What instrument did/do you play in school?

[benzem]

Me? Trombone. Wanted to play drums. Actually it was pretty cool. LOUD to scare the girls. And it's got a built-in recoiling weapon. And that's not counting the spit valve.

 

I played in the H..S and College Jazz bands in H.S. and learned sight reading, theory and most importantly, how to play in a band.( I have seen so many good gtr players that can't due to timing). It was very easy to apply this to the gtr. when I FINALLY got a cheapo acoustic at 27.

 

You?

[ESchmidt]

None, I didnt even start playing guitar until I was a Senior in high school.

[book_of_lies777]

I didn't start playing guitar until I was 19 and in the Air Force. (I'm 41 now)

[fw190]

Euphonium and bass guitar.

[Saturn]

I started out playing trumpet in the grade school and Jr. High bands. I got kicked out of the Jr. High band and started taking Piano lessons. Got my first real guitar at about 15.

[czarny]

I played the trumpet for a while. Always regretted not picking up the drums though. I was really good at the trumpet, I just hated playing it. I played bass on a song for one middle school concert, but it was such a pain to carry around my dad's old 70's Rick just for a song or two that I quit band all together.

[SlayerofShadows]

Violin and Percussion in elementary school, took a break during Jr. High, then Piano and Guitar in High School.

[GASSER]

Started on trumpet at age 10, then switched to alto sax at age 12. Started learning guitar at 18. Still have my trumpet... wish I still had my sax.

[Bobby D]

Me? Trombone. Wanted to play drums. Actually it was pretty cool. LOUD to scare the girls. And it's got a built-in recoiling weapon. And that's not counting the spit valve. I played in the H..S and College Jazz bands in H.S. and learned sight reading, theory and most importantly, how to play in a band.( I have seen so many good gtr players that can't due to timing). It was very easy to apply this to the gtr. when I FINALLY got a cheapo acoustic at 27. You?

 

GREAT THREAD IDEA:thu::thu:

 

I played guitar at age 5. But when I was in elementary/junior high, I played snare drum, tritoms, and bass drum in marching band.

 

I also played in "stage band" in junior high, playing guitar, doing stuff like "Breezin" by George Benson and "Girl from Impanema"

 

When I went to bootcamp (ex-Navy Electronic Warfare Tech), first night of bootcamp they had everybody lined up, and asked which ones of us were "musicians".

 

You usually DONT raise your hand in bootcamp

 

I did.

 

They ended up putting us high school banders into a "drill company", which meant for the last 4 weeks of bootcamp, I was rehearsing with the marching band instead of having to do pushups with the regular recruits.

 

It ALWAYS pays to be a musician

[rhat]

I was a walk on for jazz band my senior year on piano. played drums in jr high band.

[rock-lobster]

guitar, learning bass and harmonica.

[Mesa/Kramer]

I played guitar in the High School Jazz Band.

Even won state championship my Jounior year.

[stormin1155]

Took piano lessons for a couple years. Started trombone at age 10. Played it through high school. Got my first guitar at age 14.

[lndianScout]

violin orchestra

 

guitar jazz band

[Vinhoff]

Recorder, it brought the brootalz

[Bobby D]

I "lettered" in Chorus.

 

gheyest thing evar, according to the football guys.

 

of course, i was hooking up with their girls in chorus class while they were out sweating on the football field:cop:

[Tron Murphy]

Started out in 5th grade on saxophones. Got to get some experience with alto first, then baritone and tenor in the following years. Started learning guitar at age 12. In school band I moved on to percussion/drumline my sophomore year and stayed there until graduation. Took music theory my last 2 years of high school.

 

It was lots of fun and I learned a {censored} ton.

 

During high school everyone loved to make fun of the band geeks. Now they all wish they had done it too. It was a good way to learn about music, and it made me a way better guitar player and musician in general (not saying I'm really good or anything).

[BlackCat]

I played clarinet for about a month in fourth grade. (and I sounded like this guy).

 

[sinister midget]

Clarinet.

Tenor Sax

Oboe

Bassoon

Bass Clarinet

Trombone

Piano

[EllenGtrGrl]

Hmmmmm lesseee.....

 

My grampa (a luthier), made me my first guitar (a small parlor style acoustic), when I was 6. I never really learned how to play at that age.

