Any one of you play musical instrument?

All you frugal people here and not one admits to playing the instrument of the frugal. No, not a cheap instrument but one whose ancestral players [-]were[/-] are known for frugality. My parents, who played multiple instruments, tried to get me to learn to play one since they thought that even one born as tone deaf as I was would have a problem making it sound a lot worse than a fine player. They were wrong.

I never got as good as this guy.
YouTube - Beginners Bagpipe Competition Bad Goisern Werner Kössler
 
My ancestry is Scottish but I can't stand the bagpipes! :2funny:

I did buy a recorder for $4 in 1968 and enjoyed playing it for a few years. Pretty cheap for an instrument (but I was so poor at the time, that it was still an unwise splurge!).
 
I played classical guitar for years - ever since early teens. Pretty rusty now, but I still have the guitar and plenty of music. All in climate controlled storage - haven't kept it in the motorhome - no room.

But I think I'll start up again one we move into the house.

I have been fantasizing about one of those awesome digital pianos as well. But I think I'll wait a while until we are really settled. When I hear an occasional classical guitar piece I remember all those cool things I used to know how to play.

Vicente - there is an amazing classical spanish repertoire for the guitar! (and I'm not even talking about all the cool flamenco/gypsy stuff either).

Audrey
 
Our parents spent some money for music lessons on all four of us when we were growing up. My sister and my two brothers took piano lessons. I learned the mandolin when I was 6 or 7. Didn't work, so switched to the guitar when I was about 12. Didn't get anything out of it either, other than calluses on my left-hand fingers. As much as I loved to be able to play the guitar, I came to the realization that I had absolutely no musical talent, and my efforts would be better spent elsewhere (like teaching myself Ohm's Law when 12, and reading Real Analysis textbook when at 17 :cool:).

People who are good at music would not have to work so hard. Did someone mention the guitar and Spanish music? All I wanted was to be able to play "Spanish Romance" to serenade my eventual sweetheart, but was never able to get anywhere with my guitar.

YouTube - Spanish Romance
 
Music has always evaded me. I mimicked my older sister when I was younger and learned piano from her. I even took 1 year of real piano lessons when I was 14.
I could read music, had the memory thing down pat, and could play pretty well, but tempo and the "ear" just were not there. Oh well. :(
So I am content to strictly be a listener. :D
 
I blame the public school system for the fact that DD doesn't do anything musical. She played clarinet in elementary school, and was very good. But they didn't have a real band or musical instrument instruction (she took private lessons which were inconvenient) as they did when I was young. They had a band in which everyone played the melody in unison.

I went to a concert, and this is what the band director said when they were getting ready (not making this up): "Everyone sit up straight and put your feet on the floor. The audience isn't going to remember how you sound, but they are going to remember how you look."

She also took some piano lessons. Who knows, maybe she'll pick it up again some day and get the same pleasure that I do out of it.

img_885816_0_1e74e3e189425768beb6c686a9386072.jpg
 
In rereading Vincente's original post about persevering in his guitar practice, and my post about my own failed attempt, I realized that I sounded too defeatist. I may be a special case, and I hope Vincente will not get discouraged and continue to practice.

About Spanish music for the guitar, besides Asturias, another favorite of mine is Recuerdos de la Alhambra ("Memories of Alhambra"). Loving this music, I hope to visit Alhambra some day. Here's a good performance by a fellow who had studied under Andrés Segovia.

YouTube - Classical/guitar, Jim Greeninger, Recuerdos de la Alhambra

In researching on youtube, I ran across this video of a little Korean girl playing the same piece. OMG! While no one will compare her performance to that of an adult virtuoso, she is practically a baby! Look how she is performing the tremolo, how she stretches her little fingers to reach across the frets. I want to cry! I want to hug her.

YouTube - Guitarist
 
If you want to play a few songs around the campfire, as opposed to performing in concert, I'd suggest buying a second-hand guitar (chances are you'll go far), such as a Yamaha, then get together with like-minded guitarists, so you can teach each other, and learn some songs from start-to-finish. I can't tell you how many wannabes can play the first few bars of Stairway To Heaven or Freebird...

