Musicians - what do you play?

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What instrument(s) do you play?

Why did you choose to start?

How long have you played for?

Is it a passion? A pastime? A profession? An outlet for emotions, or an alternative means of self-expression?

What instrument(s) do you play? guitar, mostly acoustic

Why did you choose to start? i thought it only had 4 strings and would be easy to play

How long have you played for? 23 years

Is it a passion? A pastime? A profession? An outlet for emotions, or an alternative means of self-expression? an outlet and alternative means of expression. sometimes a passion.

I've been playing the violin for almost 6 years now.
I like the feeling of my fingers moving like the legs of a crab.


How did I choose to start? I was a my best friend's. (She plays the violin too) She wanted to show me some stuffs. At the beginning it was a kind of pretend play: she was the teacher and I was the pupil. But I held the violin she gave me as if it were a baby, because I believe music instruments are something sacred, they are magic, and I knew most of them are fragile, especially violins. So I held it preciously and seriously. Her mother laughed at that in a bewildered way.
My friend made me play my first notes, and they were quite good. I was so pleased that it must have shown on my face, and her mother said that if my parents agreed, I could take the violin with me. (It was my friend's old violin. She had another one.)

The violin came at a time when I was very desilusioned and sad. It helped me a lot. It is a passtime and a passion.

I'm sorry, I didn't know how to make the poll so people could select more than one answer - I am well aware it is possible to play more than one instrument, and if you're a one (wo)man band, then you play them all at once!

I play the guitar, and have done since I was 10. I'm currently learning to play the bodhran (Irish folk drum, played with a double ended stick called a tipper) because I drum manically (though rhythmically) on anything and everything!

For me, it started out as just something I fancied doing. Playing the guitar that is. Both my parents play, and I grew up with music always around, so it felt fairly natural that I should make music myself. (Beyond the typical playing recorder at primary school!) I quickly really got into it though, and discovered a bit of a knack for playing, but I turned into a grumpy teenager that couldn't be arsed with practising, so let it slip.

i play all of the above, except for the trumpet family (i've never tried), and some others. have been playing for 35-6 years, some of them. most of them, i'm quite good at (have won prizes for singing, piano and percussion).

ahhhhh, music....

When I was 12 I suddenly got the urge to play the flute.

This became a bit of an obsession until someone gave me a guitar.

I played guitar until I was 19 when I had an accident on my hand. I cut through the tendons on the inside of my left hand and had to have an operation to sew them up.

For weeks afterwards I had my hand in plaster so I got a piano to play about on with my right hand. From then on I became obsessed with pianos, church organs and harmoniums. (although I only really played piano seriously)

For several years in my flat (apartment) I had a piano and a harmonium in my living room. Actually, strictly speaking it wasn't a 'harmonium' but a much bigger 'American Reed Organ'. It was desiged for use in a chapel and had two manuals. It wouldn't fit through a doorway so everytime I moved I had to dismantle it and rebuild it in the new place.

It was broken when I bought it but I restored it to full working order. The only part I couldn't restore were the original 'speaking' pedals. It had foot pedals to work the belows so you could play it alone but originally it also had a set of speaking pedals (like a keyboard you play with your feet). When someone was playing that way another person would have to pump the organ from a lever on the side (usually a choirboy).

I still have a piano (in my bedroom now) although I don't often play an instrument these days. Now I write contrapuntal music at the computer and ask the computer to play it either as a piano or an organ or a chamber ensemble.

I play theremin

What instrument(s) do you play?

Guitar - electric and bass. None of that godawful acoustic stuff for me... Bleurgghhh!! !! ! (although I do own an Ovation Elite, because its the law that you have to have at least one acoustic ). I play pretty well considering my crappy motor skills I suppose..... I also sing rather well, if I do say so myself.....

My gear collection (not that anybody'll care, but I'm listing them anyway as showing off is one of my few effective means of self-expression):

3 x Fender Strats (2 US, 1 Jap)
2 x PRS Custom 24s (my babies )
2 x Ibanez JEMs
Fender Telecaster (Jap)
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Rickenbacker 360/12
Parker Fly
Vigier Arpege
Music Man Axis Super Sport
Spector NS-4 (Euro)
Fender Jazz V string (Mexican)
Ovation Elite
Ovation Balladeer (old, top-split and beat to buggery)
Marlin Sidewinder (errr... don't like to talk about that one..... )
Marshall TSL122
Marshall AVT50
Roland GR-33
Boss GT-6
Zoom GFX-8
Line 6 POD2
Line 6 BOD2
Dunlop Cry-Baby
Morley Volume
Big overdraft......

Why did you choose to start?

I wanted to be Paul Weller

How long have you played for?

23 years....

Is it a passion? A pastime? A profession? An outlet for emotions, or an alternative means of self-expression?

I love music and playing it, and I adore guitars as objects, and an obsessive collector (oh, that PRS 10th Anniversary on ebay at the moment is just calling out to me..... "I'm only 3 grand.... you can afford to buy me...... You just need your credit card to get a bit redder, that's all" )[/i]

I can play all band instruments, and violin, piano, fife, accordion, and guitar.
I started because I had to have an “extracurricular activity” for school so I chose band and the French Horn. I just taught myself the rest because I could.
I’ve played for about 18 years.
At first it was something to do. Now it is an outlet.

Bb Cornet, Bb, G, C Eb, and A trumpet. Bass Trumpet, Saprano Trombone.

I play the Bodhran, but not very well!! I can't get the movements right But I have fun doing it! It's a hobby for me, it started as an obsession, though. I chose to start because I love irish music, and the sound of the bodhran is very interesting to me. Also I am rather tone-deaf, so drums are really the only musical choice for me! I have played for about 6mo, including the time when I was obsessed but didn't have a drum and I practiced on a newspaper with a pencil-LOL!!

I’ve played guitar for twenty-one years. When I was a teen, I played both electric and acoustic, but electric guitar didn’t suit me well. I prefer to play acoustic guitars. The style I play would probably be called finger style, though I do use picks as well.

I also can play pennywhistles, recorders and various flutes. I used to have a Lakota Indian flute which sounded beautiful. There are other instruments I would like to play, such as hammered dulcimer, bouzouki, and Highland bagpipes.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to say I am a talented guitar player. I’ve played a long time but haven’t advanced my skills much. I still play at the same level as when I was twenty-four. Guitar playing has been a disappointment at times. Everything I create seems accidental, as there is never a thinking process involved. I do not think of the way I want something to sound, then attempt to play it. I just let my fingers do whatever they want. Sometimes I play well, other times I don’t. It has always been difficult for me to play in front of others, so music has mostly been a private thing. Another negative is that I have never learned how to read & write music. This results in my creating something nice, and then losing it forever.

In all this time, I have only created a handful of songs. My guitar playing is typically just fragments that I am rarely able to string together. There is a trap I fall into, where I invent something I like and then play it over and over again, for weeks, even months. (Perseveration, I guess.) Eventually I have to put the guitar away for an extended time, to get away from the repetitive playing. My guitar has been shelved for a couple of years now.

Recently I’ve attempted to create electronic music, but I didn’t have the patience to learn. There are too many other things going on in my life for me to resume my music hobby at this time.

I play piano. I would often sneak into a nearby Hotel and use their
piano. I played by ear since I was 13.