Any one of you play musical instrument?

[vicente solano]

I took up -again- playing the guitar. Never was any good at it and for that reason and increasing frustration, left it for many years. Now it could be said I´m starting almost from scratch and practising on a daily basis. But not much progress. But I´m going to persevere because I like it and have little else to do.
Does this happen to anyone of you, too?

[W2R]

Good luck, vicente! It will probably take a lot of practice but it will be worth it.

I am planning to take up piano again in retirement, but I am not going to buy one until after our move north and until I feel a need for something to do. Meanwhile my guitar is just sitting there staring at me. I haven't played it for years and piano was always my main instrument.

[scrabbler1]

I know how to play the piano and the guitar, although I have not played either of them much in the last 10 years or so. Playing the guitar (I hit the chords and sing along) is like riding a bike, while the piano would require a month of daily play to get back to my old form.

[BOBOT]

I have always loved classical guitar & started lessons 3 yrs ago when I ER'd. WIsh I had started 40 yrs ago! It has been very rewarding; it is a difficult instrument (aren't they all), but I'm learning pieces from the standard repertoire that I never would imagine I could play. (Not ready for prime time, though!)

It's important to have a good teacher; mine is a young guy from Brazil, university trained, who has exposed me to a lot of music from South America (think complex rhythms) as well as the more familiar (to me) European rep.

[FinanceDude]

I used to be a pretty good trombone player. The community band calls me every year and wants me to join, but I don't have the time.

I also have a silver baritone bugle I have from my drum corps days.........

[Bestwifeever]

Good for you Vincente for picking the guitar up again and doing something you enjoy!

I took piano lessons (my first and only musical instrument lessons) when I was 28. I never could play both hands simultaneously. I wonder if I had had piano lessons when my kids did (7 years old) if I would have been able to or if I'm just not musical/coordinated enough.

[JonnyM]

Quickest, best, and most rewarding way to improve... Play with others. Find out where the meet is and get involved. They will help you in so many ways. Mostly it's about timing, but so much more! These often weekly events are usually Music store based, so check out the shops in your area and check it out. Don't be shy. It will open your horizons and expose you to music you haven't heard but find you really enjoy as well as give you another take on old faves.

I've been playing guitar since I was 9, so more than 40 years off and on, with mostly on since I met and married the IGBW. I can't imagine life without creating and playing music. The IGBW makes that possible in spades and she is way over the top. I have let's just say a plethora of axes. (Seriously, in the casual band of geezer rockers I play in they don't use her first name to refer to her, they say, "and how is the IGBW doin' ") I'm the envy of the Music Boards, because yes, she is known throughout the Guitar Community as the:

Incredible-Guitar-Buying-Wife.

[TromboneAl]

If you're beginning piano, there are a lot of people who like this system for learning:

The Sudnow Method ≅ Piano Lesson Player

It's a method of learning to play popular music or jazz without going through all of the basics. In some sense it seems hokey -- playing from diagrams instead of normal sheet music, but if I were starting totally from scratch, and wanted to play some nice music quickly, I'd consider it.

Also, if you're considering buying an acoustic piano, give me a chance to change your mind, because I think the advantages of an electric keyboard far outweigh those of a "real" piano.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Also, if you're considering buying an acoustic piano, give me a chance to change your mind, because I think the advantages of an electric keyboard far outweigh those of a "real" piano.

Nah, after I move north I'm going to buy one of those cool Yamaha electric/digital pianos but I am going to buy one that is all packaged up in a wooden body to look like a "real" piano. I think they sound, look, and even feel pretty much like the real thing (which is what I was used to in the old days, and change is tough for me), but it is great to think that I could use headphones so that none of my neighbors could hear me doing my Hanon exercises over and over (and over, and over...). Plus, I would never have to tune it and I know they have bells and whistles to play with.

[vicente solano]

Trombone: I´ve got plenty on my hands already with my guitar, thank you Ha Ha!

[FIREd]

I play the flute.

I played in a fife-and-drum marching band for several years while in junior high and high school, stopped playing for about 18 years and started playing again earlier this year. But playing the fife by itself is not great and I decided to switch to a regular flute which offers a much expended repertoire and more soothing sound. I started replaying the tunes I played so many times 20 years ago but have since expended to classical, sacred and Celtic music.

I have also started singing again too (thanks to Rock Band). I sung in a choir in college. I can't describe how I feel when I sing, but I should have never stopped. It brings me peace and lifts my spirit, almost like a religious experience!

[F4mandolin]

Spent a little time with an electric guitar almost 30 years ago....never practiced enough to get better. I have small hands and picked up the violin back in about 87...played too much (and too tightly) and had some back problems. Now days it is the mandolin, mostly classical with a 1924 Gibson F4. Bought an electric 5 string solid body last summer that I think I might just grow into when I retire. I don't practice enough to get better very fast but plan on playing an hour or so a day in retirement. Currently spend most of my time playing Bach (tough guy to play well)....small hands, so I kind of try to stay away from the long reach instruments. Hmmm, always wanted to play the Irish bagpipes, but my wife has nixed that one without thinking about it.

[bbbamI]

In my music room/sun room, I have four bass guitars, one acoustic guitar, one upright bass, one clarinet, and one trumpet.

I play the kazoo...

ohhhh...I do sing!

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI In my music room/sun room, I have four bass guitars, one acoustic guitar, one upright bass, one clarinet, and one trumpet. I play the kazoo... ohhhh...I do sing!

Video yourself and post it on here......we all would like to hear ya sing.............

[Janet H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicente solano Trombone: I´ve got plenty on my hands already with my guitar, thank you Ha Ha!

Inspiration to practice...

YouTube - BRAZILIAN MUSIC INSTITUTE 2009 - TICO TICO

[ziggy29]

I assume air guitar doesn't count.

[bbbamI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude Video yourself and post it on here......we all would like to hear ya sing.............

Hmmm...maybe I will.... But I think FIREdreamer should sing with me. I'm the shy one...

[tmm99]

I wish I kept up. I used to take piano lessons from 2nd grade to 4th grade. I learned some folk guitar (chords) in junior high. I tried to start playing the guitar again, but I think I need a teacher.

When I was in college, I wanted to learn how to play the flute, so I saved up some money, bought a flute and took a lesson. One lesson. (I lived right around the corner from a music college and my teacher was a student there.) I just about died! ( hyperventilation and dizziness). That was the last time I touched the flute. When my mom turned 70, she was doing some spring cleaning and found my flute. She didn't know how to play it (except that she said she had to play this little wooden flute in some kind of music class in her junior high or elementary school) but she picked it up, bought some books and started learning how to play it. (Evidently, she could read music sheets to some extent.) She retired in 72 and started going to a commercial (?) flute school for private lessons. She is now 80 and she still goes to the school and practices almost every day. I couldn't be prouder. She even participated/played in her flute school's annual recitals until she was 76. (She said it has become too stressful to do the recitals anymore.) I have a lot of admiration for her. (Not just because she picked up something brand new to her at her age and became an expert, but because she has such a great lung capacity at her age!!) She said it was hard for her to decide to go to this flute school at her age; she said she had a lot of doubts (I am too old for learning a new instrument. I don't want to be a burden for the teacher, because I cannot improve as fast as younger people.. Some kind of "I am too old" syndrome..) but her desire to learn to play pushed through.

I guess it's never too late to pick up a musical instrument you are not familiar with.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI I play the kazoo.. ohhhh...I do sing!

This post is useless without audio.

[Trek]

Trumpet. Been a long time since I've played. Not too many places you can play a trumpet without getting in trouble.