If you can play about ten chords - G, C, D, Dm, E, Em, A, Am, Bm, and F - you can play nearly every song by such artists as the Eagles, Prine, Dylan, America, CSNY...
 
HFWR said:
If you want to play a few songs around the campfire, as opposed to performing in concert, I'd suggest buying a second-hand guitar (chances are you'll go far), such as a Yamaha, then get together with like-minded guitarists, so you can teach each other, and learn some songs from start-to-finish. I can't tell you how many wannabes can play the first few bars of Stairway To Heaven or Freebird...

If you can play about ten chords - G, C, D, Dm, E, Em, A, Am, Bm, and F - you can play nearly every song by such artists as the Eagles, Prine, Dylan, America, CSNY...
Click to expand...

Another handy piece of equipment to buy for a guitar is a capo. That enables you to change the key of the guitar, upping your aforementioned chords by as many half-steps as you like.

Becasue I don't like to play bar chords, I often use the capo to change the key so they are played differently. Also, I can fit a song better to my voice range by altering the key.
 
scrabbler1 said:
Another handy piece of equipment to buy for a guitar is a capo. That enables you to change the key of the guitar, upping your aforementioned chords by as many half-steps as you like.

Becasue I don't like to play bar chords, I often use the capo to change the key so they are played differently. Also, I can fit a song better to my voice range by altering the key.
Click to expand...

Not knowing any music means for me that using a capo doesn´t avoid having to use some other bar.....
Anyway my ailment -similar to CTS-provokes that my hand heats up or gets numb after a few songs, mostly the ones with bars. I get some relief by dousing the hand in cold water. But after a couple of dunkings it doesn´t work anymore.
Do you know any home remedies for this?
 
Have played guitar since about 1964 and have always enjoyed it. Sometimes I'll go for weeks without picking up an instrument and other times I'll play for hours on end. Kind of a good form of therapy as well as keeping the mind and fingers active learning new music. Below are some pics of my current guitars, hate to think how many I've bought, sold and traded over the years. Play all kinds of music (badly) from jazz, blues, rock to classical and anything else that strikes my fancy.



img_887617_0_9812b86cbe177eab60bca56b4d1cfd91.jpg


img_887617_1_36cd5e2533da55ff41bf1f49553714f3.jpg
 
Frayne and HF: After seeing your guitars the only thing I can do is bow out discreetly of this thread....:blush:
 
Yup, guitars do not make the player, practice does though. At this point in my life I play pretty much for personal enjoyment and to drive my wife deaf. Actually she leaves the house when I crank it up. A little distortion is good for the soul, not so much the ears though.
 
kumquat said:
All you frugal people here and not one admits to playing the instrument of the frugal. No, not a cheap instrument but one whose ancestral players [-]were[/-] are known for frugality. My parents, who played multiple instruments, tried to get me to learn to play one since they thought that even one born as tone deaf as I was would have a problem making it sound a lot worse than a fine player. They were wrong.

I never got as good as this guy.
YouTube - Beginners Bagpipe Competition Bad Goisern Werner Kössler
Click to expand...

I admit it.

I have to rebut that awful video you provided with some world class piping.

If you'll only listen to 2 minutes of bagpipes, listen to this:


Here's the best pipe band (SFU= Simon Fraser University Pipe Band) I know of doing some excellent work (plus a cute tenor drummer at 2:17!):

YouTube - MSR - SFU Pipe Band wins the World Pipe Band Championship in 2008 - MSR

Same band, with some flashier tunes:

YouTube - Medley - SFU Pipe Band wins the World Pipe Band Championship in 2008

Good acoustics plus a soloist and the same band, with some flashy stuff at the end (the video focus gets better after a minute or so):

YouTube - Scotland 2009 SFU Concert Stuart Liddell Solo

You still don't have to like them, but at least listen to some good stuff!

2Cor521
 
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