Thar Shaddin

So, Jen's Moozak thread got me thinking, and I have a question. Does anyone else on here play an instrument, and if so, what kinds of music do you prefer to play? I personally am a bassist, and at the moment I'm kind of on an Every Time I Die and Job For A Cowboy (no, they're not country, quite the opposite in fact) kick.

Once upon a time I played the clarinet. I was in marching band and everything.

I still have it and could maybe play a little. No more band though.

I sing a lot, though probably not well.

I play the electric bass, and the flute. I've been playing the bas for almost a year, so I'm not that great, but I like to think that I'm a good flautist. Nearly six years, so I should hope that I'm good by now...

I heard Dave plays the banjo.

Haha, the banjo. That's awesome ^_^

As for me, I also play the flute and i played it in high school band for like a year and a summer :p My band teacher seemed to almost think i was a prodigy or something for learning as quick as I did (i was far from perfect but i did manage to learn like 3 or so years worth in about one year, i just lacked practice and experience). Wanted to continue on in college but the competition on my campus for lessons is ridiculous. I did get a position ... that was right in the middle of one of my classes, ergo no lessons. So i joined Ice Hockey Pep Band instead. Good time but not good practice. Lost the confidence to play well bc I did not practice enough and now I no longer play. Love the instrument but hate the fact that I am too self-conscious to get my ass to the music rooms to practice (let alone walk up the damn hill every day). Not to mention, i really just hate playing any instrument alone. It's just not fun at all for me. At least at school I had individual practice with another person and my band director :\

Anyways, I also sing and have been doing so in choirs for about 6 years. Even did a NYSMA solo which lemme tell you was scary as hell. Also did some singing in a play :p Oh the joys of being Virtue, one of Reno Sweeny's angels in Anything Goes! Too bad some of the really raunchy jokes were cut out

Hmmmm, oh, i started to learn how to play the piano (self taught) when i was younger but grew tired of it because (again) I did not have anyone to play with and lost interest. Same with the guitar which i attempted a few years ago out of curiosity. Hey, it was just lying around in my house *shrugs*

First off, my younger sister plays the clarinet, so I had to laugh a bit at that one. Also, my little cousin plays flute, so that got the same reaction.

For bass, all I can say is keep trying. If you need inspiration to get better listen to some Mudvayne, Led Zeppelin, Rush, P. Funk, or Rage Against The Machine.

And Frug, do not underestimate the power of a good hillbilly banjo pickin', you play the right song on one of those and you can clear a whole apartment building. Not sure how that works, but I think it has something to do with the movie Deliverance.

As for singing, I do a little myself (metal style screaming and actual singing with a limited range) and my girlfriend was a Soprano 1 in her last two years of high school. I also play a little keyboard and guitar, but as with the singing I do so little of it that I didn't feel it worth mentioning.

I'm a member of a folk song and dance ensemble that performs Balkan, Russian, assorted Eastern European, and Greek music. No, none of those are part of my own cultural heritage. I just heard about the group and thought it sounded fun, so I auditioned. I speak a little Russian so I understand the basic gist of the Slavic songs if the vocabulary isn't too complex. Otherwise, I just ask the general mood we want to convey, then memorize.

And yes, I both sing and dance (people always ask me that for some reason, though I would figure it would be obvious based on my description of the group.)

I've also done quite a bit of musical theatre in my life, starting with a very small part in a production of Carousel at the age of five. I'm not involved in that at the moment as unfortunately I don't currently have time, but I'd like to do some more community theatre in the future when my schedule permits.

I don't play anything, alas.

I can play the flute and piccolo like a motherfucker, but I hate competition and I lack the spirit, so I don't do anything with it. I have a pretend band with real people and I am the vocals. Maybe I should get Rock Band.

I have a sister who is an incredibly gifted string bassist. Rather than do something like go to Conservatory, though, she busks. Anyone ever busked before? It's fun, but I can't say addicting. Feels kinda homeless.

I used to own and thus play an electric guitar. Damn I miss that thing. I can barely hold one now, though. Arthritis is a pain as well.

It's been a long, long time since I played anything resembling music from any kind of instrument. I've had my keyboard days, accoustic and electric guitar, clarinet, and I once flirted with a bass. Not very well, I might add.

Phil ruined my surprise.


I play the banjo. It's too bad I don't have one.


On a serious note, my instrument playing days were left behind with Grade 12 band class, in which I played lead trumpet. Yes, lead. I was great.

I would so love to hear you play the banjo! I love banjos; they're so freakin' LOUD and they sound so awesome and twangy.

I play sax (tenor), clarinet, keyboards, and bass guitar, and have dabbled in mouth organ, double bass and guitar, but my main instrument is my voice. Used to be in a band, but now I have no time, and I moved away from all my band-people. Pity, I'd kind of like to do the 'how-many-instruments-can-I-play-in-one-gig' thing again.

When it comes to vocals, though, I'm a in-the-process-of-becoming-musical-theatre-trained mezzo soprano, and If I want the other end of the street to hear me, they can. Makes practising a bit of a pain, especially living in a terraced house.

I'm actually going to be in Les Miserables in February, which will be my first proper musical theatre appearance. I'm playing Madame Thenardier, so it's not especially vocally taxing, but more fun to play than one of those weepy other females characters. It's also the real character part, and decades out of my age range, so it should be fun.

Awesome, Quinn! That's such a fun part, and a really good show. (Though I'm with you on the weepy females thing. Cosette is all but unbearable, and if I hear one more person use "On My Own" as an audition song, I'm going to become violent. It's not such a bad song, it just seems to be the anthem of teenage girls who lead very fortunate lives but consider themselves deeply misunderstood. )

I've only done community theatre stuff myself, of course, nothing fancy. I started college as a drama major, but finished with a degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Development. Go figure.

Where are you playing the role, Quinn, and for how long? If it's in London and you're doing it for at least a month, I'm totally go to come see it-- though that would be just too crazy of a coincidence. My parents are in London for the year, so my friend and I are going over for a visit. We've planned on seeing Wicked and Rent, which I'm really excited about. I've seen Les Mis several times, but if someone I "knew" was going to be in it I'd see it again.

I wish I was! It's just in Halifax and only a couple of weeks. I'm still buzzed about it, though - I'm still pre-drama school, so it's rare I get anything I can do alongside studying, and get cast in anything that's not contemporary teen drama or something.

I want to see Wicked sometime - and the new RENT, although I haven't really made my mind up about that one. I heard they're trying to make it all British and up-to-date, and I'm skeptical as to how RENT can work anywhere other than New York in the eighties. But it has to be seen, I guess. You'll have to tell me what it's like!

I'd quite like to play Eponine - but probably only because I have book-Eponine (i.e. crazy obsessed beggar-girl) in my head. I think she can be played with a bit of life to her. Although, if I could play anyone I wanted, I would play Javert. He's just so cool.

I play the trombone, but I hate my school's band. The only reason I'm in it is because my school requires concurrent enrollment to be in jazz band, which I love!