone for 10 years, but ditched it when I hit college to start singing. I joined an all-male a cappella group there, and I started a co-ed group when I moved out here to Los Angeles, so I'm still singing regularly.

[Heroic1]

I sing in my church choir. Since most of the other members are quite a bit older, I have one of the purer voices so the director asks me to sing solos pretty frequently. I've also sung in musicals...local community productions, nothing remotely professional of course. :D

[dazed]

alexsy...what kinda guitar do you play?

[wordsmith]

And I'm a singer!

I also studied the flute for seven or eight years (way worse than I should be for that amount of time) and piano for a couple of years (better than I should be for that amount of time).

But I like singing the best. When I was in college, I was fortunate enough to be in an a capella choir that toured pretty extensively. I even got to go to Africa through it. I love singing more than pretty much anything, and I like singing all kinds of different styles.

[Alexsy]

i love music threads!! :bigger:

me too!

my new passion is playing the drums. i've been taking lessons off and on for the past 2 years. i'd say i'm decent for the amt of lessons i've taken and the amt of practice time i get (not very much since i don't have a set - i just go to guitar center sometimes and play there). sets are very expensive and i don't need another thing to worry about when moving around. but i'd love to get one when i'm completely settled. playing drums is definitely a stress reliever for me too. i once played part of a song with my instructor (him on guitar, me on drums) and it was THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!!!!!! it would be awesome IMO to be in a band, just a cool hometown band.


I'm with ya on two counts. First, i've also started to take drum lessons, and frankly, drums are just FUN to play. i'm not bad, but my total lack-of-background re: music theory has slowed me a bit. i mean, on day 1 of lessons, my teacher literally had to show me a "quarter note" etc etc. but, since that time, i've gotten better. it's still very alien to me, but not as bad. then again, drum music is pretty different from "normal" music (as in, music with notes! lol.)

regarding my guitar playing: i learned how to play the guitar mostly from early lessons and nirvana's "nevermind," which is a great learning album, i have to say, because it is popular, but not in a bad way, and above all -- it is EASY to play. mostly.

but now, though i still love nirvana, i've been getting pretty heavy in blues and late 60s psychedelic (acid) rock -- hendrix, jefferson airplane, the doors -- jam-type stuff that's laced with swirling effects and fuzz. "heavy blues" is the way i think of it. so i'm taking lessons for that -- which is mostly, "ok, here's 5 ways to play B minor up and down the neck." not thrilling, exactly, but it's just what i need.

i'm in a band at the moment -- we're missing a bass guitar, that's all -- and, since i got rejected from the only internship i applied for this summer -- it looks like i'll be hangin around my college town, and we'll be able to play out relatively soon. i'm not trying to make this a job, but i love music too much to just sit at home with it.

[steph78]

I took piano lessons for about eleven years (from second grade through senior year of high school) and still play a good bit, although now I have to use my keyboard instead of a real piano...once we buy a house I think a piano will be one of the first things I get to go in it even if it has to be secondhand in order for me to afford it! I miss the piano I grew up with - a Steinway intermediate grand piano built in 1911 and still in great condition that my mom's neighbors GAVE to my mom when she was in elementary school because their kids didn't want it when they moved away. Can you believe that?

I also started learning how to play pipe organ the summer before senior year of high school and kept up lessons for a few years - when I was in grad school I managed to practice once a week at my church at night, just enough to keep myself from losing my skills, but it's been awhile now since the last time I played. I know it seems like a really old-lady thing to do; there are very few younger organ players, but there is really nothing like being in a church all by yourself and just BLASTING out a good loud piece of music, it's great for stress relief! :)

Oh, and I played the trombone for seven years in middle school/high school band & orchestra but have really not kept that up at all.

When I was a senior in high school everyone thought I was going to major in music in college, but I fooled them and went into engineering! :0

[wordsmith]

A piano's on my list, too! I'm kind of to the point where I don't even care about settling someplace, I don't care if I have to move it. I'm to the point where I have enough stuff that I'll go with professional movers from here on out, so what's a piano at that point?

Like you, the piano I grew up with was free. It was given to my family by our church. They were just going to get rid of it. It's a great old antique, a German-made upright grand with all kinds of intricate woodcarvings. It made me feel like I should never have to pay for a piano, though.

Playing organ would be AWESOME!

P.S. Most of the organists I know aren't old ladies, as an aside...they're gay men! :)

[midtwenty]

Playing organ would be AWESOME!

I can play an organ. :twisted: Heh heh.


I was one hell of a recorder player in the third grade, until that nasty retainer accident...sniff...I...sniff....I'm sorry...I promised myself...sniff...I wouldn't do this.

Awww, what happened? Did you accidentally find the Brown Note?

[LakeJay]

I played percussion (see snare drum) in my grammar school band.

I also played piano for about 4 years. I couldn't play baseball unless I played the piano. Wasn't very good but I didn't learn how to play.

