KVR Audio

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:38 pm

Used to live/gig in Hamtramck MI. A city with a rich beer drinking and polish heritage. We had more than our share of highly gifted blues accordionists. Or I could have been seriously drunk. There's something about a town where the ice cream man plays "Beer Barrel Polka" to attract the kids.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:40 pm

tapper mike wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:38 pm Used to live/gig in Hamtramck MI. A city with a rich beer drinking and polish heritage. We had more than our share of highly gifted blues accordionists. Or I could have been seriously drunk. There's something about a town where the ice cream man plays "Beer Barrel Polka" to attract the kids.

ours play a few different ones, greensleeves, the match of the day theme or, and this is my favourite, considering well, you know...
"hitler, only had one ball..."

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:08 pm

started on a upright piano at age 6 if you don't count singing lol. have played trombone, trumpet, french horn, sax, clarinet, flute, penny whistle, bass, guitar, violin (we call fiddle down here lol), banjo, ukelele, recorder and can use drums but being around them since school band everything i beat out sounds like a march lol

basically i play and sing by ear so if i can figure out how it works i can most likely play it but playing rock guitar (rhythm... holding down the fort) has always been my favorite. never got into flashy leads... mine is mostly melodic. taught myself lead techniques by mimicking the vocals parts... making it sing.

never been formally taught except piano and then through school. started on a recorder then to trumpet and when the director realized i play by ear she moved me to trombone... you can't play trombone if you can't hear what you are doing... sorta like playing a fretless bass. if you miss it sounds pretty sour lol. could sight read music up until i left school... it was helpful for band and chorus competitions during my school days. sadly i let it go and quit reading music around 1980... but i still know how just real slow at it these days lol if you don't use it... you lose it

cheers

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:13 pm

oh yeah, recorder. but i don't count that, because everyone had to at school
i don't even think it was about teaching us music, i think the teacher happened to be married to a recorder salesman!

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:25 pm

lol... could be

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:31 pm

At one time I played the guitar. Now I am a guitar owner.

resynthesis · Post by **resynthesis** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:30 pm

Guitar and bass. Recorder when learning to read (as mentioned above) then cello for five years. Went to uni and couldn't afford my own cello so that was the end of that

I do listen longingly to Pablo Casals at times and think about splurging on a cello (missus) but I know I haven't the discipline these days.

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:59 pm

Aloysius wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:31 pm At one time I played the guitar. Now I am a guitar owner.

kinda agree... with my arthritis i am not playing much of anything anymore

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Thu Jul 20, 2023 2:22 pm

vurt wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:13 pm oh yeah, recorder. but i don't count that, because everyone had to at school
i don't even think it was about teaching us music, i think the teacher happened to be married to a recorder salesman!

Actually recorders were/are quite cheap which was prolly the reason. I remember when if you wanted an easy elective in college you could take intro to music theory. That was taught on a recorder because the school didn't have the budget to fill a classroom with keyboards.

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Thu Jul 20, 2023 2:27 pm

not so much that the recorders are cheap which they are (the plastic ones)... they are one of the simplest instruments to grasp for newcomers to music. very few notes (not counting octaves) and fixed positions which make for a great starting point.

cheers

YnJ · Post by **YnJ** » Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:00 pm

I used to play the mandolin, not at any high level though. Yeah, and the recorder, as we were forced to play it in primary school. Horrible instruments made of some kind of hard plastic, chronically out of tune and full of slime. My cat would get agressive every time I practiced at home, which was only once I think, and bit me in the nose. Good cat!

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:08 pm

tapper mike wrote: ↑Thu Jul 20, 2023 2:22 pm
vurt wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:13 pm oh yeah, recorder. but i don't count that, because everyone had to at school
i don't even think it was about teaching us music, i think the teacher happened to be married to a recorder salesman!
Actually recorders were/are quite cheap which was prolly the reason. I remember when if you wanted an easy elective in college you could take intro to music theory. That was taught on a recorder because the school didn't have the budget to fill a classroom with keyboards.

yeah i was joking

its also easy to carry, so they can send you home with it to annoy the parents. cant do that with a piano.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:09 pm

YnJ wrote: ↑Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:00 pm I used to play the mandolin, not at any high level though. Yeah, and the recorder, as we were forced to play it in primary school. Horrible instruments made of some kind of hard plastic, chronically out of tune and full of slime. My cat would get agressive every time I practiced at home, which was only once I think, and bit me in the nose. Good cat!

you were supposed to use the stick with some cotton wool to clean out the spittle.
although, mine ended up with a wodge of cotton wool in it.
which much improved the sound.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:10 pm

resynthesis wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:30 pm Guitar and bass. Recorder when learning to read (as mentioned above) then cello for five years. Went to uni and couldn't afford my own cello so that was the end of that

I do listen longingly to Pablo Casals at times and think about splurging on a cello (missus) but I know I haven't the discipline these days.

never played cello in my life, but occasionally look at the cheap stagg electric one, and think ooooh cellofuzz...

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:19 pm

when i look at a cello i think... what a big fiddle lol... but honestly i would seriously like to 'fiddle' with one. love the sound.

will have to admit though i am not real handy with a bow... the fiddly kind... much prefer a recurve. dropping or raising the elbow to change strings is quite odd compared to using a pick

cheers

What else do you/did you play?