musical instruments?

Another post gave me the idea to begin this topic.

Who plays a musical instrument? If you do, which one?
When did you begin playing? How often do you play? And anything else you wnat to tell us?

I'll begin. All I can play is the radio, and that's if I'm lucky enough to know how to use it!

I play the piano and guitar. Took piano lessons for four years when I was very young, and then learned the rest on my own. I learned the guitar on my own too; one summer I was sent home sick from my summer job at a children's camp. My family were all at the cottage and there was no way to contact them. So I was 16, home alone, no money and nothing to do. My brother's guitar was hanging on the wall, and out of sheer loneliness/boredom, I took it down, started playing around, and then spent the rest of the summer playing everyone else's guitars back at the camp. Eventually I bought my own, and that guitar and I became so attached that we never went anywhere without each other for the next 20+ years!

Now my fingers are too soft to be able to play guitar well, but I still love to play the piano...bought myself a beautiful Yamaha piano with my inheritance money when Dad died.

I've been playing piano since I'm 11 years old. After 6 years piano lessons, I have come to the conclusion that I'm the most untalented piano player on this planet. Still, I love to play, but recommend any listener to eat super crunchy food while in the same room.

I play from sheet music. I envy all those that can play by heart or even better by ear. Can you do that Eagle? When I sit down at the piano then I usually don't get up till about two or three hours later. My oldest son is very musical and talented, but just darn lazy. He never wanted to practice, which I thought was such a terrible waste. Now he regrets his stubbornness.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could play fourhanded pieces, Eagle? I do that with my Mom a lot, and just love it.

I tried guitar, but my talent was even worse there. So I gave up on that.

The four of us kids learned the Autoharp in the fifth grade. I wish I could learn it again. I just loved it!

We learned the flute in the fourth grade..again, I wish I knew it today.

But other than that, I'm with Dotsie. The radio is my best!!

Di, what's an Autoharp? Is it like a real harp?

I don't have a good sense of rhythm and most likely would not do well with musical instrument playing. I wish I did know how to play a musicial instrument...I think it must be a different mind sent.

Instrumental music, is after all, a language...with real coding in terms of the notation on sheet music and how to interpet it. Hence, I could never apply for jobs in music libraries. A staff person needs understand the documents that they handle. That is the strongest signal to me, that music can be a language,a code of its own.

None of my siblings ever learned to play a music instrument. However here is a family story that surprised nearly everyone in my family:

My father could play a musical instrument. But he told no one for almost 40 years. It was discovered one day via his grandchildren. Both of my sisters' children can play piano (and also trumpet). When grandson was 10 yrs. old, he was playing on the keys...my father casually joined in to tap a few notes.

My sister who witnessed this event, was astounded. My father did play a traditional musical Chinese instrument in high school. In fact, he used to have jam sessions with his buddies in China.

This is the father who really didn't want any of his children to pursue coursework/careers in the arts. (Just pragmatic immigrant thinking of financial stabilty of children...at that time). It nearly stunned me when I heard the story, a different dimension of a parent..after all, I'm the child who pursued art courses at every opportunity..against my parents' wishes. It was mind-boggling news to me at that family discovery.