Sweet Music

[Mia14]

I know we're a talented lot, but who here plays an instrument and what is it?


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I once played the drums, but have forgotten a lot.

My beautiful one is teaching me how to play the classical (or Spanish) guitar, so I shall say for the sake of this polling that this is the instument I play.

[Venari]

I play the Violin mostly. From where I grew up I learned to play the Lute. I don’t play it as much as the Violin but its still a fun instrument.

-Venari

[Daniel]

Tuba, Piano and Voice. Not necessarily in that order.

I wanted to play the piano as a young child- my mother attempted to teach me: big mistake. Didn't get to really learn anything until college and then was so hungry for it I double majored in voice and piano my junior year. I made up for lost time, that's for sure.

Played tuba starting in 6th grade only because the band director was looking for a boy who was tall enough to reach the mouth piece and suckered me into it. Those cold morning on the practice field with my mouth piece stuck, frozen to my lip, weren't any fun. But I did get to be in band and see what it was like with the straight guys- you know- it really is true- at least as far as I can tell- professional brass players are by and large straight. Why is that? And organists are by-and-large gay. Someone should do a study about that.

Voice. Well. That was my first love. And like the gay boy that I am, I met my muse in the sound of Julie Andrews when I went to see the movie Merry Poppins when it first came out. Not only did I want to sing like her...well...I wanted to be her. My mother told me that I sang the songs (children are so precocious) with lyrics and music intact on the way home in the car. Now I'm on the other side of the vocal spectrum. Bass-Baritone. Or as the old Italians called it: Bass-Cantante.

(Oh. I wanted to be a ballet boy too...but we're talking about instruments here. Like the piano, that didn't happen as a child. And it was much too late to do anything about it when I went to an AG school. There wasn't any dance classes for boys there.)

I learned to play an orchestra worth's of instruments when I was in school and got my music teaching degree (hyperventilating when learning to play the flute is a precious memory), but this seems like overkill now, doesn't it? They really don't count, even though my String Bass teacher told me I had the hands for it. This time, I didn't get suckered. I stayed with Voice.

It wasn't until I was in graduate school that I found a great teacher- in fact- an exceptional teacher- a teacher of teachers. Someone who taught me how to learn, how to practice, how to think. I thank her every day.

[Vanessa White]

At first, I was going to say I don't currently play anything, and then I read Daniel's post, and realized that I sing. I love to sing, I come alive when I raise my voice in song, it opens up my soul and moves me to tears. I used to play the clarinet as a young child, and I actually still have it in a closet somewhere. I have recently decided that I plan on taking guitar lessons- I tried to once before but didn't keep up with the lessons. Soon, I want to purchase one, and have my brother, who plays and sings, teach me. Great idea Mia!!!!!!!!!!

[Zerbie]

Originally Posted by Daniel

Tuba, Piano and Voice. Not necessarily in that order.

. And like the gay boy that I am, I met my muse in the sound of Julie Andrews when I went to see the movie Merry Poppins when it first came out. Not only did I want to sing like her...well...I wanted to be her.
(Oh. I wanted to be a ballet boy too...but we're talking about instruments here. Like the piano, that didn't happen as a child. And it was much too late to do anything about it when I went to an AG school. There wasn't any dance classes for boys there.)

my String Bass teacher told me I had the hands for it. This time, I didn't get suckered. I stayed with Voice.

.

Daniel, OMG!!!! Your post totally cracked me up!!!! The part about wanting to BE Julie Andrews!

Last week I had lunch with a colleague, and when discussing our ages, he said he tells time by Julie Andrews. !!!

Now, back to you, Daniel, er, have you noticed that even on the instruments you got suckered, or almost suckered into, you basically remain a bass? Tuba? String bass? Basso cantante. . . I really need to stop imagining your voice as baritone. My committee chair is a real bass too, and it took me 2 years to stop being intimidated (he's a total sweetie), because of that rumbling bass sound!


Ooh ballet? Me too! Only, I didn't want to be a girl ballet dancer, I wanted to be a guy ballet dancer. Absolutely no hope of that ever happening in this lifetime.

[Zerbie]

Okay, so now to answer the OP, Voice! And a little bit of piano.

I clicked on both voice and piano above for the poll purposes, but I'm really an ex-pianist. Geez, I'm a lot of EX-things, aren't I?

I played piano for 12 years and was pretty accomplished, did competitions, accompanied choirs, blah blah, but didn't feel called to do anything with the piano other than pass the time. I felt called to singing and voices since earliest childhood.

Voices fascinated me, I used to make snap judgments as a little girl, abut whether I wanted to be around someone or not, by the quality of their voice. And I was drawn to high female voices. Lo and behold, years later it became apparent that I'm a coloratura. A light-sounding, very high soprano voice.

I've been singing on the stage since childhood, which now makes 23 years!!!!! Someday, if I ever finish the degre I'm slowly muddling through, I will have be a Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance. I've also taught singing since I was in undergrad.

[Dash]

Like our darling Zerbie, I am mostly ex-piano man though I play when I need to. I had my first degree in piano, but that's sooo in the past. After I moved to Chicago and started the graduate voice program at Northwestern, I pretty much stopped even trying to practice piano. All of my energy goes to voice. I only ever wanted to be a tenor....thank goodness, that's the instrument I have.

Really no need even to talk about 7 years of trumpet in public school marching band, though I did do that too. Ugh!

[tdogg]

I'm with morningrob - I play a MEAN air guitar and sometimes drums!

I also sing, but I can't imagine anyone (other than my girlfriend who insists I'm great) wanting to hear too much of it! Mostly karaoke with my buds.

However, I do write lyrics an am hoping someday I can learn to read music so that I can put music to my lyrics, that or meet up with someone who writes music and wants to do that with me. Writing is how I express my artistic side.

[morningrob]

I play air guitar. sometimes air drums. Also air piano, but then it is only Elton or a Billy Joel song

[dewdrop_world]

I started with flute (really with piano but never played very seriously) -- in the last few years I've been drawn to older or ethnic flutes such as this one, which I got for about $30 at a street fair! The sound is surprisingly good. I also have a xiao (end-blown Chinese flute) and hope to get a Baroque flute someday.



But my main instrument is my computer:



Performance photo from, of all places, the Central Conservatory in China!

... with the exception that I recently replaced the iBook with one of these babies... don't have a photo of that setup in performance. Yet. Going to a conference in UK this July.

It's a brave, and quite mad, new world...

James

[schoolboi]

I love to sing, but that does not mean people love to hear me.

[awediot]

I'm as usual a weird combo... All about the air stuff, air kazoo mostly, air Jews harp when Jesus ain't watching, a little air flute to Tull if I don't have a drink or smoke in my hand... I get caught by strangers air singing in the car or shower all the time... I air dance too a bit, but it makes me invisible.