Randomized Output

Do you play any musical instruments?

After 20+ years of taking lessons, I hope to god that I can play something.  Only ones of note are piano and clarinet.  I’ve been playing piano for 20+ odd years now.  Although, having not seriously touched a piano since college, I’m not sure I can count some of those years.  Clarinet was only for like 6 years (although that definitely felt like it was longer).  One of these days I’ll get around to writing up all the stories and memories from the piano competitions and band trips.  Everyone needs more navel gazing.  Or reading about my navel gazing.

There’s a bunch of other stuff that I can “play”.  I played the marimba for high school marching band and I can remember most of the technique from there so I suppose that counts.  Band director vetoed my request to just play the pieces on a keyboard hooked to an amp.  2 mallets per hand was pretty challenging and it also built callouses in some strange places on your hands.  Due to the similarity with clarinet (and hanging out with a bunch of saxamaphone players), at one point I was passable with alto sax.  I took a pipe organ class for a semester in high school – never any good at it.  I didn’t like having to slide my butt around on the organ bench while “walking” the pedals.  You really look like an idiot doing it and that’s not something my ego was comfortable with.  And a couple years ago, I wanted to be able to play a pop instrument so I attempted to learn guitar a couple years ago (failing miserably due to lack of motivation.  It also hurt my hands).

All within the classical genre.  The world of jazz improv frightens and confuses me (I’m awful at being creative).  So don’t ask me to play jazz.  Also, I don’t play billy joel’s ‘piano man’.  I wish I’d gotten around to learning how to play the violin as it’s such a beautiful and expressive instrument.  I think that’d overload my asian quota of musical instruments though.  I also wish I had learned how to sing.  (no, it’s not just for karaoke you bastards).  I think that covers everything.