How many of you played in school band or music programs?

RadioSilence · December 28, 2012

I didn't even take music at school. I only picked up a guitar when I was 17 and had left school.

RadioSilence · December 28, 2012

I didn't even take music at school. I only picked up a guitar when I was 17 and had left school.

Agitator · December 28, 2012

Played violin and then saxophone from third grade through high school. Was very lucky in that I had very cool band directors, especially in middle school and high school. My high school music teacher introduced me to Chick Corea, Keith Emerson, John Coltrane and all kinds of great music, while giving me enough music theory to keep me going for the next few decades.

Agitator · December 28, 2012

Played violin and then saxophone from third grade through high school. Was very lucky in that I had very cool band directors, especially in middle school and high school. My high school music teacher introduced me to Chick Corea, Keith Emerson, John Coltrane and all kinds of great music, while giving me enough music theory to keep me going for the next few decades.

roquero · December 29, 2012

Originally Posted by Phil O'Keefe

Do you still have the score? If so, putting it into a DAW wouldn't be all that difficult, and would give you an idea of what it sounded like. Obviously, getting a real horn section to work it up would be even better. Maybe hit up one of the local colleges and see if you can get a few horn players to play it for you. If you offered them pizza and beer, I'll bet they'd jump at the opportunity.

Great idea, Phil! I am not sure if I still have it. I'll have to dig through the archives.

And here in Tijuana, I can probably offer something less than pizza and beer to get some local players to play it!

roquero · December 29, 2012

Originally Posted by Phil O'Keefe

Do you still have the score? If so, putting it into a DAW wouldn't be all that difficult, and would give you an idea of what it sounded like. Obviously, getting a real horn section to work it up would be even better. Maybe hit up one of the local colleges and see if you can get a few horn players to play it for you. If you offered them pizza and beer, I'll bet they'd jump at the opportunity.

Great idea, Phil! I am not sure if I still have it. I'll have to dig through the archives.

And here in Tijuana, I can probably offer something less than pizza and beer to get some local players to play it!

rileykill · December 29, 2012

I played trumpet from 6th - 12th grade, usually 2nd or 3rd chair in a section of 20+ .... we had a fairly big program, so maybe 2 orchestras of 130 - 160, plus a military style marching band. I loved it. Wish I still had a trumpet.

I did mess around with a friends coronet recently, and i could still remember the scales but my embouchure was nonexistant.

rileykill · December 29, 2012

I played trumpet from 6th - 12th grade, usually 2nd or 3rd chair in a section of 20+ .... we had a fairly big program, so maybe 2 orchestras of 130 - 160, plus a military style marching band. I loved it. Wish I still had a trumpet.

I did mess around with a friends coronet recently, and i could still remember the scales but my embouchure was nonexistant.

HotRats · December 30, 2012

I played alto and bari sax in all the ensembles my high school offered so I'd get to play everyday and I loved it. Didn't really think I was technically good enough to pursue it in college but after my first year I was like {censored} this music is the only thing I'm going to be motivated enough to actually spend time on so I switched to the music program. At this point I'm planning on focusing on Music Ed because the guy who ran the band program at my HS was awesome and taught me how to actually listen to what everyone else is playing. Plus I think it would be fun to get to do my own arrangements and basically just have a band to play whatever I want haha.

HotRats · December 30, 2012

I played alto and bari sax in all the ensembles my high school offered so I'd get to play everyday and I loved it. Didn't really think I was technically good enough to pursue it in college but after my first year I was like {censored} this music is the only thing I'm going to be motivated enough to actually spend time on so I switched to the music program. At this point I'm planning on focusing on Music Ed because the guy who ran the band program at my HS was awesome and taught me how to actually listen to what everyone else is playing. Plus I think it would be fun to get to do my own arrangements and basically just have a band to play whatever I want haha.

riff ie · December 30, 2012

7th grade first seat tenor sax, 8th grade, first seat poo'nd'...

riff ie · December 30, 2012

7th grade first seat tenor sax, 8th grade, first seat poo'nd'...

amp_surgeon · December 30, 2012

In my freshman year in high school my school experimented with a new elective class they called "pop/rock workshop". I had gotten my first acoustic guitar over the summer and learned some chords, and also learned to strum a bunch of songs I liked from my mother's piano books (couldn't read music, but I could read the chord markings above the staff), so I tried out for the class and was selected.

There were four guitarists in the class, and I was the only one with an acoustic, so I asked my parents for an electric guitar for Christmas. They came through with a cheap Teisco spinoff brand guitar and 15W amp, which I played for the remainder of the school year.

