What musical instrument do/did you know how to play well?

[Divide By Zero]

I have absolutely no musical ability whatsoever. I couldn't carry a tune even if I had a suitcase!

 

In elementary school there were a couple of years with mandatory music classes which included singing but I couldn't figure out how to sing and I'm absolutely terrible at it. There were also two years where band was mandatory. I tried playing the French Horn but couldn't figure it out and was terrible. My experiences with music left me feeling like a total failure and that I'm defective. Perhaps this is why as an adult I don't listen to music and don't have any interest in it.

[Kitteη χ]

Saxophone (grrr at it being misspelled), which I've played since since 5th grade (so just about a decade by now), and still play it in my university's marching band. More specifically, I play alto sax, and I just recently played soprano as part of a sax sextet.

 

I've also played drums for about 8 years and guitar/bass guitar for about 6.

 

I probably could have said clarinet too, but I played that just for a few months in 5th grade before switching to sax, so I was like ehhh... nah.

[Hunji Qi]

Have been playing Guzheng (traditional Chinese instrument) ever since I was six.

[Eva River]

I play percussion, but I tend to stay away from drums... I'm more of a mallets person myself (xylo/marimba/glock)

Also, there actually is quite a skill to playing triangle well (I'm not really that good tbh)

[Meylnaerdbier]

As usual, I am the only bassoonist ;v;

I'm pretty used to it at this point though.

I might be able to use that to my advantage though for auditions and such, there's less competition.

[K.I.N.G]

I’ve gotten comfortable with 3 instruments at different times in my life and dropped them after about 2 years each. Violin when I was 7-9, guitar when I was 14-16 and piano when I was 15-17.

 

Also use to sing a lot as a preteen though never anything amazing.

[anzu2snow]

Clarinet. I started playing it when I was 10. Was in concert band from then on through high school. My high school band director essentially told me I was too good to play in that band (symphonic band was the supposed more 'advanced' one), but told me I needed to 'help' the other clarinetists in concert anyways. I was 1st chair through most of my time in band. (Even in college.) Played in the pit orchestra in high school. Was in marching band from junior high up until a few years into college. In college, they were really impressed with my audition. I loved marching and only stopped because of an accident during practice that made it so I couldn't high step properly anymore. I was so devastated that I stopped playing completely for a couple of years after that. I've been playing by myself since. It feels really nice just to play, even if no one else is home. It feels almost spiritual. I haven't been able to play for a few months, because I have some sort of serious muscle issue going on. I'll figure out what that is soon, and hopefully treatment for it will help. It just makes it next to impossible to play right now. I so badly want to, though. In the future, I'd love to be in a klezmer band. When I do practice, I play different genres like classical, klezmer, Irish, jazz, etc. 

[TheCatBehind]

I once was able to play the piano fairly well... now when I busted out my old, old keyboard my hands cramp up after 2 seconds...

[Tinycheetah132]

Im a professional guitarist/ music instructor. I teach drums and bass as well. Play alot of shows. Put alot of time in education and practice wise. Its the only thing i genuinely enjoy doing. Went to school for jazz performance out of convienence but i only really enjoy playing metal and rnb (but mostly metal). Jazz is useful for teaching though.

 

I dont feel at home teaching because i had/have alot of natural ability and hyper obsession about it that makes it difficult to relate to some students who arent all that interested, but its very flexible and allows me to tour.  But i will say despite being most comfortable with guitar, i prefer teaching drums to all the others. Guitar and bass were incredibly intuitive for me, so its like explaining how to walk. Drums was less so, so i still recall excercises and things and can relate to as a learner would.

 

You have to learn piano in music school, but i hate playing piano. Sounds cool, but its not fun for me. I sing too. Little shy about it but i do it.

[Squirrel Combat]

Trumpet, for the last 18 years. I also whistle well, dabble in percussion, and have limited proficiency on the piano.

[MollyDMA]

I used to play the piano, but then I stopped playing and forgot. 

[CelesteAdAstra]

I can play a few songs on my keyboard and tin whistle, and started to learn a beautiful medieval instrument called the psaltery. The problem is, I'm not a very musically gifted person and I quickly lose interest in one thing and want to start something new 😅  I would love to learn the violin or the cello one day, but seeing as I'll likely lose interest in these too, I just don't want to spend a lot of money on these expensive instruments.

