TROMBONE, it was me and the boys. by the way brass players make better kissers 
My Norwegian grandmother bought me a cello when I was 12. That cello proved to be a real gift from above, and I played it all the way through college: it paid for my education via orchestra scholarships.
A decade after college, I stumbled across ‘Old-Time’ jams here in Albuquerque and loved the freedom I found in folk music. For years now, I have taken my cello to these jams, which raises eyebrows from the fiddlers who often view me as an invader. I even entered fiddle contests playing my cello, and I have won a host of medals and trophies on this most unconventional of folk instruments. Unfortunately, I no longer compete on cello since most fiddle contests now prohibit cellists from entering. Fiddlers can be such a petty bunch if they feel their domain has been invaded by outsiders!
Along the way, I picked up silver flute, Irish flute, a basket full of whistles, two hammered dulcimers, and psaltery. I also taught my daughter to play Celtic harp, and the two of us have recorded two CDs that have been quite successful.
Nothing has been more joyous over the years than playing gigs with my now-21-year-old daughter playing harp next to me as I tear into the whistles, flutes, dulcimer, and most fondly, that cello I got from my grandma when I was a kid.
A decade after college, I stumbled across ‘Old-Time’ jams here in Albuquerque and loved the freedom I found in folk music. For years now, I have taken my cello to these jams, which raises eyebrows from the fiddlers who often view me as an invader. I even entered fiddle contests playing my cello, and I have won a host of medals and trophies on this most unconventional of folk instruments.
Very cool! Have you ever heard the Plank Road String Band? Disbanded for many years but it contained a cello.
Steve
Guitar, piano…uilleann pipes once upon a time 
Started out in classical…violin, then viola. Now I’m trying to learn the proper fiddle.Also played tenor sax in both a jazz band and a rock band…but haven’t touched one in years.
I’ve dabbled with concertina, button box, mandolin, but don’t any more.
Just flute
…geee, I feel awfully boring, right now!
Deb
On 2002-03-21 19:09, WhistlerWannaBe wrote:
Just flute
…geee, I feel awfully boring, right now!Deb
Naaahhh, actually I’m envious of how much quicker you’ll progress without all the multi-instrument distractions.
I started out playing baritone saxophone in concert, marching, and finally Jazz bands in school…and did do my bit on recorder in elementary school.
I’ve also been learning to play the button accordion (C#/D tuning) for the past 8 months or so.
-brett
I was a musically deprived child. No music to speak of in the home, not even radio. Well, Hit Parade on Saturday night TV, maybe.
Took up trombone in a high school feeder band. Fortunately it was a boys school. If we’d have had girls I wouldn’t have cared about music. Played through college, then nothing for the next 15-20 years.
Got interested in historical reenactment and craft and old-time music in the mid-late '80s and that led me to try the mountain dulcimer which I still sorta play, and played some on a keyboard to learn to read music again.
Always interested in bagpipes (maybe it really IS in the blood) but when I saw the price tag I decided to try a pennywhistle instead. That was about 1997. Here I still am. The sad part is that, probably because of the lack of early exposure, I’ll never be very good, but a good whistle (or for that matter a dulcimer) is a very forgiving instrument.
As someone else said, sorry for the life story, but you DID ask.
Edit: Oh, yeah, and I’m trying to learn Celtic harp.
Nothing salves a weary soul like a cheap whistle.
[ This Message was edited by: Chuck_Clark on 2002-03-21 20:01 ]
Guitar, whistle, flute–a little
mandolin.
I was interested in
Chris’s experiences with the nose flute.
As we probably know, the name of
this underappreciated instrument
is ‘The Humanatone.’ Disgusting, yes?
As an adolescent I found that with a big rubber band
I could fix my nose flute to my
face while leaving my hands free
to play the guitar. Played
duets. Funny that
Dylan never tried that.
After awhile I became more interested
in the rubber band–my ‘Fugue for
Rubber Band and Tin Foil’ was performed
by the Salzburg Kazoo Collegium, but
the performance was broken up
by the police.
When I was still younger a bald man
used to perform on TV kiddy shows–he played
tunes on his skull with two mallets,
changing notes by opening and closing
his mouth. He warned us not to try it,
but of course I did anyway. (I had too much
hair, no longer a problem.)
Anyhow this fellow was finally dragged off the Howdy Doody show laughing like a loon after attempting Tristan and Isolde, the mallets dripping gore. Next
day he was replaced by a puppet.