 

Next, was Baritone Euphonium in symphonic band from 6th grade, through my sophomore year of college. I learned musical theory (which came in handy, when I took up guitar in earnest, because it accelerated my learning rate on it), and how to play with people in an ensemble situation (to this day, I find it more fun playing guitar in a band situation, than solo). I agree with benzem, I've played with others, who due to a lack of ensemble experience, never do learn how to interact musically in a band situation.

 

Marching band from 8th through 12th grade was fun. I played Baritone Euphonium in the 8th and 9th grade jr. high marching band, and valve trombone from 10th to 12th grade in the high school marching band (valve trombone is a pretty snarky sounding instrument). I had some fun experiences in high school marching band. We played and marched during halftime at a Green Bay Packers game (somebody informed us that we were even broadcast nationally during the NFL halftime show, as the back ground to the announcers). We also marched and played at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN. Oh yeah, and unlike many marching bands, we didn't use those cheesy mini music holders on our instruments. The directors wanted us to concentrate on our marching steps, so we were required to memorize all of the music we played!

 

Jazz band? - other than an abortive stint at playing bass as a sophomore in the high school jazz band (it just didn't excite me, like it did our other bass player, so I basically told her, "be my guest", and bailed from jazz band), I didn't really do jazz band until my sophomore year of college. I got caught noodling on a Gibson Grabber bass in the music room (I'd already been playing guitar for 5 years), and the instructor asked me why I was doing so? Did I want to join the jazz band? I didn't want to get in trouble, so I said sure. So I spent the next semester (maybe two), playing big band and swing standards on valve trombone, in the junior college jazz band.

 

I took up guitar in earnest at age 15, and have been playing ever since (including stints in bands).

 

BTW, what a cool thread!

[Captain Commie]

Started out playing cello in 4th grade and did it for 8 years. The BEST thing I ever did for my guitar playing. Most of the theory, hand strength, rhythm and timing and intonation I had down pat before I even touched a guitar.

 

I picked up Bass guitar when I was in 8th grade right when I was at my cousins house and he had just got his tele. Bass was pretty easy, as I could already read the music, had the finger strength and bass had frets!!! No more worrying about intonation like on a cello.

 

Later that week my dad said that it was time for my brothers and me to form a band and he bought us our blue mexi strat. However, I did not get serious about playing guitar until I was in 10th grade. (the motivator was that I had just became Zeppelin nut in 9th grade so I had some insperation).

[ajympt]

Clarinet from grade school through my junior year- the coolest thing

( and you know that a guy who went through high school with a mullet and a clarinet understands cool ) was when I figured out that I could say I had a band lesson and pretty much buy myself a free pass out of almost any class I wanted as long as I spaced it out right- there were like 1500 people in my HS so as long as you stayed low key no one really checked up on you.

I sold it a few years ago - I tried it one last time and could still play the fight song and a lot of the pep band {censored}- kind of surprised myself.

[EllenGtrGrl]

Started out in 5th grade on During high school everyone loved to make fun of the band geeks. Now they all wish they had done it too. It was a good way to learn about music, and it made me a way better guitar player and musician in general (not saying I'm really good or anything).

 

I agree! I may have learned music theory in bass clef , but I had enough theory to still be able to get by reading guitar music, even though it's in treble clef. Also, I sure got a lot of harmony theory out of the formal training I had to take. And, formal theory training, made it easier for me to learn the notes on the fretboard, dissect chords, and reconstruct them when I played guitar. Also, many people forget that when learning new songs in band, you oftentimes are played recordings those songs, to listen to your parts, and get a feel for how they sound. So you do learn ear training. To this day, when I hear a song I like, I have a tendancy to unconsciously use my ear training to dissect it playingwise.

 

BTW, how many of you had to learn sight reading? Some of those pieces I had to sight read were pretty nasty!

[fw190]

 

Next, was Baritone Euphonium

 

 

From one baritone/euphonium player to another--there is no baritone euphonium, just one or the other.

[sk8centilli]

Private electric bass lessons.

 

After my sister begged my parents to buy her a flute, then quit a couple of years later, my mom threatened me that if I took up an instrument I would have to play it all the way through high school. Apparently that was too much of a commitment for me because at the ripe old age of 10, I chose not to go into "band" for that reason alone. Five years later I bought a {censored}ty JB Player Bass and started lessons (to this day I can't remember if it was a P or J bass knockoff).