I know a thread has been established in the past that asked what other instruments you play, but what instruments have you tried to play and failed?

So far, I have three that have been failures: Piano/keyboard, Bass guitar and Mandolin.

Now, I can pick out a tune or two on each of those instruments (and they sound ok), but considering the amount of effort I have put into them, I should be reasonably proficient...I have put far less effort into my other instruments (guitar, harmonica, vocals) and became fairly good.

Another instrument that I have failed to master should have come fairly easy: Chromatic Harmonica. Not to brag, but I'm pretty good with a Diatonic harp...I can do just about anything I set my mind to (outside of the brilliant out-of-this-world stuff by artists like Lee Oskar, Kim Wilson and John Popper...those guys are in leagues of their own), and have always done it farly easily.

But after buying a chromatic harp, I discovered a degree of bafflement equal to the mysteries of "What is that woman thinking?" and "Why did Tony Romo throw a three-yard pass when they needed twenty yards?"

I have not given up on any of these instruments, but I have experienced much frustration, due to the lack of epiphanies or progress coming out of my efforts.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

To this day I don´t know how I passed piano harmony at school.
I am a piano AWOL fugitive.
I was also taking oboe at the time and did so for a year and a half, until my teacher kindly got me off the hook.
17 years later I realize I learned a lot from that, but I still failed miserably.

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FIGHT!

I'm a pretty mean Cellist, but AWFUL at violin....

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(former user jimbo612)

I suck badly at saxophone I just make it sound like a goose with throat cancer
I cannot play any stringed instrument with a bow. I just can't get the hang of it
mandolin is a bit to cramped for me to play decent enough to jam, I have big hands
and I cannot play brass instruments at all.
but I can play piano drums bass and banjo fairly well. good enough I can fill in for people

oh and I can play a mean cow bell!!!!!

I havnt tried much else

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I have to admit I've failed dismally at playing Sax, Trumpet and most of the wind instruments. I can write charts for them...but play 'em....(cat with its tongue caught in an electrical outlet )

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

basically everything apart from the occasional instrument that you have to strum with your right hand

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riley

Woodwinds. I can sort of play woodwinds (clarinet, sax, etc...) but am pretty bad. I'm more of a brass player anyway. The only woodwind instrument I can play a little better than the rest in the group is flute. My daughters played flute for years in the school band, so naturally, I goofed around with it and made myself learn how to play it.

It's weird.... Give me any brass instrument (trumpet, euphonium(baritone), french horn, and trombone and tuba) and I will play it with proficiency (more especially the trumpet) and can hold my own. But put a woodwind instrument in my hands, and I will honk and squeak like a goose!

When I was younger I would have loved to have been a drummer,but several times just sitting behind a set proved to me that I was too uncoordinated.

Hi SA seen a few threads of late mentioning harps and it's sorta peeked my interest in getting a hold of one, seen a couple of guys playing live then Rhumba's blues gear thread had me set my sights on buying some but had my head turned at the final hurdle by a couple of pedals ( pics on Rhumba's thread) I will eventually get hold of one and the chromatic sort was the way I intended going, now I'm not so sure, love that lush full sound I thought was found with the chromatic type, is my thinking way out on this assumption, Toots Theilemans glorious playing is sort of what gets me goose bumpy, not even sure what the button on the side of the chromatic does just thought I'd jump in at the deep end, any advice most welcome, Cheers

Toots is the man...
In my experience with most diatonic harps (the normal basic old plain harmonica), you can either play them or you can't...it's kinda like singing, you have to have the beginning of some kind of natural ability to do it. You will get better with practice, but if you've jacked around with it for a month and haven't seen improvement, it might not be for you. Get a C harp or a D...that will let you cross-key (most blues played in cross harp) to G and A, respectively.

Now, as I noted above, Chromatic harps are a different animal. I haven't yet figured it out, but I'm bound and determined to do something with the dang thing...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Mmmm kinda like singing, would whistling do I might just go as you suggest SA, Rhumba's set were pretty inexpensive I'll see how my curiosity pans out and see how I get to grips with it, although I can be a determind sod and probably grab a chromatic also just.......well just because I'm curious, I'll take a look at the players you mentiond also
Thanks SA

I play a pretty mean kazoo and can rock the tambourine like nobodys business!

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Bass is my first instrument, but if someone asks what I play I generally say guitar, even if the extent of my guitar playing is a Johnny Greenwood impression and a few songs that girls like.
I also play a bit of piano, but really just enough to get people to say "Oh, I didn't know you played the piano."
I used to play the drums, but I gave it up because there were so many drummers in my year in school that it wasn't good business sense.
I played the trumpet for two or three years when I was younger, and I was always top of my theory class even though I never went, but thats just because it was all rock musicians who generally don't know their anacrusis from their elbow.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

+1...I would love to play the drums, but I don't think I was cut out for it. I have tried, and failed miserably many times.

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I am with you Reb...can't even keep a decent beat on a snare...can't figure out how my son plays 'em so well...I thought drums, what's so difficult...I have a whole new respect for drummers...even if they are ALL a bit crazy!

T2

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