Played (bad) guitar for a few years. I always found it a struggle. The whistle turned me on to music again. Now I play bodhran and am slowly learning the Irish flute.
Steve
Guitar and mandolin, along with whistle and a little flute. Whilst stranded without an instrument of any kind during a small blizzard in Boone, NC,last year, I eased my cabin fever with the purchase of a $1.00 recorder at a Dollar Store. It was then I realized that whistles (and to a lesser extent, recorders) are the perfect low maintenance, highly portable instrument. I swore I’d never leave home again without a whistle, and I haven’t.
Took piano from age 8-10, til we couldn’t afford it anymore. Played flute in high school band, also played as an adult at church, for weddings, and play now in the rock jam group I’m in. In the last year, I’ve taken up guitar (fingerstyle mostly), gotten into mandolin (not great at that but enjoy it), and gotten a keyboard to rediscover piano. Been whistling a couple of years. Probably will get into Irish flute at some point. I also play recorder a little. Took voice lessons (have a high soprano thing going) for a year. I am a dilettante and will probably never master any one instrument, but I get bored easily and need variety and I’m having a good time with it!
Well I started with the flutaphone in 3rd grade. I was one of those that the teacher discouraged from pursuing music further (THANKS ALOT %^&$@#). I tried the chorus in 5 the grade (all Beatles music that year after John died). The 6th grade chorus director demanded all members sign contracts that outlined the extensive punative sanctions taken agains you if you missed practice (miss any two rehersals during the year and you are expelled from the program, even for illness or death in the family). It was more responsibility than I was willing to deal with so I quit trying to make music.
More than 6 years later, I took a piano class my last half year of high school and had a lot of fun. I took 3 music theory classes in college, then stopped all music making for another 8 years.
I was talking with a friend about playing the bagpipe. I wanted to take it up, but found the prices too steep. I was told about the whistle classes Bob Pegritz was teaching at O’Friels Irish Pub. Bob gave me an Oak D with the class. Since that 1998 event, I have continued with the whistle. I have also picked up some tenor banjo, bones, bodhran, bamboo flute, clarinet, anglo concertina, and I will be working on a alto sax when I can get it serviced. A man at the session last night was playing a set of english high pipes in G. He gave me a soprano recorder in F and said just play it like a whistle and ignore the bottom hole. It was interesting, but I currently have the strenght not to add another instrument, as well as the support of an empty bank account. No recorders for me. Not even the real big ones with the bocal sticking out the tops.
Thats my sad tale. . .
TO BE CONTUNUED?
Muah-HA-HA-HA-HA
Here we go… let’s see, I started playing clarinet at the ripe old age of 8, so that was (OMIGOODNESS) 22 years ago. GOOD GRIEF! Where did that time go? That just sounds so…long ago!! Played all the way through high school, into college. Won some regional competitions and went to State… I also played bass clarinet, could pick out some tunes on a flute, and briefly played bass guitar in junior high (okay, I admit, it was during my major infatuation with John Taylor of Duran Duran)
What can I say, I’m an eighties girl at heart. :
:
I consider my voice my instrument too, and have been using that since I was a wee lass. 
Now I love my whistle and, even though I may have rotting produce thrown at me here, I’m learning to play the bodhran too. Oh, and I have a harp that’s waiting to be restored so that I can give that a go as well… No, I don’t have much going on. LOL
What a neat thread,
Andrea ~*~
[ This Message was edited by: aderyn_cyrdd on 2002-03-21 04:14 ]
Mandolin, bodhran, Irish flute, uillean pipes and séan nós singing. And it all started from a little Generation whistle.
/Arto
The Long Answer
Started singing about the time I started talking, it was just what we did around our home with the encouragement of my mom.
At age 8/9 I took a year of piano, which gave me a start on music theory. Played the piano’s (Yamaha baby grand and Steinway) and Organs (Lowery then Wurlitzer) that were around the house as I grew up.
My voice developed through individual singing, choirs, and choruses from about 4th through 8th grade. 9th grade was a disaster as my voice changed from first soprano to tenor. In junior high and high school I started singing more and more folk music so took up guitar (Epiphone 6 string) to accompany myself. Joined folk music clubs, church folk mass choir, through high school as my voice settled into a nice tenor. Graduating from High school got my Goya 12 string guitar which was my heart instrument through college and is still my goto when I play sessions. I have a couple of 6 strings, a 12 string, and a folk 5 string banjo. The 12 gets regular play and on of the 6 strings.
During my college years (70’s) I played and sang folk mostly at local coffee houses or with friends just sitting around. Later did the same in the various church and fellowship groups. So my teens and 20’s were pretty much filled with voice and guitar, a little banjo and piano on the side.
My 30’s were a disaster; I moved to Baltimore and the vocal cords crusted over within a month. I think it was something in the air I was allergic to, about 4 years ago finally moved west of Baltimore closer to DC and the voice has started to recover; however 15 years of little use leaves me with a long way to recover. During my 30’s and early 40’s I was in and out of folk music, mostly playing Old time, blue grass and contra dance rhythm guitar.
About 6-7 years ago, I had one of those life changing events. As a result I decided ‘work-a-holic’ was not going to be my epitath and started taking steps to enjoy life more. I started playing Irish sessions weekly and moved closer to work cuting 25 hours travel down to 10. I decided as the nest emptied I’d fill it with music and vegetable gardening. 2 years ago started with Irish whistle, a year ago irish flute, and also have a couple of bodhrans to help me with irish rhythms.
I’m 48 and plan for my 50’s to be filled with music, whistle (high and low), flute, voice, guitar and bodhran, maybe a piano. Now I have 4-8 hours a week available to play, by 2004 I plan to have 20-40 hours per week to play.