Started with two years of piano (because we HAD one). Then was finally gifted with a top value stamp book guitar. Have been playing guitar now for 34 years, some classical, some flameco, and always folk. After amassing an amazing array of guitars branched out to the mandolin (my wee little taterbug). Went on to the 5 string banjo and mountain dulcimer. Hmmmmmmm what AM I forgetting? Oh yes…harmonicas, mouth bow…and SINGING!!!
well, my mom made me take piano lessons when I was little until I felt like throwing the piano out the window. Then she decided I wasn’t being worked hard enough and gave me lessons herself, making me practice 5 songs 3 times each every morning before school. Then I wanted to learn the flute so she would make me sit down and practice 20 minutes a day and would yell at me if she didn’t hear flute sounds coming up from the basement. Then I quit the flute because I hated having her nag me all the time and took up guitar. She nagged me to practice til I felt like breaking the darn thing against the wall, rock-star style, so I quit guitar. I took up the flute a few years ago and used the “I practice in band at school” til she left me alone. I fell in love with Irish music and bought some whistles and a fife. I’m doing great. My mom hasn’t nagged me to practice since.
skins and bones
Hrm, thinking…
I started out on keyboards, and hated them. I’ve since mellowed since childhood. I play organ and some piano (not so well), classical, acoustic and bass guitars (I have a big fat acoustic bass guitar as well as an electric – I like my acoustic bass better, because I can sound just like the Violent Femmes ), irish flute, whistles (obviously), mandolin, and comb. I’d like to take up the accordion or maybe concertina, and I’ve thought about getting a theremin. I think that I have enough to work on so far though, so I’m not going to get anything new (except maybe a clarinet – I really wish I could play like Sidney Bechet) anytime soon. Stop snickering, I mean it.
stimps
Haven’t really goten started on re-learing how to play, but I have a wonderful Larivee Parlor Guitar, in maple! NICE! Haven’t named her either!
Andrea,
FYI, Duran Duran just released a CD of their greatest hits.
I picked up the whistle VERY recently… say, last Thursday (heh). I LOVE it. As for other instruments, I’m mostly a brass man. I played trombone in middle school, though now I’ve moved on to euphonium (anyone who asks what this is will be flat out ignored- i hate that!) and occasionally tuba. (Senior in H.S, btw). Also learned a bit of bamboo flute (C) at CO Renaissance Festival. Also know a few chords for guitar. One I’d like to learn at some random point in the unforseeable future is Celtic harp (the small “Shepherd” version I found plans for on the Internet one day)
[ This Message was edited by: Alhren` on 2002-03-22 02:05 ]
Playing: piano, guitar, uilleann pipes, whistles. Torturing: flute, Chinese erhu, ocarina.
Too much for one life…
Christian
Wow, I don’t know whether to be discouraged or impressed with all these professionls on this post!
Didn’t have the luck of growing up with parents who played instruments; we kept hearing that our dad played violin, but hardly ever heard him play (and never call it a fiddle in our house!) Each of us kids learned an instrument,tho; I learned piano, which I kinda regretted since you couldn’t join marching band as the rest of my siblings did. 7 years of that, then in college got a guitar to play Bob Dylan stuff. Always liked Bluegrass and wondered why it sounded so much like Irish Trad(duh!) Can’t sing much, so guitar wasn’t that successful. Asked for and got a GHB practise chanter for Christmas a year ago(bless my poor husband, he didn’t know what he was in for)as I decided I was finally brave enough at 46 to join our local pipe band. Couldn’t believe how hard it was to blow(!) so I thought it was a bad one; went to the internet for advice, and stumbled over C and F and figured I ought to play something easier to blow(!). Now I’m learning both tin whistle and bagpipe chanter, and having a second childhood! Gee, and I could try bodhran,and harp, and hammered dulcimer, and irish flute and…
On 2002-03-21 20:04, jim stone wrote:
After awhile I became more interested
in the rubber band–my ‘Fugue for
Rubber Band and Tin Foil’ was performed
by the Salzburg Kazoo Collegium, but
the performance was broken up
by the police.
You might want to check out the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s album “Broadcasting from home.” It has the original “Concerto for a found Harmonium”, which for some reason pops up on a lot of Irish quasi-trad albums, but more importantly they do a piece called “Telephone and Rubber Band.”
Charlie
On 2002-03-21 20:04, jim stone wrote:
As an adolescent I found that with a big rubber band
I could fix my nose flute to my
face while leaving my hands free
to play the guitar. Played
duets. Funny that
Dylan never tried that.
Jim Stone said that.
( I think we are pretty close to a Talkin’ nose flute blues here.)