Musicians. What instruments do you play?

Diggy Smalls

Diggy Smalls

Notorious
I'm a bass player. I've been playing bass for 30 years. Early on I played every chance I got for hours on end and made my fingers bleed. These days I mostly sing and play guitar a lot at work and even started making videos for my clients. (If anyone is interested in seeing them, PM me as I cannot share them directly on this site). At heart I am and always will be a bass player. I just love the instrument so much. I have played 5 string basses for years now and I have yet to master it. I have been a founding member of multiple bands, toured and recorded multiple albums with one of them, and I've collaborated with numerous artists and written countless songs. I am really finding my groove as a songwriter these days, but it's on acoustic guitar. Which is okay.
I play many other instruments to varying degrees. Sometimes I think about getting a bass with a fanned fret neck...like a Dingwall.
 
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Abysmal Vapor

Abysmal Vapor

Supersniffer 2000 - robot fart detection device
Woah it really makes me feel great to hear there are people involved in music in any way :)). I played Guitar for 5 years in a child ochestra,but i managed to break all my 10 fingers and was experiencing dexterity issues for more than decade after,so i never go back to it,but i am enchanted by the art to this very day... I am very well educated in guitar classics and i have huge respect to all the OG guitar players from all genres :).. My favorites are psychedelic rock and stoner doom,the best riffs are there IMO,but there are also gems elsewhere.. I really dig the energy on this grandpa :))
At one point of my youth i was very much into what very few people will describe as music - goregrind and death metal,even fronted on a local band doing pig squeels ,pogos and stage divings ,lol.. That is some crazy crowd that comes to this events,they are just too much for me nowadays,if i do i watch only from the sidelines :D
I always beeing a kink for the weird . I use to purchase a lot of undergound music which gets printed in just a few copies .. It was a think for some death grind bands to release their albums into 666 copies ..
I also have a collection of S.P.White albums who is an ambient noise artist,there is one track where he had a mic stuck into an anthill ,while at the same time he was playing slow, dark melody on a piano. The feeling was amazing... I was getting pleasure knowing that i am one of the very few that will ever listen to this.. (internet wasnt still that popular),even if people had access to it like they do now,very few of them would appreciate this art. I also have great appreciation even to this day for Stejin van Cauter- drone doom pioneer ,he is the real life darth vader, he so many projects and while being a big name and pioneer in the scene,his art will remain obscured and unappreciated by the masses till the end of time :))..
It is crazy how i came to also appreciate the more "mainstream" stuff like funk,jazz(<3 Alice Coltrane) ,hip-hop,drum n bass and some other electronic genres at a later phase ,since i was such a die hard fan of the underground..maybe when the people moved away from them,they became of interest,lol.. I've always felt distant and isolated from the regular people ,maybe there is freudian logic behind it,and thats why i look to "join" forces with the handful i considere alike..
:)).. I feel like a true musical chimera,It is weird having such a broad taste for music and i feel that i still dont like 99% of what is out there now..
@The Stray Fox That is a really cool pedal board :)) You have shown some serious dedication that is for sure. Curious if you have any recordings,anything you wrote/composed ?
Anyone familar with the Therminvox ,i always wanted to learn to play one,maybe it is no too late.
 
