NationStates Jolt Archive

Play the guitar, bass, keyboard, or such? I'd like to know why you think that it's interesting, and when you got started.

Personally, I play the drums, and have been playing them for ten years. I got started when I was three years old, then actually got lessons when I was nine.

Recently, I acquired a taste for Led Zeppelin, and became fascinated with John Bonham's skill. I tried to emulate his intricatly perfromed beats and fills, and I am now miles ahead on my skill today than I was 6 months ago. All because of John "Bonzo" Bonham.

I play drums -- played since I was 10 -- and now I'm a tympanist in my High School's Symphonic Winds group, and a trap drummer for fun and Jazz band there.

I play a bit of keyboard, too, but I have a hard time reading music, so I have to play by ear. Plus, for never taking lessons, the fingering is challenging.

Do boobies count as drums?

Do boobies count as drums?

Not.....quite......

My mom's a piano teacher, so I pretty much had to learn how to play the piano. But it's pretty awesome, I recommend learning. :D

My mom's a piano teacher, so I pretty much had to learn how to play the piano. But it's pretty awesome, I recommend learning. :D

Lessons require money and time, of which I have none. :(

Lessons require money and time, of which I have none. :(

Playing Boobies don't require lessons.

Just pure skill.

Playing Boobies don't require lessons.

Just pure skill.

I was reffering to piano... <_<

Rick James video. The saxophonist was standing on top of a pillar playing the solo to I think Super Freak and he looked like the coolest thing in the world-and the sound that the sax made was incredible. It was just too cool not to learn how to play. By comparison the guitar seemed kind wuss...

Piano....technically, I like to play the xylophone more, but I learned everything on the piano...not good at playing by ear, but I can figure it out with some time...

I can play guitar, bass, viola, cello, drums, piano, pipe organ, banjo, and clarinet.

I would like to learn the alto sax.


I play because I like music. (the variety of instruments was mostly to piss off my parents, they thought I was a musical prodigy or something, so I decided to keep switching to make them mad)

Most instruments are easy to learn once you get a feel for how music works, I think of all the instruments I have tried to play trombone is the most difficult (followed a close second by the flute)

I can play guitar, bass, viola, cello, drums, piano, pipe organ, banjo, and clarinet.

I would like to learn the alto sax.


I play because I like music. (the variety of instruments was mostly to piss off my parents, they thought I was a musical prodigy or something, so I decided to keep switching to make them mad)

Most instruments are easy to learn once you get a feel for how music works, I think of all the instruments I have tried to play trombone is the most difficult (followed a close second by the flute)

I'd like to learn how to play the guitar and the trombone, as well as relearn the cello. Three coolest non-percussion instruments out there, IMNHBAMO. :)

I can play ... banjo...

4 or 5 string?

4 or 5 string?
both, I prefer the 5 string though (and also when I said guitar I should have specified that I can play 6 and 12 string but I prefer 6)

I play the Spanish guitar, the piano, the flute, quena, charango, and zampona, because I'm good at it, and I love music. Why the hell else would you do it? It's certainly not for the groupies. Well...there was that ONE...:p

both, I prefer the 5 string though

Nice. I'm still struggling with getting beyond the rudiments of melodic clawhammer playing - my hands will do it, but not in time.

I'd like to learn how to play the guitar and the trombone, as well as relearn the cello. Three coolest non-percussion instruments out there, IMNHBAMO. :)
If you have ever played a stringed instrument then cello will be easy, guitar is what imo everyone should start on, and trombone is a pain in the neck even for someone who learns easily so get a few other instruments under your belt first or you will be super frustrated, a trumpet would do nicely as a starter instrument too, but guitar is easiest to gain confidence on, since when you learn about 4 chords you can fake most popular songs.

Guitar, bit of bass, 5 string banjo, mandolin, 3 chord autoharp, bulbul tarang (AKA Indian banjo), uke.

Nice. I'm still struggling with getting beyond the rudiments of melodic clawhammer playing - my hands will do it, but not in time.
It will get there, it always cracks me up when they show these backwoods hicks playing the banjo, it isn't an easy instrument to play at all. It takes way more coordination and patience then most people realize.