[steph78]

Playing organ would be AWESOME!

P.S. Most of the organists I know aren't old ladies, as an aside...they're gay men! :)

It is awesome! The best part about the organ is that it's a power trip - you an be really really really really loud with so little effort. Like I said, GREAT stress relief. But you have to play the real deal with actual pipes to really get a big rush out of it - none of this wimpy electronic organ stuff. :) I'm such a snob.

The new organist at my parents' church is a gay man. He has two jobs - one as an organist, and he is also a florist (owns his own business). He's so awesome - he really throws his whole self into everything he does, and is really really good at both jobs. I wish I had as much fun with my work as he does.

[wordsmith]

I can play an organ. :twisted: Heh heh.

Hee! I was braced for some crass comment about my playing the flute. :evil:

[midtwenty]

Hee! I was braced for some crass comment about my playing the flute. :evil:

Well, I wasn't going to direct any snarky comment at you. But I did briefly consider extolling my own talents playing the skin flute. :lol:

[Alexsy]

It is awesome! The best part about the organ is that it's a power trip - you an be really really really really loud with so little effort. Like I said, GREAT stress relief. But you have to play the real deal with actual pipes to really get a big rush out of it - none of this wimpy electronic organ stuff. :) I'm such a snob.

in an incredibly tangental way, this relates: i can make my guitar sound like an organ. (seriously. it sounds pretty darn cool.) so. but seriously, i think people who play unusual instruments rock. like the banjo. i would love to learn how to play the banjo. i guess the banjo isn't that unusual, but still, it's not that "mainstream" either.

[hoodie]

I used to play the euphonium, but I can only read treble clef, and even that, not very well. I like to play things by ear. Still, I had to quit playing low brass in college, so here I sit talentless in music. My singing is a joke, so I just whistle. :p

[wordsmith]

but seriously, i think people who play unusual instruments rock. like the banjo. i would love to learn how to play the banjo. i guess the banjo isn't that unusual, but still, it's not that "mainstream" either.

Me, too. Among other genres, I love Celtic music, and have always thought it would be so cool to play bagpipes. I can play tin whistle a bit.

[Alexsy]

i used to have a harmonica lying around. and a glockenspiel, which are basically mini-xylophones. pretty cool, actually.

[wordsmith]

I have an ocarina, and a panflute! Just call me Zamfir.

[asm198]

I was so anti-musical instrument in my younger days because of my family. Everyone and their brother knew how to play something. My mom is a musician and has her own band. She's been doing this since she was 16 and had a record contract offer in the 70s. All of her family plays in bands. So not doing it was my way of rebelling. I could have played the piano, which we had in the house. Or a guitar, which was bought for me when I was 12. I opted to do nothing. I sang in choir and competively in high school, but that was it. I wanted to play the sax, but they didn't buy me one. Now I wish I kept up with the lessons they paid for. Heh.

[tina1979]

I'm invading your thread. Sorry. I can't play an instrument or sing, but I just wanted to say that I admire those of you who can. I have always wanted to play guitar. I have one my granfather gave me. I even took lessons a few times until my mom got pissed at my sister's drum instructor and pulled us both out of lessons. I haven't picked it up since.
I love listening to my friends who play guitar. They aren't the greatest, they are just playing around with it, but there is nothing like listening to the sound of "real" music instead of listening to a cd.
Even though I can't play myself music is still a great release for me(even if it is only a radio). It relaxes me, pumps me up or fuels my anger. Its amazing what one song can do.

[Alexsy]

I can't play an instrument or sing, but I just wanted to say that I admire those of you who can. I have always wanted to play guitar.

Hey, tina, it's *never* too late to start. That sounds cheesy, i know, but it really is true.



Even though I can't play myself music is still a great release for me(even if it is only a radio). It relaxes me, pumps me up or fuels my anger. Its amazing what one song can do.

Well said.

[Angyl]

I palyed the violin until my freshman year in college. I still have my instrument...I refuse to sell it.

I also played the piano for about 8 years.

I love music so much, and wish I could paly the guitar. In the fifth grade my dad banned me from learning any more instruments becuase it was costing him a fortune in lessons. So i enver got to play the flute. boo.

[mishl982]

I played the flute (note, NOT the skin flute!! :razz: ) in 6th grade. I didn't continue after that because I hated playing it and how my right pinky would always lock up. I was one badass xylophone player in elementery school! Whenever our class would have musical productions, I was usually one of the people picked to play.

I want to learn how to play the guitar and piano. Listening to Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw and Jack Johnson makes me wish I could play like them. JJ even makes me want to rock out with a ukelele!

[tina1979]

Hey, tina, it's *never* too late to start. That sounds cheesy, i know, but it really is true.

Well said.
Thank you!

You're right. Its never too late to start and I have been thinking about it. I've asked a couple of my friends to teach me, but I guess they don't think I'm being serious.