The Musical Instrument Thread
 

Do you or have you played a musical instrument in your lifetime? If so, how long have you been playing/played it? Do you like/hate your instrument? If you'd like to learn to play an instrument, which one would you choose and why? What types of music do you prefer playing? Do you have any idols on your instrument? etc...

Basically, say anything about your musical prowess!

If you haven't guessed by now, I play the saxophone, tenor by preference. I started playing when I was around 12 years old and I'm still playing it today (I'm 19 as of now). I started out on classical music, but rapidly changed to jazz performance, since I really dig jazz. I have also been playing flute for the last 5 months, and I'm considering of taking up the clarinet soon (doubling those instruments is a must for a professional jazz saxophonist), even though the clarinet looks like a pretty tough instrument to master. If I'd have to start over again and play another instrument, I'd definitaly take the trombone (I can almost hear Fenris) since I love the sound of a trombone doing a jazz or classical solo (especially bass trombone). Some of my sax idols are John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Dexter Gordon, Micheal Breaker, Wayne Shorter and Remi Bolduc and André Leroux (two of my teachers :D).
As of now, I'm studying in Jazz performance at McGill University and plan to make a career in music.

Wow. Well, my record is nowhere near that impressive, but I did stick it out with trumpet for four years and did marching band for three. Not that I was very good at any of it.....the whole band knew my name from having it screamed over the bullhorn constantly my freshman year. Since I overloaded on schoolwork this year, I donated my horn to the school and quit.....and actually I haven't minded near as much as I thought I would mind.

I've played clarinet since my 6th grade year in middle school. I really enjoy it. ^^ It was my marching band instrument as well. I tried to pick up the oboe, which I hated. My school had absolutely no private lessons for oboists so I pretty much had to teach myself. It sucked.

I've been trying to teach myself guitar. I have a nice acoustic that I play. I'm not uber good at it, but I know how to read music and I can play somesongs.

I played Saxophone since about '97.

I also am quite well aquainted with the sweet potato Ocarina (11 holes).

I can play Mandolin fairly mediocre, since it's my first stringed instrument, and I pretty much only use it when I'm bored, which is never, but I know the Tetris Theme, the Song of Storms, Song of Time, Epona's Song, etc., etc., part of the Halo theme, most of the Super Mario Brothers theme, that little song from one of the Dragonball Z movies where the guy played a flute that looked sorta like a sweet potato ocarina, some small parts of E-Nomine songs, and pretty much anything I hear that is of that difficulty or lower, as far as pure melodic lines go. Chords are completely out, and playing in harmony with myself I haven't figured out yet.

I hope to eventually add Guitar to my repetoir, just so I can make a batlethl shaped guitar and form the Deth Metal band: kaplaH!! with my friend Adam. We'd wear tlhingon armor, too. XD

I can play the piano, and the violin, and I'm the only true bass I know.

I play the piano pretty well, I have had 6 and a half years of private lessons so I would hope so. I would probably still be doing it now, but my psychotic piano teacher kicked up out for reasons that I can't control. As of next year I will be getting back into it though, because I am taking a "Piano Lab" class at school. In that time I intend to start working on composing some stuff. I'll post it on the forums if I make anything.

As for instruments that I would like to learn how to play, the violin really catches my eye. I was going to get in it around Christmas but my parents copped out of buying me one.

I briefly played violin and guitar at separate points, but eventually settled on mallet percussion in eighth grade and stuck with it through high school, followed by learned to play keyboard during the same period.

I'm also apparently a pretty decent singer.

I play the trombone. I make notes come out an extendable brass tube by buzzing my lips into it.

I played the flute for a couple of years in middle school, but I never really got into it and didn't continue.

The piano, I've decided, has a wonderfully broad range that's not nearly respected enough. When it is used, it's most often as basic background instrumentation. That said, it can be pretty cruel and unsympathetic. The training course for people who become fully proficient at it seems to run about 10 years on average.

I took lessons for about 4, but I'm not that patient. I can brute-force my way into performing feats that should be way beyond my skill level, but I'm not really a master of the instrument.