[i aced it]

Absolutely love piano/keyboard. I joke a lot about how I'm better friends with my piano than with any of my human friends. I'm only half joking. I play the ukulele as well, and semi-recently began learning guitar.

[IrishArcher]

On 4/7/2019 at 7:26 AM, iff said:

I played the tin whistle in school.

I play the tin whistle too, though I haven't practiced in a while. I also play the piano and the ukulele (though I've had my uke for less than a year, so I'm still getting the hang of it).

[Ziret]

I play ukulele, not sure how well, but most days.

[Tree snake]

I can joik... does that count? 

 

I tried violin once but that only resulted in me cowering under a table, ripping the notesheet into tiny tiny tiny pieces.

[EngineeRaven]

I used to play the violin when I was a kid, but I haven't touched it for like 10 years. I play the guitar and the ukulele, I also do solo and choir singing. I guess I'd be decent with a bass too, if anyone gives me some sheets or tabs.

[JinglesTheMighty]

I know music theory so I can play many instruments most not very well however so I picked my specialty 

[Jinkx]

I played the clarinet for five years before dropping it because I never had much interest in it to begin with. Unless you count voice, there are no instruments that I currently can play well (and even my voice is more average at best). I'd like to take more piano lessons, though. 😊 And it's always been a dream of mine to learn to play the erhu.

[naakka]

I guess I'm ok at singing but I've never been able to play any instrument well v_v I love the drums tho, and lately I've been really much into theremin and the marble machine. Just fascinated, no chance I'll ever really master either of them either xD

[QuirkyGeek]

I can play auxilliary percussion and pitched percussion and although it says that cymbals and triangle don't count, they actually do take some technique and skill, especially the cymbals.

[Firefly8]

12 hours ago, QuirkyGeek said:

I can play auxilliary percussion and pitched percussion and although it says that cymbals and triangle don't count, they actually do take some technique and skill, especially the cymbals.

I said this on the first page and partially in the poll description:
 

Quote

I'm not at all saying they are easier or less significant. I know that to play those well takes great skill. They are just not typical instruments one would play a solo with for someone. They are't the answer to the type of question I was trying to get at with the poll.

 

[Tyrnis]

I can't really claim to play any instrument well, but I was halfway decent at French Horn back in middle school (pushing 30 years ago, mind) and recently started taking piano lessons.  While I can see my improvement on the piano, I've only been playing for about a month and a half at this point, so 'good' is definitely still in my future, though I do hope to get there!

[GreenCircles]

Viola! I also took piano for a few years, I was somewhat decent at the time but it's been so long I'm not good at it anymore 😂

[ColeHW34]

I kinda know how to play the piano. 

[Morgan123]

I can play Africa by Toto on the saxophone, albeit not very well.  

[QuirkyGeek]

On 6/19/2019 at 1:13 AM, Firefly8 said:

I said this on the first page and partially in the poll description:

I see. Thank you for specifying.

[Firefly8]

23 hours ago, Morgan123 said:

I can play Africa by Toto on the saxophone, albeit not very well.  

Good song choice 👍, but now it's stuck in my head.

[Celestial_Strawberry]

I play ukulele, kalimba, and I sing. (Does anyone else know what a kalimba is? Nobody ever knows when I tell them it's what I play lol.) I've been singing as long as I can remember, I picked up ukulele about a year and a half ago, so I'm pretty good(?), and I only started playing kalimba a little over 6 months ago, so I'm still pretty much a novice. 

[naakka]

6 hours ago, Celestial_Strawberry said:

I play ukulele, kalimba, and I sing. (Does anyone else know what a kalimba is? Nobody ever knows when I tell them it's what I play lol.) I've been singing as long as I can remember, I picked up ukulele about a year and a half ago, so I'm pretty good(?), and I only started playing kalimba a little over 6 months ago, so I'm still pretty much a novice. 

I just watched a video about kalimba few days ago and wondered if I'd be able to play one. It seems like a fun instrument