It helps to make up a nursery rhyme and practice your movements that way (it feels silly but it really helps)

This poll should have been multiple choice ;)

I play both electric and acoustic (both nylon and steel string) guitar. And I play 'em 'cause it's fun. I've been thinking about taking on the drums (but I have nowhere to put a kit) so i'll probably move onto bass next.

It will get there, it always cracks me up when they show these backwoods hicks playing the banjo, it isn't an easy instrument to play at all. It takes way more coordination and patience then most people realize.

...of course this just shows the general population's ignorance of the classical and parlour banjo traditions.

...of course this just shows the general population's ignorance of the classical and parlour banjo traditions.
yeah, I didn't get past bluegrass before I got bored with it, I didn't even realize there was anything else really until about 3 instruments down the road and by then my banjo had been sold off for a Fender.

I can play guitar, bass, viola, cello, drums, piano, pipe organ, banjo, and clarinet.

I would like to learn the alto sax.

If you play the clarinet and are relatively good at it, it won't be that hard to learn the alto sax. And once you learn the alto, the other ones are all pretty easy. The alto is definitely the best, though. :D

yeah, I didn't get past bluegrass before I got bored with it, I didn't even realize there was anything else really until about 3 instruments down the road and by then my banjo had been sold off for a Fender.

Bluegrass never really grabbed me the way the dirtier folksier clawhammer players did: I'd much rather be listening to Dock Boggs a-weeping and a-wailing rather than the clean crooning of the Reno's of this world. I guess the irony is that I'm trying to play that dirty ragged style on an instrument designed for an even more genteel setting than the bluegrass players - a lovely Cammeyer Zither-Banjo.

If you play the clarinet and are relatively good at it, it won't be that hard to learn the alto sax. And once you learn the alto, the other ones are all pretty easy. The alto is definitely the best, though. :D
I was teaching my 4 year old the recorder and my husband (who played the alto sax in highschool) was telling me that the fingering is basically the same.

I am sure it would be pretty easy to learn and people look and sound so cool playing it. :D

Bluegrass never really grabbed me the way the dirtier folksier clawhammer players did: I'd much rather be listening to Dock Boggs a-weeping and a-wailing rather than the clean crooning of the Reno's of this world. I guess the irony is that I'm trying to play that dirty ragged style on an instrument designed for an even more genteel setting than the bluegrass players - a lovely Cammeyer Zither-Banjo.
yeah. Bluegrass is kinda a "thing" here, I think I got pressured into it about the same way as when I was learning the viola people kept asking me to fiddle.

I was teaching my 4 year old the recorder and my husband (who played the alto sax in highschool) was telling me that the fingering is basically the same.

I am sure it would be pretty easy to learn and people look and sound so cool playing it. :D

It's weird how the fingerings on all the woodwinds is so similar. I play the alto, and I learned how to play the flute last year, and I was amazed at how close the fingerings are.

And yes, we do look and sound so cool while playing it :)

It's weird how the fingerings on all the woodwinds is so similar. I play the alto, and I learned how to play the flute last year, and I was amazed at how close the fingerings are.

And yes, we do look and sound so cool while playing it :)
yeah, it's like I said as soon as you understand how music works then most instruments are pretty easy to learn.

woodwinds you have to learn some "mouth mechanics" and strings you have to learn "finger skills" and everything you need to be able to do 3 things at once, but once you get your rhythm down, it's pretty easy.

Viola, Guitar (acc. and Elec.), Bass-Guitar, Violin (Not that hard if you play the viola), Piano, vocals, and very basic cello.

I got into music as a little kid, and I never really stopped. Ever since I've been picking up instruments as I go along.

Probably the only one I'm very good at is the viola.

If you have ever played a stringed instrument then cello will be easy, guitar is what imo everyone should start on, and trombone is a pain in the neck even for someone who learns easily so get a few other instruments under your belt first or you will be super frustrated, a trumpet would do nicely as a starter instrument too, but guitar is easiest to gain confidence on, since when you learn about 4 chords you can fake most popular songs.