Short Answer
Voice, Whistles (high and low), Irish flute, Guitar (6 & 12 acoustic), Bodhran, Piano, Banjo.
no energy for the long answer. . .
piano as a child
guitar as young adult
recorder (since dropped because my fingers get confused) sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor
whistles (about 2 years now)
hammered dulcimer (I consider my primary instrument)
ocarinas, harmonicas, moutain dulcimer, cross blown folky flutey things
stereo
Played (and really liked) the Melody Flute (side-blown fipple flute) in 4th grade, still have one! Sousaphone, tuba and string bass in jr and high school. Bass guitar since a teen (Hofner Beatle Bass), fretless bass, kalimba (Mbira), guitar (long ago). And the only way to describe my voice as an instrument is of mass destruction.
Vinny
Piano (grades2-3), but dropped. Still plunk around.
Violin/fiddle, bodhran, frame drums, hand percussion (cabasa, shakers, claves, tamborine, triangle, etc.), guitar, recorder.
Hope to branch out to mandolin, bagpipes and uilliean pipes.
Let’s see here…I play Alto Sax in school band…Out of school I play pennywhistle(obviously), concertina, fiddle, and flute. That’s all folks!
Brent
As a child I took piano lessons. After two years I was still having trouble with “Three Blind Mice”. I sheepishly approached my parents about wanting to quit, terrified of getting the “quiters never win” lecture. They agreed with me! The keyboard was sold that week. Guess I wasn’t cut out to play piano.
I didn’t go near an instrument again for years, until someone brought me a feadog back from Ireland!
Stef.
Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, whistle, but (to quote John Lennon) most times I just play the fool!
I sure have spent a long time reading this thread. Nice to hear this stuff about everyone.
My voice is my primary instrument. I started going to folk clubs more than fifteen years ago. Sang with a folk trio for about ten years (Three Strong Winds - CDs still available 
). Now in a new gang of five.
As a kid I had a go at piano, viola and classical guitar, but didn’t really take to classical music that much. After I quit guitar lessons, I sat alone in my room learning chords and finger-picking patterns out of a Gordon Lightfoot book. 
I finally got a nice guitar about two years ago (a Takamine Koa - very pretty) and I’m still learning out of books.
I picked up a lousy generation whistle about twelve years ago, kept dropping it and coming back to it. A few years ago, one of the folk clubs I go to started having mini sesiuns between sets and I got keen to join in. I found it very frustrating at first - the tunes all sounded the same to me and I had to pester the leader to give the names of some tunes to learn. I’m only now getting up to speed on the whistle, but I hope when this group starts up in May that I’ll be ready to really join in.
Played guitar & flute & recorder for several years in HS & college, then didn’t play much for years. Picked up the recorder again, decided I liked Irish trad best, so switched to whistle & flute. Damaged my lip in a bicycle crash, couldn’t play flute so switched to english concertina. Played a bit for a few years, then stopped for a while, now play mostly concertina & wooden flute. A bit of whistle. My lip is pretty good, probably almost normal.
I love the flute, but have decided I’m a better concertina player & am thinking of giving up everything else to concentrate on just the 'tina. Just bought a CD, The Big Day In, by Simon Thoumire that blew me away. He plays english concertina, and this has pretty much convinced me to go with just the concertina.
Lee Marsh wrote…
<<I’m 48 and plan for my 50’s to be filled with music, whistle (high and low), flute, voice, guitar and bodhran, maybe a piano. Now I have 4-8 hours a week available to play, by 2004 I plan to have 20-40 hours per week to play.>>
Wow, I’m 48 too & this is my plan exactly, except it will be concertina and maybe flute & whistle. My kids are 17 & going on 13, so in a few years I hope to have a lot more time to play. Interest wise, the only thing complicating this plan is that probably my favorite interest is mountain biking, so right now with limited time, music kind of takes a back seat to that. One of the things that initially attracted me to flutes, whistles & concertinas at first their compact size. They are great choices to take with when biking, hiking or Kayaking. The more music per square inch idea.
I grew up in a home full of Irish music, since both my parents were Irish Immigrants. Heard the music ALL THE TIME, but wasn’t too interested in learning to play. Took up the harmonica as a teen, got “pretty good”, too! Then five years ago,I discovered the Anglo concertina! Took me back to my childhood (which is nice when you are 65), so I really applied myself, and now I consider myself a “decent” player, but still learning. I am trying to learn to play the whistle as well as my newly acquired 2-row botton box in B/C (Irish again!), but the concertina is my first true love, so it gets most of my time (hence, my username).
Been playing clarinet for 31 years, 9 of them in a local symphony. Picked up alto and tenor sax in about 1982 doing big bands, small gigs and touring Broadway shows. Bought a tin whistle about 14 years ago, played a year, set it down for 12 years, and pick it back up about a year ago. Also been working on the GHB for about two years. I’ve been looking for a practice set, or half set so that I can continue my love/hate relationship with reeds.
Hmmm…not too many banjo players. I play 5-string banjo clawhammer style. As a matter of fact a friend and I were just having a few tunes and accompanied her whistle playing on my banjo. I play some other stuff too but banjo rules.
Steve
Black Jack, Baccara. I usually stay away from Poker.
I began on the Concert Kazoo when I was four and have studied it intensively since then. Around the age of 10, when my parents though I was ready, I took up the nose flute, which I can confidently say I have mastered. Now I am learning how to play the slide whistle. You should hear how well I can play the Kesh Jig and “My Heart Will Go On”. Youd be surprised how many Corrs songs sound great on the nose flute! Of course, it’s jsut not right unless it’s a black nose flute.
Chris
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2002-03-21 10:20 ]