Musicians?
 

Hey, Do any of you ladies and gents play an instrument? It would be nice to know if there are other musicians in the house.:)

I don't play and instrument although I played the flute in elementry and middle school* no band camp though!!*hehe but I do sing, so I guess tecnically that still makes me some sort of musician right??

Nicholie

Ya, voice definetly counts...heh, band camp...;)

another musician
 

I will graduate with my degree in music in less than 3 weeks. :) I've played flute for the past 11 years and been involved in a variety of performance venues. I've also picked up the guitar over the past 3 years or so but I'm really not very good. I have functional piano skills but I only started playing since I got to college (because it was a requirement) and I don't put very much time into it since I'm very competitive with my flute.

PKTSU01--what do you play? what type of music do you specialize in?

Re: another musician
 

Well, I feebly attempt to play guitar and bass, but I was trained as a percussionist since I was 11, I'm 22 now. I also play piano, which wasn't too hard to learn because of all of the theory I picked up from listening to the damn woodwinds and brass go through scales everyday. My music that I write is, well, rock pretty much, but i'm more into producing now then I am into composing, although i do that. I figure, i want to probably end up producing anyways, so I may as well start somewhere.

I play the violin. Started when I was 12 in middle school and I ended up choosing a music conservatory for college.

I got so burnt out there because everyone was *really* into music and I wasn't quite like that. Couldn't imagine teaching, sitting in an orchestra or traveling in a chamber music group. I transfered out and currently major in business.

Very cool :) It takes a lot of persistance to break into the professional music business and I wish you the best of luck. If I could I would be an in orchestra but those jobs are1 in a million. Maybe one day though....
We must have started playing at the same time as I'm 22 too :)

Those orchestra jobs are hard to come by. In the nation's major orchestras, it literally takes someone to die to have a seat open up!
The music profession really seems to be about talent and who you know!

Remember how much ya sucked when ya started? It's amazing when i see beginners and i'm like whoa...i feel bad for my music teacher if he had to deal with me when i was like that! I don't even listen to music on the radio like a normal person anymore, i'm always breaking the song into sections by instruments. It is kind of awesome to see how it all fits together when layered, even pop music wows me when its done properly, even if most of it involves no technical musical ability whatsoever.

I play the piano...badly. LOL. I could have been much better (my instructors always said I had a good ear), but I was never able to discipline myself enough to play as well as I could have. I am determined that someday my children will be musically adept.

Piano, Flute and Clarinet when I was younger.... and if you asked me to play them now, id look like an idiot

LOL :D That is so true! I can't study to any type of music (popular or classical) because I start analyzing it (out of habit) or singing along. I'm such a geek :p

I played the clarinet in elementary. I wish I had stayed with it. Perhaps someday I'll pick one up again. I remember my teacher was so neurotic about how to hold the instrument. I also remember how well dressed he always was and how he always wore cologne.:rolleyes:

PIANO - since I was 5. Actually managed to show some talent. :D If anyone knows what Solo & Ensemble festivals are, I have a little pile of "Superior" medals from District and State S & E festivals...plus one "Superior with Distinction" from State (played Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu) WOO! :D
Just play for fun now.

OBOE - from 6th grade, all thru middle school and high school, 1 year of college. Don't really pick it up anymore. Too much of a pain to get decent reeds and keep up with it.

PERCUSSION - for marching band in high school. Mainly because you just don't find pianos (good luck marching!) or oboes (reeds too delicate, will break) in marching bands. Mostly mallet percussion - marimbas, xylophones, and "toys" (all the various nosiemakers, what we called "stuff to hit"). My school had a percussion ensemble too. I could do that neat stuff where you hold 2 or 3 mallets in each hand and play.

And you guys are right, all this musical training TOTALLY affects how I listen to the radio. Overanalyzing things. Also means that mindless pop music - for example, Britney/Christina/whoever/boy band stuff - just drives me nuts.

I've been playing the piano since I was 5 (I'm 22 now). When I was in the 6th and 11th grades I was fortunate enough to play with the Honolulu Symphony.

My mom also enrolled me in cello when I was in the 4th grade. For three years in high school I played in the Hawaii Youth Symphony Orchestra where I was first cello my senior year.

I've always wanted to learn how to play the guitar though... and I've always admired those who were in band. I used to think band people were so cool...

I started organ lessons when I was about 10. Still love to hear it being played, but never really grew to like it as a performer, if you know what I mean!

From 6th grade on, it was all about....percussion instruments, for sure! Anything I could hit a stick or mallet with, I did!

Took up the French horn in 8th grade (while still playing percussion) - it took me one week to even get a sound out of the thing. When it finally happened, it wasn't pretty! For at least the first 3 months I sounded like a cow in heat....my poor parents and band instructor! Happy ending though - I did wind up playing first chair during most of my high school career! I still love the French horn and wish it didn't cost so darn much - I'd buy one and start playing again, absolutely!

Most recently, I have started HARP lessons (ANOTHER percussion instrument, to my surprise...). It's an expensive instrument, and private lessons are a small fortune, too! Wish me luck....I had a harpist at my wedding and have been dreaming of this ever since!

I am graduating in May with my music degree and I play the trombone and the euphonium. My senior recital is actually tonight! I am freaking out with nervousness, which is why I am up so early today. I am sick with a sinus infection and bronchitis to boot, but I am not going to let that keep me from playing because after today, I never have to play again if I don't want to. However I DO want to, just not professionally. I am going to be a band director. Oh and I did have to pass the piano proficiency, but we all know that that means little about my actual ABILITY to play piano ;)

Re: Musicians?
 

I play the piano! My favorite pieces to play are by Chopin..however, i write a lot of my own music (instrumental) on my spare time.

• piano
• guitar
• tuba
• harmonica
• euphonium/baritone
• trombone (a little)

I don't really remember when I "learned" piano.. my mother taught herself, and we always screwed around at home. I probably had a total of 2 years worth of lessons while I was growing up.

I played baritone in 5th grade band, only because the band director insisted I was too small for tuba. The next year we got a new band director, so the other baritone player and I both told him we played tuba, and I've played ever since. I actually was in like every ensembe possible in high school (even jazz band) and was a tuba performance major for 2 1/2 years of college. Then I got burnt out and changed majors. (During this time I took another 2 years of piano lessons and I, too, am "proficient"). While I still play occassionally around town, nothing serious.

A few months ago I finally picked up guitar and have been teaching myself. I am considering lessons, I just don't want to spend the extra money. (I got my first guitar in 3rd grade, but due to circumstances beyond my control, never learned to play it).

At some point in high school I picked up harmonica. I'm not great, but I do find it enjoyable.

The trombone I picked up in college while taking Brass Methods. I wish I had one to practice on, it's kind of fun.

Incidentally, my friends and I just started a band..The Somethings... we've had 2 practices. I'll let you know if it goes anywhere.

I played the clarinet and tenor saxophone in junior high school and my first year of h.s. my second year of h.s. I felt that I couldnt do both band and football. So I stuck with football until I graduated. I loved playing and it was so much fun. I wish I would have stuck with it longer. I've always wanted to learn the piano. My grandmother was gifted with playing the organ. She could just play stuff at the top of her head. If I ever have kids I want to put a lot of emphasis on music. I think it really helps develop your thinking skills.