Trumpets drop your IQ... :p

You see, the problem is is that I like classical music more than I do anything else, so guitar wouldn't be the best instrument for me to learn to enjoy, really. I mean, there are some pieces for it and some made good on it (namely Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, but other than that....

yeah. Bluegrass is kinda a "thing" here, I think I got pressured into it about the same way as when I was learning the viola people kept asking me to fiddle.

I don't care how anti-"redneck" some people are, there are some downright kick ass fiddlers that could probably outplay the Concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra.

All of the above.

woodwinds you have to learn some "mouth mechanics" and strings you have to learn "finger skills" and everything you need to be able to do 3 things at once, but once you get your rhythm down, it's pretty easy.

The ability to do just three things at once is insufficient for learning the Uilleann pipes, I can tell you. I count a minimum of four completely different actions there...

I don't care how anti-"redneck" some people are, there are some downright kick ass fiddlers that could probably outplay the Concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra.
meh, it's pretty easy, anyone who can play can play it either way.

I play the Spanish guitar, the piano, the flute, quena, charango, and zampona, because I'm good at it, and I love music. Why the hell else would you do it? It's certainly not for the groupies. Well...there was that ONE...:p

Those last three I have never heard of.:D

The ability to do just three things at once is insufficient for learning the Uilleann pipes, I can tell you. I count a minimum of four completely different actions there...
yeah, after I typed that I started thinking about playing the pipe organ that really requires using 6 or 7 different actions at the same time. I think I grossly misunderestimated. :p

meh, it's pretty easy, anyone who can play can play it either way.

Not really, I'd wager that most orchestral players would be somewhat floored if they were told 'sure now, just improvise a solo there'.

This poll should have been multiple choice ;)

Yeah, I realized that too late. I should've also added an "other" category.

Not really, I'd wager that most orchestral players would be somewhat floored if they were told 'sure now, just improvise a solo there'.
true, I was saying that when you know the basic mechanics of an instrument, then most people can play it however they want to.

My problem is that most people say the learn an instrument, and what they actually mean is they learned to play a song or two on it. They don't bother to learn why it works the way it does, and get a general feel for the instrument.

I learned that when I ask someone who "plays" the guitar to tune it without an electric tuner and they freak out, then they have no basic understanding of the instrument at all.

I am a perfectionist though, almost to the point of mental illness, I think if you can't change a tire, you shouldn't be allowed to drive, and if you can't tune your guitar without anything but your ears and your fingers, then you shouldn't play it at all.

I play electric and acoustic guitar, 12 string, 7 string, 4 and 6 string bass (primary), Banjo 5 string, tenor sax and I'm adequate at keyboard.

I have no life, so I turn to music.

Yeah, I realized that too late. I should've also added an "other" category.

No matter, I was just being a smartarse and nitpicking the poll before anyone else could. There's always one. :) :p

No matter, I was just being a smartarse and nitpicking the poll before anyone else could. There's always one. :) :p

*shakes fist at you for beating me to it*

I can play the flute and the piano...

...poorly.:(

I play viola because I like stringed instruments, but cellos and basses are too big (and rather expensive as well), and violins are too common.

I also occasionally play harmonica, although I haven't taken any lessons or learned how to play it officially or anything like that.

Where's the option for people who sing?

I played the drums because I like the rhythm/beat as well as bass. When I listen to a song, the most important thing for me is the beat.

I play percussion, and the Keyboard and piano. I never did take lessons for the piano, But I taught myself. I can play fairly well.

I play Guitar (acoustic and electric), bass, all saxophones, clarinet, french horn, baritone, keyboard, and am learning drums.

My best instrument is the clarinet, been playing it the longest, about 8 years, sax next at 6, then bass/guitar at 6 as well.

I agree with the posters who have been talking about what music really is and what a musician really is. Personally, I feel, if you learn to play an instrument, you can "play and instrument" but the key to a true musician's life is to master this instrument. Personally, if some people just like to play for fun, more power to them, I will not deny them that, they should play all they want, but don't label yourself wrong. If you can't play your 12 major scales, sixteenth notes, with arpeggios at LEAST 180, then you are far from mastering your instrument. Once that is down, on to different scales, blues, pentonic, mixolydian, dorian, etc. Learning pitch, pocket tempo, styles, all that is so important.

