Musical Instruments

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

I was just curious how many folks around here play a musical instrument. I play the piano as well as the harmonica (though I'm due for a new one), the tin whistle (I have two in the key of D and one in the key of C; my brother keeps hiding them ), and I just yesterday received via UPS a Celtic baby harp I ordered online. It's quite small, 21" and 12 strings, but I was looking for a portable instrument anyway. I'm hoping to awaken the songwriting troubadour within me . I love Celtic instruments, and this is very easy to pluck out melodies on. I've been itching to write some songs, so maybe this harp can be my muse...
Erin

 

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

Oh, and a weird thing... my brother Nathan happened upon a zither when we were at our grandma's house a few days ago! It was in the basement, and nobody knows whose it was. Grandma was glad to give it to Nathan; it's interesting, he's never had much interest in musicial instruments other than a brief stint with the sax, but he seemed really intrigued by this instrument. I think it seemed to him something that George Harrison would play. Anyway, we brought it home today, so I was tuning my harp and he was tuning this zither, which was who-knows-how-many years old and dreadfully out of tune. It took a couple hours and one of the strings broke, but it's pretty nifty. And <i>much</i> more complicated than my harp; looks like it's got about 45 strings!!
Erin

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

I too am a piano player, and I also play the wooden alto recorder, I love to play a friend's bowed psaltry when I visit 'em, and I just got an autoharp handed down to me by muh grandparents (but haven't learned to play it yet).

But so far the big two are the piano and alto recorder.

 

[HeraLirambar]

Well, I tried flute for a while in 4th grade... then sax... then later on tried violin. I think I stuck with the sax longest, though. Now I'm kinda toyin' with the idea of playing bass guitar. I'd love to be in a band. 'Cept I can't really read sheet music.

 

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

I too am a piano player, and I also play the wooden alto recorder, I love to play a friend's bowed psaltry when I visit 'em, and I just got an autoharp handed down to me by muh grandparents (but haven't learned to play it yet).

But so far the big two are the piano and alto recorder.

Piano's always been my main instrument; I've played since I was six, since before we had a piano (I started out on a small keyboard). We were fortunate to find someone selling a used piano for $750, so we got a really good deal there. It's been a major part of our living room ever since! My uncle has a piano in his living room that he refashioned himself into a player piano. No idea how he did that, but I think it's super-cool.

The psalty and autoharp sound nice. My third grade class had to all get a recorder for music class, a little plastic deal for like five bucks (I'm sure yours is a lot nicer ). A classmate and I were in this Gifted Program that year, and we were always away during music class, so we wound up not doing the recorder concert with the rest of the class at the spring program. We had to do something else, but I don't recall what. I think I still have that plastic recorder somewhere...
Erin

 

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

Well, I tried flute for a while in 4th grade... then sax... then later on tried violin. I think I stuck with the sax longest, though. Now I'm kinda toyin' with the idea of playing bass guitar. I'd love to be in a band. 'Cept I can't really read sheet music.

Hehe, I had a crush all through high school on a guy who played the flute. *sigh* My brother Nathan played the sax briefly, and my brother Benjamin played the guitar pretty intensively for several years. I guess he doesn't get much time to play now, but he is a very talented guitarist. He played in a couple bands with friends, but they never really performed much. They provided live music for my high school graduation party! I would like to learn the guitar sometime, partly because my two favorite songwriters, Paul Simon and John Denver, composed their songs on the guitar. I've been thinking maybe it's the ideal songwriter's instrument, though Nathan tells me I should be happy with composing on the piano. I can read sheet music pretty well, but I'm terrible at writing it. I took a music theory class my last semester hoping it would help, but I find it a rather grueling, mathematical process at its heart. It takes me a long time to commit a composition to paper.
Erin