DO YOU PLAY OTHER INSTRUMENTS?!

[NickSchles]

So, here's the score... My main instrument is the drums, but my first instrument was actually the guitar... I love playing it, but I don't do it often enough. This is mostly because, for my own personal compositions, I find the process daunting and, because I'm perfectionist, the whole thing stops being fun after a while.

So, recently I started giving myself some creative exercises: to write and record 1 minute tunes in around an hour or so. The idea here has been to

• Not overthink the process
• Not worry about perfect takes
• Capture the energy of the performances
• Have fun making music

And it's been great! I've tried to do one every week for the last 4 weeks... Below is the latest one I've finished. All the tunes I've done so far have been old school Death Metal, coz I do love that genre so, but I'm not limiting myself to genre... Whatever comes out comes out.

Do you play other instruments? Do you write / produce your own stuff? What creative challenges do you give yourself? Please do share!

 

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Lots of instruments.

Writing a little bit every day is just traditional good advice. Something will come from it.

 

[moodman]

Good points that you have ( a message too)
I play keys and I write songs. Often my songs come from some chord progression or riff that I like to solo over. Other times they come from a moment of inspiration. I often come up with a bass line and an arrangement but, sometimes not. I believe that some songs are more or less 'complete' when written and others evolve through performance, maybe through other players contributions. I have written songs that my band would never play and songs that I don't necessarily like, but were the result of some musical 'venture', trust your original inspirations. Lyrically, my best songs have been songs about people or things that I know the 'truth' of. Lyrics do have a meter that may suggest a rhythm which could best express the intent of the lyric. Some songs I play rarely, others I come back to, one song I have actually forgotten but, it had three parts, I remembered and used that part to write another song. That's all I've got, drum on drummer.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

I started on drums at age 4 (1973) so they are my main instrument

I added bass guitar at age 13 (1982), so it is very closely my second instrument.

in college, i had to learn how to play every instrument in an orchestra, so I can get around on piano, all winds and strings

I will only play drums and bass "in public"

part of my job is writing and arranging for marching, concert, and jazz bands, so I get to live in that world for much of my time too

for my rock bands, I also write, but it is usually in the prog metal vein...currently I don't play in a prog metal project, so my stuff does not see the light of day. I am involved in the arranging of the stuff in both of my original bands though...

 

[Supergrobi]

I had around 10 years of piano lessons in my childhood and played guitar and bass for fun. Normally I'm the guy writing all the songs for my bands, at least the basis to be polished/enhanced by the musicians afterwards - depending on the stuff. Here's an example of such a composition, everything played by myself, while the guitarist already came up with some highly appreciated changes and additions to both guitar tracks we have to review and record.

https://soundcloud.com/boomshop-1%2Fdemo-it-strains

And here's a piano track from around a decade ago, trying to come to terms with the absolutely worst chapter of my whole life:

 

[Bernhard]

Supergrobi: the first one is exactly my kind of things - what about a rap text over it?

 

[Supergrobi]

@Bernhard currently I'm assembling my new band - well "new" - it consists of some my fellow musicians I was working with my whole life - and this seems to become the first song we'll go for. As it seems the punk-rock singer of my former band JAMMIN*INC is looking forward to become the vocalist of this formation, which is absolutely awesome. Here's two songs of JAMMIN*INC performed by him (we always had four lead singers): Raggapunk and a Demo of a track which was never realized. The track "Bounce WIth Us" is a good example of the four vocalists representing on a single track - a typical JAMMIN*INC song, Boris is the shouter on the guitar parts.

 

[mikyok]

Learnt to drum at 4, always been the main passion and earner.

Dad taught me guitar at 6. I'm a drunken sing-along master. My mom taught me how to sing in harmony about the same time which has made me more hireable as a musician and I do dep gigs as a singer which is always odd because your drums are a comfort blanket!

I have dabbled on ukelele, dhol drum, and randomly learned to play the digeridoo.

 

[Naigewron]

My primary instrument these days is actually bass. I don't even own a drum kit at the moment.

Other than that, I play acoustic guitar whenever my band does acoustic gigs, and I've been a home noodler on electric guitar for almost 30 years.

I can also find my way around a keyboard and trumpet, but I'm not going to claim that I can actually play those instruments comfortably.

 

[davor]

I often think to myself I'd like to pick up my guitar or bass and see if I can improve on the basics (and I mean basics!), but I never get round to it. I'd rather spend time improving my drumming. One day I'll have enough time perhaps and I could fit in both

 

[Seafroggys]

Piano was actually my original instrument. I also played a bit of trombone before I was a drummer, although I haven't played it seriously in close to two decades at this point, I still remember the mechanics of it (which position plays which note, etc.) but I pick it up every few years and I just sound god awful, haha.

Also play a bit of bass, and I ordered a Chapman Stick that I'm waiting on still.

 

[NouveauCliche]

My parents made me take piano lessons when I was kid - I played tenor sax from grade 6-12 in high school because we didn't need more drummers.

Do I play either any more? Negative - do I find it useful for having discussions with other musicians when it comes to input on tunes, etc...absolutely.

 

[Uncle_MC]

In addition to drumset, I can get around on bass and piano, but not very well. I do not write or produce anything at this time.

Percussion-wise, besides drumset (which I consider my main), I went through a classical music-based college program for a performance degree, so I have achieved a fairly high level of competence on all of the common orchestral percussion instruments like timpani, xylophone, and snare. I've also done a lot on marimba and have studied to some high degree of authenticity the common Brazilian and Afro-Cuban instruments. If you give me a lead-sheet, I can do some very basic improvisation on vibes.

 

[TOMANO]

Bass & Guitar

 

[dwsabianguy]

I started my musical journey on the piano at the age of 7. Took guitar lessons for a few years too, and I have a good enough ear that I can find a melody on just about anything at this point.

 

[Mr Farkle]

Guitar and trumpet. I thought myself guitar after an awful lesson. I eventually learned Travis picking. And I can read music from my time playing trumpet in grade school.

 

[Quai34]

Funny, I think I have already replied to a thread like that, maybe on DFO. Piano first, age 6, my mother was a classical piano concertist, then private lessons, conservatory, started Jazz at 15, first hand at 15, then, Bal party band for 4 years during my business school, jazz orchestra of my town for 2 years, always in keys but with the responsibility to do arrangements as I took 4 years of lessons at the Berkey music school in Paris.
Drums came for 6 months when I started the band, I was supposed to pickup drums, took few weeks of lessons but when I said I wanted to learn it seriously, my Dad told me I would better to capitalize on Piano and because I wanted something more "modern" to play on band than the piano, he offered me an Hammond Organ plus a Leslie....Then synths etc....
But I'm always had in mind to play again drums and to take lessons so, when Finally my wife agreed to let me use the basement for our practice place, after installing the set everyone knows how, I decided to take lessons again...In person....
I have basses and I know how to play the E string and the A string, so, I'm perfectly gig ready level on bass (bassist joke!) And I have 4 guitars and know 5 chords...
Ha yes, harmonica since I was young too learnt in summer camp...too bad there were not female flutist!!!
So. One year after being in Canada, after a stop of 10 years due to kids and being on my own, Took again one year of Piano, classic and jazz.