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E

EmDeemo

ACCOUNT INACTIVE
/\β'/5/\/\ɐ|_ \//\|0[ ]® said:
Woah it really makes me feel great to hear there are people involved in music in any way :)). I played Guitar for 5 years in a child ochestra,but i managed to break all my 10 fingers and was experiencing dexterity issues for more than decade after,so i never go back to it,but i am enchanted by the art to this very day... I am very well educated in guitar classics and i have huge respect to all the OG guitar players from all genres :).. My favorites are psychedelic rock and stoner doom,the best riffs are there IMO,but there are also gems elsewhere.. I really dig the energy on this grandpa :))
At one point of my youth i was very much into what very few people will describe as music - goregrind and death metal,even fronted on a local band doing pig squeels ,pogos and stage divings ,lol.. That is some crazy crowd that comes to this events,they are just too much for me nowadays,if i do i watch only from the sidelines :D
I always beeing a kink for the weird . I use to purchase a lot of undergound music which gets printed in just a few copies .. It was a think for some death grind bands to release their albums into 666 copies ..
I also have a collection of S.P.White albums who is an ambient noise artist,there is one track where he had a mic stuck into an anthill ,while at the same time he was playing slow, dark melody on a piano. The feeling was amazing... I was getting pleasure knowing that i am one of the very few that will ever listen to this.. (internet wasnt still that popular),even if people had access to it like they do now,very few of them would appreciate this art. I also have great appreciation even to this day for Stejin van Cauter- drone doom pioneer ,he is the real life darth vader, he so many projects and while being a big name and pioneer in the scene,his art will remain obscured and unappreciated by the masses till the end of time :))..
It is crazy how i came to also appreciate the more "mainstream" stuff like funk,jazz(<3 Alice Coltrane) ,hip-hop,drum n bass and some other electronic genres at a later phase ,since i was such a die hard fan of the underground..maybe when the people moved away from them,they became of interest,lol.. I've always felt distant and isolated from the regular people ,maybe there is freudian logic behind it,and thats why i look to "join" forces with the handful i considere alike..
:)).. I feel like a true musical chimera,It is weird having such a broad taste for music and i feel that i still dont like 99% of what is out there now..
@The Stray Fox That is a really cool pedal board :)) You have shown some serious dedication that is for sure. Curious if you have any recordings,anything you wrote/composed ?
Anyone familar with the Therminvox ,i always wanted to learn to play one,maybe it is no too late.
Click to expand...

I dont know the Thereminvox but I've always wanted a Theremin. The great thing about them is how singular they are, the worst thing about them is how singular they sound :) I've always wanted one to control other kit. Well, I now have three proximity/light sensors that will kick out control voltage (CV) for passing onto synths, eurorack modules etc.

Instant pseudo theremin with any sound I like :)

 
E

EmDeemo

ACCOUNT INACTIVE
Everything is synced at last. Got a lovely desk top set up (with too many wires/not enough wires) at last which I can just plug anything into and send it any synced clock divisions, lfo's, envelopes, blah blah blah. A year ago, I dont think I'd even understand those words much tbh :)

Do any of you have a bunch of external kit, midi/usb/audio sync stuff that wont talk to each other? Check this thing out. Its barely bigger than a zippo lighter...

 
Abysmal Vapor

Abysmal Vapor

Supersniffer 2000 - robot fart detection device
@EmDeemo Thereminvox is just the old name for the theremin.It is funny how it was meant to be used on the battefield to pass orders via sound,but it ended up being a musical instrument :)
Theremin performer Anton Kershenko and his young pupil at Eupatoria Deep Space Communication Center
The First Theremin Concert for Extraterrestrials was the world's first musical METI broadcast dispatched from the Evpatoria deep-space communications complex in Crimea,[70] and was sent seven years before NASA's Across the Universe (message). Seven different melodies were transmitted from audio-cassette recordings of the theremin being played by Lydia Kavina, Yana Aksenova, and Anton Kerchenko, all from the Moscow Theremin Center. These seven melodies were:
  1. "Egress alone I to the Ride" by E. Shashina
  2. The finale of the 9th Symphony by Beethoven
  3. The Four Seasons: Spring, "Allegro" by Vivaldi
  4. "The Swan" by Saint-Saens
  5. "Vocalise" by Rachmaninoff
  6. "Summertime" by Gershwin
  7. Russian folk song "Kalinka-Malinka"
They are going to receive the first one in July 2047,lol... Teen Age Message - Wikipedia

Teen_Age_Message_7_of_8.jpg

There are some pretty cool instruments that make similar sounds and some are based of theremin
Ondes Martenot - Wikipedia There is a list at the bottom of the theremin wiki page.

Ondes_martenot.jpg

Mixtur-Trautonium
Mixtur_Trautonium.jpg
1590836873272.png

Croix sonore Music saw
Croix_Sonore_Jon_B_1.jpg
Musical_saw_2.jpg

Does anyone has an idea what is that hose in the guy's mouth ?He is not sipping vapor for sure,lol..
 
