Pollyana

Kind of a spin-off from Ozzieeagle's spare time thread, and one in Canada about music.....

i come from a musical family so got shoe-horned into playing various instruments as soon as i could reach the piano keys with varying degrees of success.
Loathed the piano, loathed the violin nearly as much, to the despair of my mother who taught both ( and indeed still has some students though she is 80!).
Loved the recorder and wanted to do flute or clarinet but was told my tendency to bronchitus meant I couldn't.......
When I went to secondary school my Dad said I had to learn an instrument at school so have ruled out wind instruments I said 'guitar' -which led to several nights of parental ranting about how he wasn't going to have me turning into some kind of hippy dropout with drug taking mates (this being 1975 ). Guitar was banned, forthwith.

So I thought I could call their bluff by choosing the cello -expensive, large, unweildy.... no, they bought me one AND made me take it one the school but every week for 4 years

I actually quite enjoyed it, played in the school orchestra for a while, cello is a lovely instrument to listen to, almost wish i still had it.


So who else learnt to play something - or is learning now? Any other stories?

Toe Dipper

I play the fool regularly and my wife says I am accomplished at it too!

jad n rich

Cello and violin, beautiful.

Check out the band Clean Bandit, a mix of Electronic and Classical music. Grace Chatto on Cello and Neil Amin Smith on violin. Ridiculously good looking too.

Son plays drums and his spell in state school they allocated instruments after you tried out for music, he got the trombone not cool.

Me, well there was three blind mice on the recorder..

Pollyana

Pollyana

My cello was never amazing, just average, but streets ahead of my violin

I'll look out for Clean Bandit There's a group called Apocalyptica who make good use of the cello too

Had a boyfriend years ago who was an ace on the drums. he played in a band called Hammer, back in Sussex in the 1980s. AC/DC type of rock, but he also did session stuff, some of it with well-known bands like Sky.

rasen78

Played all 4 tpyes of recorder at primary school. At grammar school I wanted to play the saxophone, but my dad said it was too sexual, so I played the clarinet. Dad wanted to hear me play Stranger on the Shore. I was able to play it after about 6 months

Still love saxophone music and would love to take it up, if I ever had the time/money.

I was all set to get an A in Music for my GCSE and my music teacher wanted to me do my music grades, but as it involved spending money, my dad said no. So, I decided against doing music for my GCSE, much to the angst of my music teacher, who was also the band/choir conductor both of which I was in. He refused to speak to me for the last 2 years of school, which made band practice and choir practice very interesting especially as I was lead clarinet and lead soprano

Pollyana

Yeah i bet that made for some interesting practices!

I love the saxophone, listening to it sends shivers down my spine

i never reached the heights of grade 5 that they wanted for O Level music, but I did get a Grade 1 CSE (equivalent to an O level pass).

Bet your Dad was dead pleased when you managed Stranger on the Shore!

SoCalDon

Our back door neighbours children play the piano and cello and they're a pain in the arse.

Oh, I can play the flute, the didgeridoo and I occasionally massacre Cripple Creek on the 5-string bluegrass banjo.

Pollyana

At least in my dreadful playing days we lived in a huge victorian vicarge with no neighbours

BadgeIsBack

Not very musical but I do sing with quite a large orchestra from time to time...keeps me off the streets...and I enjoy it.

Tr1boy

Play guitar. Currently have a 2006 PRS Hollowbody Artist and a Taylor 414 (non cutaway, non CE)

Dreamy

Learned the trumpet and recorder at primary school. My first attempt on the trumpet elicited a noise which was compared to 'the phantom raspberry blower of Old London Town'.

Really, really wanted an acoustic guitar and my parents bought one for Christmas when I was about 9 - my best friend (who lived next door) also received one and we had lessons together for a couple of years. I can still play a bit if pushed

At secondary school, I also dabbled in the clarinet, flute and keyboard but mostly played in a recorder group. I did Music O-level as an extra subject and you received extra credit if you obtained a grade 6 playing an instrument (or singing). I got up to a grade 5 in the recorder and then couldn't be bothered giving up my lunchtimes any more (I really know where my middle child gets it from)

Beoz

At school I learned the drums, guitar, piano, and sax and even built a little recording studio out of some microphones, cables and my parents stereo. I must of had grand visions of doing a Dave Grohl solo album.

These days its just the guitar which sits in the corner and gets a little run every now and again. I don't think I've picked up a sax in 20 years.

DeadVim

I've been playing guitar for over 20 years (with breaks ). Been through too many to list but currently settled on a Fender Strat and a Gordon Smith running through a Fender Mustang foot pedal into a Crate amp. The same two guitars I shipped to Oz in fact.

I also plonk away at the keyboard, we have just acquired a digital piano mainly for my daughter but I'm not averse to making all kinds of unholy noise with technology.

The PC runs a decent sound card and FL Studio which I've owned from the very early days, free lifetime upgrades.

My interests in music making date way back, Atari ST. anyone?

carolinephillips

I used to sing in musicals and choirs and concert groups. Learned the violin in secondary school and got to grade3 by the age of 13, but gave it up as I hated the violin teacher who would hit you over the knuckles if you bowed incorrectly. My mother thinks she can play the violin, but her attempts at On Wings of Song sends all the neighbourhood cats into a frenzy as it is all played squeakily on the top string.

My mother's side of the family, however, has a lot of professional musicians, mainly strings/piano, and my daughter plays cello, piano and sings. She also composes in both English and Japanese, and loves doing rap. (not sure how musical that last one is!!)