Does anyone on here play an instrument?
- Thread starter Cheddars
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I am learning to play acoustic guitar, I was getting the hang of it but moved house and put it down for a year, just started again and seems I have forgotten most of what I learned,
I don't but wish I had learned to play tenor Sax. Love that sound.
Tony.
Tony.
Diatonic (Blues) harmonica
My son has a Les Paul and plays it quite well. I Don't play anything.
Used to play trumpet and cornet in bands when I was a kid. Wish I'd continued. Would love to be able to play guitar and piano now though. Youngest sone has electric, bass and acoustic guitars. Maybe.....
I can blow my own trumpet like a few on here 
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I played the cornet in our local brass band when I was a nipper, and really regret not keeping some sort of musical ability up, thing is I discovered beer and girls 
, but luckily we made the kids start young so my daughter is a fantastic pianist and still plays daily and the boy plays acoustic and electric guitars, though I think married life is getting in his way he hasn't played much in recent years. It was great when they lived at home either the piano was banging or the Guitar was strumming, really miss that..
, but luckily we made the kids start young so my daughter is a fantastic pianist and still plays daily and the boy plays acoustic and electric guitars, though I think married life is getting in his way he hasn't played much in recent years. It was great when they lived at home either the piano was banging or the Guitar was strumming, really miss that..
I've been learning guitar on and off since 1962 and I've gone steadily downhill since the start of 1963.
I play tenor sax but unfortunately I haven't pick it up for over 2 years. I would probably have to start over again.
That a relief Macca, I thought you were going to say the Bagpipes.
Tony.
Tony.
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My wife's a singer in Dog House a rock and blues cover band. Small sample of a Honky Tonk Women cover attached..... I'm completely crap at anything musical but I am part time roadie / gofer for them......
Actually I must have some musical ability because I remember my mother once saying that from a very early age I was playing on the Linoleum.
My father had played the piano and I took a liking to it and started lessons when I was about 6 years old. I took lessons for about 15 years for classical. One day I was in the Sears store in northeast Philly and they had a player piano that was playing a roll of ragtime music. I loved it and always wanted to learn it sometime but stayed with the classical. When my step daughter started lessons, I was so impressed with the teacher who was very old (and from the old school---her teacher was a student of Franz Liszt). My daughter ended up quitting after 9 years but I took lessons from her for 11 years. Her knowledge and technique was from another era and I knew I must take advantage of it while she was still around as her type was dying out fast. Three years after I stopped taking lessions, she died at 99 years old. Then in 1973, the movie the Sting came out and there was a resurgence of rag time. My cousin was playing the Sting on the piano and I decided to start into learing ragtime. My aunt had bought me a large book of the complete works of Scott Joplin and I went to work. I put in about 2 or 3 hours a day and became very proficient. Once when going shopping with my brother and a friend, we were at the Echelon Mall in South Jersey. There was a piano store in the mall and as I wasn't into shopping, I sat down at a piano and started to play. It started to draw a crowd. It was during the Christmas holidays and the mall was crowded. Soon you couldn't walk down the main isle so many people had stopped to listen. When my brother arrived, the store owner asked if I gave lessons. When I stopped playing, everyone was clapping and cheering. I'm really not used to playing in public and I wanted to dive under a table or something. I didn't know what to do with myself. When they were opening Disney in Paris, I called them about a job as they always have ragtime piano players in the Coke pavillion. They actually auditioned me over the phone as I played several pieces for them. They said they'd hire me but I needed to get working papers from a European country as they couldn't hire anyone outside Europe. I wasn't able to do this but later regretted not contacting relatives in Italy for help. One day I was in Macy's department store on their second floor where they had a baby grand piano. The song 'Maple Lear Rag' was playing on the speakers and I sat down and matched the song note for note. This impressed the store manager who was walking by and she offered me a job playing. I declined at first but came back the next day to take her up on the offer. The personell director told me that she really wasn't allowed to do this as they had a contract to hire piano players through an agent.