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E

EmDeemo

ACCOUNT INACTIVE
/\β'/5/\/\ɐ|_ \//\|0[ ]® said:
@EmDeemo Thereminvox is just the old name for the theremin.It is funny how it was meant to be used on the battefield to pass orders via sound,but it ended up being a musical instrument :)
Theremin performer Anton Kershenko and his young pupil at Eupatoria Deep Space Communication Center
The First Theremin Concert for Extraterrestrials was the world's first musical METI broadcast dispatched from the Evpatoria deep-space communications complex in Crimea,[70] and was sent seven years before NASA's Across the Universe (message). Seven different melodies were transmitted from audio-cassette recordings of the theremin being played by Lydia Kavina, Yana Aksenova, and Anton Kerchenko, all from the Moscow Theremin Center. These seven melodies were:
  1. "Egress alone I to the Ride" by E. Shashina
  2. The finale of the 9th Symphony by Beethoven
  3. The Four Seasons: Spring, "Allegro" by Vivaldi
  4. "The Swan" by Saint-Saens
  5. "Vocalise" by Rachmaninoff
  6. "Summertime" by Gershwin
  7. Russian folk song "Kalinka-Malinka"
They are going to receive the first one in July 2047,lol... Teen Age Message - Wikipedia

Teen_Age_Message_7_of_8.jpg

There are some pretty cool instruments that make similar sounds and some are based of theremin
Ondes Martenot - Wikipedia There is a list at the bottom of the theremin wiki page.

Ondes_martenot.jpg

Mixtur-Trautonium
Mixtur_Trautonium.jpg
View attachment 920

Croix sonore Music saw
Croix_Sonore_Jon_B_1.jpg
Musical_saw_2.jpg

Does anyone has an idea what is that hose in the guy's mouth ?He is not sipping vapor for sure,lol..
Click to expand...

Familiar with one, maybe two of these :) Great post.

Have you seen Moog's newest synth, the Subharmonicon? Take much inspiration from the days of Theremin and trautonium like instruments. A shifting polyrhythmic synth. Its a beautiful thing and its burned its way on my shopping list of things I'll never be able to afford :)

 
Chandler

Chandler

Well-Known Member
/\β'/5/\/\ɐ|_ \//\|0[ ]® said:
i managed to break all my 10 fingers and was experiencing dexterity issues for more than decade after,so i never go back to it,but i am enchanted by the art to this very day
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cot dayum. How did you break all 10? car accident? That's rough. :(
vapviking said:
I did it as he did, yelling "Kabong!" in the hallway of the dorm.
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lmao! That video clip is hilarious!
yogurtsauce said:
I play alto sax.
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nice. How long you've been playing?

I've taken some of y'all advice n slowed my routines up. I appreciate the sentiment about not allowing bad habits to become ingrained into muscle memory. Laying down watching tv, holding chords has helped me improve as well. (I know you should play in a proper sitting position but jus holding shapes)
 
macbill

macbill

Oh No! Mr macbill!!
Staff member
I believe you can teach an old dog new tricks, it just takes a lot longer. Motivation plays a big part. I took up acoustic guitar when I turned 53. I take lessons off and on, and for the last 13 years, I've gone to Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, a 501C-3 organization that has held adult summer sessions for over 40 years. Additionally, I've taken a couple workshops from Jorma Kaukonen, not at Fur Peace Ranch, but two of his Winter Retreats of Fur Peace.

I have a number of acoustic guitars, but the one I play most is a 00 mahogany Recording King cut-away. It's just the right size. I have short arms and ample belly. It's hard to get my arm over Larger guitars while seated. Although I suppose I could play a Jumbo if I stood, I am way too lazy to just play standing up.
 
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Chandler

Chandler

Well-Known Member
macbill said:
I believe you can teach an old dog new tricks, it just takes a lot longer. Motivation plays a big part.
Click to expand...
was just speaking with my mother, mentioned the guitar. She says I wish I could play those thing's. I said YOU CAN! YOU, just have to WANT to learn.

Started at 53.now you have over a decade of experience?! You'd be kicking yourself if you had just recently got started! Thats awesome. May have to retitle this thread to 'motivation for musicians of all levels'
 
vapviking

vapviking

Old & In the Way
macbill said:
I believe you can teach an old dog new tricks, it just takes a lot longer. Motivation plays a big part. I took up acoustic guitar when I turned 53. I take lessons off and on, and for the last 13 years, I go to Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, a 501C-3 organization that has held adult summer sessions for over 40 years. Additionally, I've taken a couple workshops from Jorma Kaukonen, not at Fur Peace Ranch, but two of his Winter Retreats of Fur Peace.

