Anybody here play an instrument?

[entropi]

Yes, I like playing music

Drums for long time. Percussion, specifically goblet shape drums like "darbuka".
Trumpet, but at beginner level.

Recently, (4-5 years now) I am more interested in reed flute, called "ney".

[robinz]

I play the piano and violin, although I haven't had much chance to play either recently I'm a real music-lover though, and these days I tend to get as much (or perhaps more) pleasure in simply listening to music than I ever did in playing it. It's great that you compose - I wish I could. (I did a bit when I was still at school - pretty much 10 years ago now - but of course my pieces were pretty terrible; and I have virtually no creative inspiration for music these days.)

[tealeaf]

I play the flute, and have recently picked it up again after a few years of not practising; it seemed such a shame that I used to play and enjoy it so much and it's dropped out of my life. My main instrument is the guitar, though. I also dabble in the piano, like a lot of people who can play a couple of instruments, but I've never really reached much of a level there.

I also play the berimbau.

[Gresil]

I may have been about 10 kyu at guitar years ago. Most fluent at programming synthesizers. I've always been most interested in composition and I'm still trying to work at it, but... when I was young I was incapable of working toward such goals and now I'm too old to get very far anymore.

[schilds]

Piano, badly.

[Stable]

I used to play brass (euphonium and trombone) although I'm very out of practice. Like tealeaf (and for the same reason) I play berimbau pretty regularly and I also play didgeridoo every so often. I've got a massive collection of little instruments as well, various shakers, panpipes, badly made thumb pianos, kazoos, harmonicas... and other various stuff that I like to mess about with sometimes.

My girlfriend is a professional cellist, although I've resisted taking that up. (Strings? Pah! )

[Harleqin]

What about you?

I can play the piano, guitar, and trumpet. I also did some percussion, vocals, and chalumeau in my band. As soon as finances, room, and wife permit, I want to get a tenor saxophone and a hammond organ.

[hirohiigo]

I play ocarina and recorder. I can play piano a bit, but I'm awful at chords and can't do rhythm and melody at the same time. I'm much more suited for monophonic instruments.

[dfan]

I play guitar and sing in a rock band, but my real instrument is the piano, which I've played since I was a little kid.

I also spent ten years playing in a Balinese gamelan, so I can play most of those instruments.

[daniel_the_smith]

Good thing I'm learning the first movement to the haydn C concerto right now, or else I probably wouldn't be motivated to practice the 2 hrs a day that I'm doing right now. xD

I played cello pretty seriously for 7 or 8 years, in highschool/college. Haydn's concerto in C was one of the last things I learned. I was in a community college orchestra at the time and got to perform it with them.

Nowadays I get it out once a year or so, if that. Too much other stuff to do.

[Hēphaistos]

I played the trumpet for about eight years, then I played tuba for about a year, took a two year rest, then played the euphonium for a bit. Now I'm looking to switch to a baritone.

However, the concert euphonium is by far the best musical instrument I've played. But the marching baritone just fits my personal body better. I'm not a sitting-and-playing guy, I'm a drum corps marcher.

[sumiyaka]

Cameras. What? You don't hear music in pictures?

I also mess about with harmonicas. I played clarinet in high school. Every two or three years or so I consider picking up a saxophone-- but talk myself out of it. And the guitar asks me to learn it about every 5 years. I may actually give into that next time. Just depends

[Stable]

I'm still trying to figure out how to bend the harmonica notes. Any tips? Everyone says to "drop your throat" but that doesn't seem to work for me... (or I can;t figure out what they mean).

[Hēphaistos]

I don't play the harmonica, but perhaps "drop your throat" means to drop your tongue (or the back of your tongue)? Say (and hold) "eee". Feel how your tongue is. Now say (and hold ) "oh". Your tongue should be lower. That's how I create a lower note (thus "bending a note") on my brass instruments.

[Marcus]

I'm still trying to figure out how to bend the harmonica notes. Any tips? Everyone says to "drop your throat" but that doesn't seem to work for me... (or I can;t figure out what they mean).

It's hard to describe the exact technique, and I admit I'm not a great player myself. I think Hēphaistos gave a decent description.

Have you tried different types of harmonica? Some makes are easier for that kind of bend than others.

As to instruments I play myself, here are my primary instruments in order of skill:

piano
vocal
saxophone
guitar

I also dabble with the harmonica on occasion. All of this is casual play. I never got very serious, though I've played piano for over 20 years now and play fairly well.