How many instruments do you play?

[Marvin]

I can literally only play the bass, and that's a stretch sometimes.

I have been dabbling with the riff to Black Dog over the last couple of days on guitar, but that's only because I couldn't be bothered to get my bass out of its case. (I bought a guitar so the kids could learn> It lives in the dinning room. Only one of my kids is learning guitar and he bought his own). However, I've struggled with the whole getting my hands making chords thing with guitar and just gave up. When you take 10secs to change chord it's not really going anywhere.

[Nail Soup]

7 hours ago, Marvin said:

However, I've struggled with the whole getting my hands making chords thing with guitar and just gave up. When you take 10secs to change chord it's not really going anywhere.

Guitar chords for sure has a much longer period where you can't play anything properly (unless you use open tunuing or something) compared to bass. But one gets there eventually!

[Nail Soup]

I put 3.

There are 3 instruments I can play to performance level:

• Guitar
• Bass
• Ukulele (I actually play it to a reasonable level, rather than just a couple of chords)

 

Then there a few where I can (and do) play a little bit:

• Keys (simple parts for home recording)
• Mouth Organ (couple of Feelgood songs with the covers band)
• Banjo (occasional song at the folk circle, bit of home recording)
• Fiddle (occasional simple part for home recording)
• Drums ( for example simple snare with brushes on home recording)

 

[Woodinblack]

7 hours ago, Marvin said:

When you take 10secs to change chord it's not really going anywhere.

It starts like that, it gets much easier after a while

[StickyDBRmf]

Well. I play the Stick. Not well. But it keeps me off the streets. I'm comfortable with the whole tapping/holding thing so I can play my little tunes/compositions/noodlings and it is quite second nature to me. So I could learn a song or a part if someone were to require one. It has also improved my reach and facility in my left hand. So when I do pick up a bass I play better than I ever did and with more expression. BUT. I have no calluses to speak of. None really required on Stick. So my fingers are raw pretty quick on bass. I would need a little bass wood-shedding to do a bass gig. But it would be doable. When the gigs come back. I would probably be hired for my Stick first, bass when material requires THAT sound. So 2. (Whew). G'night, Chaps!

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, StickyDBRmf said:

Well. I play the Stick. Not well. But it keeps me off the streets. I'm comfortable with the whole tapping/holding thing so I can play my little tunes/compositions/noodlings and it is quite second nature to me.

As an OT aside, what is the relief on your lightest string (the high D in standard). I think mine is too low just because there isn't enough velocity to get any volume out of it!

[Nicko]

I picked two as I've gigged on bass and I'm a competent rhythm guitarist, but I agree it depends what you mean play.

I played trumpet at school and could probably still produce a scale on one so could probably play a few lines of a song if I tried.

More importantly, I've been writing my own material and recording stuff at home, and with virtual instruments I'm able to create music with drums, piano, synth, strings. brass and pretty much anything I choose.  Is it playing?

Oh, and I can play the triangle and the tambourine.

[Stub Mandrel]

I can play loads of instruments - if you set the bar as "can you play a recognisable tune on...?" I hope I play bass to a decent standard, guitar to a 'good enough to have fun playing along standard' but other instruments are pretty much just to have fun on my own or learn a part for a home recording. I did play mandolin in front of an audience in 2019 🙂

Fretted string instruments are all much of a muchness in terms of chords and melodies. Just be able to 'swap' chords/scales between fourth and fifth interval tunings. Get guitar and mandolin and you can play something on almost any fretted instrument. For example, you can tune an 8-string bozouki like the any four strings on a guitar and have great fun with something that sounds and looks very different without really learning any new skills.Strumsticks are good, diatonic ones are impossible to play out of tune 🙂

Ukes, have re-entrant tunings designed by people who hate musicians, learn a few chords and chug... Banjos are unusual you can learn a few plucking patterns and otherwise ignore the fifth string, but mine needs major repair.

Keyboards are easy to plonk out a basic melody or chords but need skills beyond me to do both at the same time. I used to be a whiz on the Stylophone...

Blowing things, the fingering of basic recorder/pennywhistle/mini sax is fairly easy to get. Some are easier to make sound nice than others. I count do squat with a flute despite borrowing one for a fortnight. A proper sax or clarinet is hell - be pleased if you can make it honk one good note.

Things like harmonicas and drums are deceiving. Easy to get a very basic result but they have their own skill sets that make it hard to go past the very basics.

Fretless stringed instruments are different. Violin is so hard to get a nice, consistent tone.

Fretless bass I can play fine, but feel it should be classed as a different instrument to the fretted bass just as the double bass is unique. It benefits from a different left-hand technique to fretted bass and rewards you improving your ear.

Then there's spoons...