My main style of play is in the wide range of "Jazz" ranging from anything like funk to swing to blues to R&B. A key strength in Jazz is the ability to improvise. That is where the true mastery of an instrument is begun. If I say "Play me a basic 12 bar riff in concert F key, 4/4, triplet feel, funk style" and you can pass MY standards, then I give you props towards truoly knowing your instrument. How to play different styles is soo key to playing as well. If you can play one riff basically the same, in different styles, then you're really mastering music.

Music is my passion, although I am not going to major in it, yet, eventually, once I've made some money, I hope to go into teaching music in high school. I recently graduated from high school from a state champion, regular BOA finals performing band on the marching field, regular state straight superior jazz and concert band. I recieved the John Phillip Sousa award on that school and find that to be my greatest honor yet in my life. I currently am working for that school as an instructor as I attend college

I really think music is such a binding force in human nature and if there is one thing this world could have more of is music. It really has a power over people that no other form of entertainment has, even more influential than movies and literature, as music forms itself to society in a way that these two don't. Music Is, and that's all there is to it.

Wasn't sure which guitar option would be the better answer, but I put acoustic because I learned on that before shifting to guitar and bass....

I actually started my musical life as a piano player, then viola, then a large chunk of flute and piccolo (which I still play in the civic orchestras and various pit orchestras around town), so teaching myself guitar was a huge challenge, coming from a strictly classical background. Plus, my pampered flute-player hands had neither the strength nor callouses to play for much more than ten minutes at a time.

I now have a Martin HD-28, a new Gibson Les Paul (my baby), and my very first bass (which my uncle gave to me) -- a Martin Alternative X Acoustic/Electric 4-string.

I'm a bass player by trade.
I mainly play upright/double bass, but I also play electric.
I play in a full time jazz band recording and touring and gigging locally and I teach a couple of days a week too.

I started on guitar as a kid and then advanced to electric bass in my late teens. My teacher at uni convinced me to change from electric bass to upright in my first year. Since then I haven't looked back.
I got my diploma of Jazz and Bachelor of music and am playing in a working band.........what more could you want :)

I love all kinds of music and am frustrated by musical snobs.

I love all kinds of music and am frustrated by musical snobs.
For the record, they're probably frustrated by you as well.

Simonist']For the record, they're probably frustrated by you as well.

Oh, yes, that's true. I see that all the time here at my high school.

Oh, and Simonist, can I join the NSS? :D ;)

synth keyboard, writing hard trance for the dance scene.

Oh, yes, that's true. I see that all the time here at my high school.

Oh, and Simonist, can I join the NSS? :D ;)
Why yes. Yes you can.

What do you guys mean by "musical snobs", anyway? I'm suddenly seized by the terror that I may fit that category....

I can play keyboards, electric guitar, and acoustic guitar, but the electric guitar is my favorite.

Simonist']Why yes. Yes you can.

What do you guys mean by "musical snobs", anyway? I'm suddenly seized by the terror that I may fit that category....


someone who thinks that their prefered form of music is the only 'valid','relevant', 'worthwhile' form of music.

Many Classical, Jazz and Hardcore Metal musos easily slip into this category.

Many also do not.

In my mind music is music, what one person enjoys another hates..fair enough. When you start holding one above the other as superior then you start becoming a musical snob.

i play Bass, the clarinet and the trumpet. and i pritty much suck at all of them but getting better as the time gos on

I play nearly all of these instruments but no drums...
I learned guitar first , the way to the bass is simple and I taught myself in playing keyboards.
I have got a lot of flutes and percussion, because I take it as a souvenir, from any country i was on holiday.
I learned violin for 2 years, but due to lack of reading notes, it was just a moderate process, and so I put them in my closet...
I think the best instrument is the classic piano, because it is more emotional, than any other.

Personally I have played the Sax, violin, piano, bass and done vocal, along with dabbling in others. Personally I love music and am into mathematics, so they really blended together. Of all of them though I enjoyed vocal the best, it's so portable!