I have a number of acoustic guitars, but the one I play most is a 00 mahogany Recording King. It's just the right size. I have short arms and ample belly. It's hard to get my arm over Larger guitars while seated. Although I suppose I could play a Jumbo if I stood, I am way too lazy to just play standing up.
Click to expand...
@macbill, good on you for sticking with it; guitar is a pretty steep learning curve in the beginning especially.

Jorma Kaukonen is a major link in the chain of American folk guitar, having himself learned from some of the old timers first-hand (Rev, Gary Davis, for one). He has found a wonderful way to make his living (& laid back lifestyle) via both performing and teaching. The Ranch, the travel retreats, even the several youtube instructional things, he is passing the knowledge on.
Last summer while on vacation I learned all of his composition "Watersong" via one of those videos. Been emulating him since the '70's.
Saw him & Jack at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY about a year ago, still full of musical energy, though he didn't move about much. His tech would come over with a guitar change and just drape it over him and off he'd go.

The amount of instructional materials available today is a boost some may not fully appreciate. I had no formal lessons, no internet, just friends and a record player. In college I basically majored in learning guitar from anybody else there who could play.
When I got interested in more complicated stuff, one learning device was to play a 33 rpm record at the lowest speed on the record player, which was 16 rpm (but was really 16-1/2), or, one half of normal speed. The resulting playback was a blurry mess, but the music was all 1/2 speed and one full octave down from normal. You could suss out some Doc Watson double picking, etc. with this painstaking method, if you bought the record, that is.
Oh, and then spend the next 45 years trying to be able to do it like he did...to then see him giving a lesson on it from his living room! (r.i.p., Arthel)
Should I be putting stuff like that last part in a Spoiler or something? it's just more "back in my day" bs! :myday:
 
E

EmDeemo

ACCOUNT INACTIVE
vapviking said:
@macbill, good on you for sticking with it; guitar is a pretty steep learning curve in the beginning especially.

Jorma Kaukonen is a major link in the chain of American folk guitar, having himself learned from some of the old timers first-hand (Rev, Gary Davis, for one). He has found a wonderful way to make his living (& laid back lifestyle) via both performing and teaching. The Ranch, the travel retreats, even the several youtube instructional things, he is passing the knowledge on.
Last summer while on vacation I learned all of his composition "Watersong" via one of those videos. Been emulating him since the '70's.
Saw him & Jack at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY about a year ago, still full of musical energy, though he didn't move about much. His tech would come over with a guitar change and just drape it over him and off he'd go.

The amount of instructional materials available today is a boost some may not fully appreciate. I had no formal lessons, no internet, just friends and a record player. In college I basically majored in learning guitar from anybody else there who could play.
When I got interested in more complicated stuff, one learning device was to play a 33 rpm record at the lowest speed on the record player, which was 16 rpm (but was really 16-1/2), or, one half of normal speed. The resulting playback was a blurry mess, but the music was all 1/2 speed and one full octave down from normal. You could suss out some Doc Watson double picking, etc. with this painstaking method, if you bought the record, that is.
Oh, and then spend the next 45 years trying to be able to do it like he did...to then see him giving a lesson on it from his living room! (r.i.p., Arthel)
Should I be putting stuff like that last part in a Spoiler or something? it's just more "back in my day" bs! :myday:
Click to expand...

I had a book of chords and a flexidisc record that came with it going thru how to tune and what the chords should sound like :)

Since coming back to music a few years ago (I took about five off), I've been trying to take advantage of this new reality where tutorials of every nature are ubiquitous. I went totally back to basics to learn all those little things I'd missed by trying to do it my own way.

My version of your 'back in my day' bullshit is 'stop buying kit, just a phone these days is more than so many bands with records I love had access to, learn to use what you've got' mantra :) Constantly telling myself and my friends to just get on with it and learn :)

Yeah, Im tedious.
 
E

EmDeemo

ACCOUNT INACTIVE
macbill said:
Did you know you can change the speed of play-back of You Tube videos by adjusting speed with the gear, located bottom, rightish. Keeps same pitch. Makes it easier to learn.
View attachment 939
View attachment 937
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Exactly. We have way more options these days :)

An iPhone is a whole production studio these days :)

Have I posted this before? Available on iPhone and Android. Generative Music. You can either leave this to slowly evolve in beautiful ways, or you can play with it and create. The wonderful thing about the maths behind it is that the more you do, the less the app does. Its really hard, nigh on impossible, to make it sound awful. I love this thing...


 
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