I also played trombone in the high school band which won City of Philadelphia championship one of the years in high school. This involved playing in the marching band, the concert band and the jazz band. These were all seperate entities. A really great thrill was playing in the jazz band as it was the tail end of the Big Band sound. You can't possible imagine how great it feels to be in a Big Band playing all those Big Band pieces from the '40s. Another year or two later and I would have missed all that. I later played at college. My first year at La Salle was the last year of mandatory ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corp). Playing in the band got us out of drilling on the field. We didn't need it anyway since we all had been in marching bands in our high school where you marched while you were playing an instrument. How much easier was marching without one?
I had received a bugle as a gift and played it in the boy scouts as troop bugler. Got the merit badge for it. I picked up the harmonica and learned that but never played blues on it, just some traditional songs on it.
On my trips over to the UK, I never played the piano for anyone with one exception. @Rev had a piano at his house and I played there. Mike and Sandy (@EnthuZiaZT) were there and Bad Boy also heard me. Sooooo, that's it.....................Frankie
I also played trombone in the high school band which won City of Philadelphia championship one of the years in high school. This involved playing in the marching band, the concert band and the jazz band. These were all seperate entities. A really great thrill was playing in the jazz band as it was the tail end of the Big Band sound. You can't possible imagine how great it feels to be in a Big Band playing all those Big Band pieces from the '40s. Another year or two later and I would have missed all that. I later played at college. My first year at La Salle was the last year of mandatory ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corp). Playing in the band got us out of drilling on the field. We didn't need it anyway since we all had been in marching bands in our high school where you marched while you were playing an instrument. How much easier was marching without one?
I had received a bugle as a gift and played it in the boy scouts as troop bugler. Got the merit badge for it. I picked up the harmonica and learned that but never played blues on it, just some traditional songs on it.
On my trips over to the UK, I never played the piano for anyone with one exception. @Rev had a piano at his house and I played there. Mike and Sandy (@EnthuZiaZT) were there and Bad Boy also heard me. Sooooo, that's it.....................Frankie
I expect it means much more to you playing for fun rather than being paid. You must be really rather good
Agree - It must be really rather boring marching without playing some kind of instrument.
I also have a bugle - it was my granddads - it saw action in many theatres of battle during WWII. Rater battered but still playable.
I play drums. I was in a Classic Rock covers band for 16+ years in West Sussex before I retired and moved to Norfolk. I was in a band up here for a while, but one of the guys had an ego problem, as well as performance issues, so I walked away. Was looking for another band, but no joy. Someone then told me about The Norfolk Blues society, who hold open Blues jams twice a month, at The Railway pub in North Elmham and The Walnut Tree Shades pub in Norwich. Just over a year ago I went along as I've always loved the Blues. You just put your name on a list and the instrument you play (or/and sing), and after the house band have played for half an hour, they call out names from the list to make up a band. the vocalist chooses 2 Blues based numbers and away you go. The vocalist signals to the players to take solos, and any pauses or stops in the song, and signals when the song is finishing. Then they call up more names to make up another band, and so on. It's really great, with so many fine players and vocalists. If there aren't many drummers on the list, I often get to play again with another band! It's free to get in to the jams, and you don't have to play, you can just listen to some great music and drink beer! It's on the third Tuesday of the month at North Elmham and the last Wednesday of the month in Norwich.
I sent a video of one of the jams to t-tony and Oldcarman, if one of them still has it, perhaps they could post it up. I have no idea how to do this!..... Or just go to the Norfolk Blues Society web site and look at the gallery. I'm playing in the middle video with new boy Adam Jarrett. Haven't played with him, the keys player or the sax player before, so it's seat of the pants stuff! Great fun.
Might see you there sometime?.....
Bonzo
I sent a video of one of the jams to t-tony and Oldcarman, if one of them still has it, perhaps they could post it up. I have no idea how to do this!..... Or just go to the Norfolk Blues Society web site and look at the gallery. I'm playing in the middle video with new boy Adam Jarrett. Haven't played with him, the keys player or the sax player before, so it's seat of the pants stuff! Great fun.
Might see you there sometime?.....
Bonzo
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I Used to play guitar for something like 40 years until I had an accident and lost the top joint of three fingers which put an end to my playing. I do still build guitars though having made nearly a hundred now. I make mainly acoustic guitars, both steel string and classical for fingerstyle players. I also build the odd electric for friends.
I had one lesson with the trumpet, took it home to practise, parents sent me to the bottom of the garden to do so (in November), returned it the following day which ended my musical career. 