Do you play?

[hawkan2580]

I used to play pro for about 8 years and went out on 3 word tours etc etc.. decided that the long term price for that life style was too high and now I only play for fun and not making a living out of it anymore..

My instrument is anything with keys.. my speciality was hammond and a range of analogue synths.

I started playing piano when I was 4 under my grandads training..(he was a concert pianist) and went on and studied music at the conservatorium in Sweden (major in Jazz and contemporary music)...but still play classical piano to keep the chops up.

What about you?

 

[Kurtdesign1]

Well like so many Wanna-be High schoolers, I got together with some friends of mine and put together some stuff. I played Cello (very succesfully) all throughout my childhood so I managed to make the transition to Elec Bass relatively easily. The funny thing was, I managed to just freestyle on Guitar for most of our little Band. Kind of odd seeing as how I couldn't play a cord if you paid me.

Things got a little too weird for me, the band was called 'Nostradamis' Memory' imagine what I mean by weird, and so I just kind of stopped playing all together. It's been years now but I still wish I'd kept up with at least the Cello.
There were times when I'd sit and play for hours just for those few moments when i could seperate myself from the music I was playing and just hear a few notes that seemed to be coming from nowhere. Those few and far between instances were amazing for me and I miss them.

 

[Pulse]

Used to play guitar and sang until I had a car accident. Sang later with a local band for fun but then left due to personal conflicts with another member of the band. Since then I've just walked away from it and sing for fun in the car etc. and I enjoy that enough but miss the stage a little. Trying to re-learn playing again but life is getting in the way.... miss it.

 

[tubaman]

Well, I do play the tuba! I play with some regional orchestras and concert bands in the NYC area when I'm not teaching school. I've even done some solos with them. Of course, a few times I've done Tubby the Tuba a few times for childrens concerts and some other pieces for solo tuba and orchestra.

 

[Ironman]

Used to play guitar and sang until I had a car accident. Sang later with a local band for fun but then left due to personal conflicts with another member of the band. Since then I've just walked away from it and sing for fun in the car etc. and I enjoy that enough but miss the stage a little. Trying to re-learn playing again but life is getting in the way.... miss it.

So what your saying Adam is that all you do now is play with yourself:smt043

Oh and I do play guitar but haven't had a chance lately with all my fatherly duties (6 kids takes up alot of my time)

Ironman

 

[Pulse]

So what your saying Adam is that all you do now is play with yourself:smt043

Pretty much...hehehe

 

[Matt Fury]

Very amateur guitar and keys man here. Classic story, my mother forced me to take piano lessons when I was younger, but I didn't really wanna do it and eventually stopped. Now I regret it, of course.

 

[MadAl]

Used to play the trumpet, got sidetracked, then lost it. Wish I had it back, but it would be a little difficult to practice.

 

[hawkan2580]

all I hear is lame excuses for not playing anymore from several people here.... "I gave it up... wish I hadn't.." seem to be a common thread..

Well, I got news for ya.. it's never too late to start it up again and enjoy it... true..your chances of becoming a teenage pop idol is vastly diminished if you are over 25 but who cares ha ha...

So.. go and get yourself a second hand instrument.. doesn't have to cost the world.. hell.. a couple of fivers sold in the trading room would do it in most cases and get yourself back into the wonderful feeling of getting lost into the music when you play...

MadAl is the only one with a somewhat more valid point of hard to practise with a trumped due to loudness.. but hell.. don't ya have a garage or a park or a car that you can take yourself to a deserted place? so really.. that is an excuse too

I think what stopping a lot of you is the fear of not being as good at it as you want to be... stop worryying and just enjoy it!

just my 2 cents

 

[tubaman]

MadAl is the only one with a somewhat more valid point of hard to practise with a trumped due to loudness.. but hell.. don't ya have a garage or a park or a car that you can take yourself to a deserted place? so really.. that is an excuse too

Yamaha makes a silent mute system that allows you to practice and be "virtually" silent. It can be heard, but is very faint within the same room. Outside the room, not a sound. Some of my trumpet buddies swear by them since the only time they get to practice is after the kids go to bed.

I play along with my kids at school. Flutes, oboes, whatever. Musicianship is musicianship no matter what the instrument.

I agree with Hawken, get out there and play, who cares what you sound like!!! I give sax lessons to a guy in his 60's just because he wanted to learn how to play. He sucks, but who cares, he's having fun.

 

[MadAl]

I have a mouthpiece, so I've been trying to get my lip back in shape. Keep it in the car, gives me something to do during rush hour traffic delays. Lip came back quicker than I expected.

 

[tubaman]

I have a mouthpiece, so I've been trying to get my lip back in shape. Keep it in the car, gives me something to do during rush hour traffic delays. Lip came back quicker than I expected.

I saw a guy practicing a flute while driving on the Long Island Expressway once, no joke. We weren't going fast, but we weren't exactly standing still either!

I buzz my mouthpiece in the car to the Wiggles CD my daughter likes to listen to. You haven't heard Fruit Salad until you've heard it on a tuba mouthpiece!!!