[redsniper]

Do any of you foo's play a musical instrument? I personally play the saxophone. I started in 6th grade and played in my school band all through junior high. In high school I kept at it with the marching/concert band. It's a marching band in the fall and a concert band in the spring; our school doesn't have enough people for more than one band. After that, I basically put it away for a year. Recently, my roommate and I got it in our heads to try starting a blues band along with some other folks at school, so now I'm trying to get good at playing again.
How about you?

[Jeff Vader]

I'd play bass but I guess being musical is a genetic feature. Not to mention instruments aren't moderately priced, particularly for a student's budget.

[Polpolion]

I play sax also. I'm in my high schools marching band. In MB hopefully we will place well at natinals this year. In prelims, we're right between Ronald Regan HS and Avon HS . In concert band I play Bari, which is awesome because I get to sit in the back while the trumpets are being yelled at and stuff. Plus Bari is just plain awesome.

[redsniper]

Lobo:
So are you saying you know how to play the bass guitar and just can't afford one, or that you wish you could play bass?

sizzler:
Is bari the big one, or the really big one where the neck sorta does a loop?

[Dark Hunter]

Clarinet for me. Bflat, Eflat, and bass, as required by whatever song my instructor had (which was a bit annoying at concerts, having to set up three different instruments and switch between them). Been playing off and on a long time...
Started in 4th grade... played in the school band up til senior year. All of high school I switched to the Jazz Band (yes, clarinets exist in jazz), and that was about the most fun I'd ever had (musically, anyway). Ever played tunes by Charlie Parker and Pat Metheny? Awesome.

I have played a sax.... but I just didn't get into it, I guess. It was an alto. But I was still very young back then and couldn't muster the air for most of the lower notes. Kinda deterred me.

There is a band at my college, but I'm waiting until I don't have as many classes before attempting to join. I'm not really all that sure I want to, seeing as it'd be classical music. I have the highest respect for classical music and the people who play it, I just don't find it as fun as jazz.

Man, now I want to play my clarinet again. Maybe I'll go get it out and play a few tunes. 

[Nuke]

im really good at playing the stereo

[Herra Tohtori]

Cello.

Played for +10 years... then I went to army, after that to study, and haven't really played since. Couple times a year at max. Kinda shame, though... I wasn't too bad at my prime.

...

For those familiar with Finnish music institute system, I've done the I-examination (and obviously the 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3's preceding it) as well as the mandatory courses in music theory to be the proud owner of music institute diploma, for what it's worth. For those unfamiliar with the System, it's roughly the highest you can get (at least 'round here) without actually getting into studying music in a conservatoire.

...Which is an achievement in itself since I never managed to actually learn to read notes properly, I still pretty much have to count the intervals from C to determine what different notes actually are. Playing prima vista is horrible, so I pretty much used finger number markings until I learned the piece so I only needed the notes as reminder, and so I never learned to actually read the notes. And let me tell ya, trying to manage the latest of those music theory courses I've been to is not child's play when you can't read notes fluently...  


The part in playing I liked the most is playing in an orchestra, or in a quartet or other group, whatever. Mostly because the music sounds bigger and better and it's much more forgiving to small individual errors... provided you're not the only one playing a certain theme or get something spectacularly wrong.

[redsniper]

im really good at playing the stereo

I was waiting for someone to say this. That and "I play FS2, lololol!!!"

[Nissan]

I played viola for five years.  Didn't exactly have award-winning talent, but I wasn't half bad for never taking lessons.

Still, it wouldn't surprise me if I'm the only violist on all of HLP...

[Hippo]

i can beat GH3 on easy


Formerly a trombone, but i stopped because it sucked. the end.

[Jeff Vader]

Lobo:
So are you saying you know how to play the bass guitar and just can't afford one, or that you wish you could play bass?

Both, actually. I can't play bass AND I can't afford one. I just wish I could. Bass is just such a cool instrument and I indeed appreciate the work done by people such as Jesse F. Keeler, Taiji Sawada, Nick Oliveri, KenKen and many many more.

On the other hand, it's just this inside joke we had running back in high school. We were planning on forming a band that had 3 bass players. And nothing else.

[Polpolion]

sizzler:
Is bari the big one, or the really big one where the neck sorta does a loop?

It's the one that does to loop. Soprano is the golden clarinet, alto is the "J", tenor is the bigger J, Bari is the loop, and bass is the squished S.

[redsniper]

I've only ever played alto.

[Darklord42]

I'm a freshman composition major at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford.   I play the piano and sing as well, but I'm definitely not good enough to go majoring at either. (at least not here)

Some of my work

[perihelion]

I took piano lessons for 7 years and have very little to show for it.  I think my understanding of music theory is a lot better than most, and I've retained all that pretty well.  But I more or less gave up after seven years because I just could not make my hands do what I wanted them to.  I could hear exactly what it needed to sound like in my mind, but call it lack of hand-eye coordination, lack of patience, or just flat out lack of gift, I could not get it from my head through my fingers onto the keys.

So, I took up singing in highschool, mostly at my mom's insistence.  I endured two years of choir, hated virtually every song I was forced to sing, but I got pretty good at it.  For a few months around '96, me and a small group of friends hit the local coffee house every other Saturday with them on guitars and me providing vocals and whatever limited percussion we could think of.  (Once, I literally banged on some pots.  [/embarrassment.])  It wasn't anything we took seriously.  It was just for fun.

My wife bought me a guitar a few years back, which touched me deeply, but I've never had time to learn how to play it.  Now that we have a little one, I'm feeling the need to learn more than ever.  Kiddo loves music.  I have no idea when I'll get the time, though.

[IceFire]

Three years of piano and six years of playing a Bb Clarinet in high school and then into my first year of university.

[Darklord42]

really, which is your university?

[Stealth]

i think musical instruments to nerds are the same as martial arts are to them...

every one practices one, and is VERY proficient at it.

[redsniper]

So you're saying you don't play anything?

[Darklord42]

If thats the case where does that put us composers?