We were going to be performing at a school assembly that spring, and the teacher told us all to go home and write a song. She said she'd pick the best one and we'd all learn to play it for the assembly, along with the assortment of pop tunes we were already practicing. I was the only one who actually went home and finished a song, so that's what we played.

They canceled the class after that first year, mainly because of complaints from other teachers about that end of the building being too loud during the last period every day. I played at a couple of school talent shows, and my band played at a couple of dances, but I never took another music class.

amp_surgeon · December 30, 2012

In my freshman year in high school my school experimented with a new elective class they called "pop/rock workshop". I had gotten my first acoustic guitar over the summer and learned some chords, and also learned to strum a bunch of songs I liked from my mother's piano books (couldn't read music, but I could read the chord markings above the staff), so I tried out for the class and was selected.

There were four guitarists in the class, and I was the only one with an acoustic, so I asked my parents for an electric guitar for Christmas. They came through with a cheap Teisco spinoff brand guitar and 15W amp, which I played for the remainder of the school year.

We were going to be performing at a school assembly that spring, and the teacher told us all to go home and write a song. She said she'd pick the best one and we'd all learn to play it for the assembly, along with the assortment of pop tunes we were already practicing. I was the only one who actually went home and finished a song, so that's what we played.

They canceled the class after that first year, mainly because of complaints from other teachers about that end of the building being too loud during the last period every day. I played at a couple of school talent shows, and my band played at a couple of dances, but I never took another music class.

Renoir1 · December 30, 2012

violin

Renoir1 · December 30, 2012

violin

dparr · December 30, 2012

During my early years in school I was taken aside and told, "not everybody is meant to play music".

For the past 15 years I've played music for a living. Go figure!

dparr · December 30, 2012

During my early years in school I was taken aside and told, "not everybody is meant to play music".

For the past 15 years I've played music for a living. Go figure!

lefort_1 · December 30, 2012

born '58, into a musicianless family in Corvallis, OR.

age 7: started/dropped guitar (private lessons w/absolute {censored}e instructor who taught strict Mel Bay), lasted 3 months. Scale Fael.

Harmony Stella. Neck that only a fullgrown hand can love (which I do now, but not back then).

3rd/4th grade: self-taught for a couple years...picked what I liked from Mel Bay books, canned the rest.

Started listening to Sweet Baby James (album), Tea for the Tillerman, and The Dillards.

Developed a combo-style of fingerpicking and ham-fisted chord-banging.

5th/6thgrade: played the trombone on the gradeschool band...one of only two trombonists, there was not much competition nor

were we taught very much technique... the coronets and sax sections (8-10 each) got all the attention.

7th grade middle school: landed in a 100 piece band... 7 trombones. I was run out within 3 weeks by an instructor who did not realize the potential in my Dizzy Gillespie-like cheek technique. The musical vacuum was filled with the guitar.. my mother found a fullsize Harmony Sovereign, used. This continued my legacy of playing big, clunky necks with small hands.

10th grade: family had moved to Roseburg ("Lumber Capitol of The World") in the mid-70's. Heavy influences were Kiss, Alice Cooper, Slade, ZZ Top, Capn BiffHeart and Zappa. Bought a massive Teisco 4 pickup guitar (quite possibly a baritone) and played a combo of classic pieces (eg Jesu, Joy of Man Desiring) and Kiss, Slade covers in a small garage band that went nowhere rxcept into the alley to get high. Faeled in my first "music to get laid" effort.

BUT, I got to play for a year in the High School Jazz Lab band...having that huge neck/small hands thing going, I could sling out little jazz chords all up and down the neck with ease...absolute suckage at lead, tho. But played a ton of Woody Hite/Woody Herman stuff, plus covers of Chicago and a few other impressive pieces (for the time). Used my trusty Silvertone 1485 (4 x 6L6GC ftw, baby !!!). The keyboardist worked at the local music shop so he sported a B3 + Clavinet ... also would "borrow" any pedal he could walk out with, so I got into a Morley Wah (Giant Chrome version). I also bought a Mutron III, to complete the funkification.

Sadly (and mercifully) I was replaced by a far better 11th grade guitarist who moved into town, bringing with him a '66 SG and a '59 LP Jr (dble-cut/suicide neck, dusty-red)...the guy was very adept at all the rock-blues cliches at age 15, and blew me right off the roster. His name was Robert Johnson... I do not keed. I had no chance. He later went on to become a very good Shakti-acoustic player, from what I hear...no idea wht happened to him after that.

After graduating and going to college, I became an acoustic-only guy for decades...mostly due to apartment life, then having kids/family stuffz.

It's only since about 1995 that I got back into the electric.

The Teisco is long gone.

The 1485 head (sans cheeseball chipboard shell) still exists.

I think my nother threw away the Mutron, not knowing what it was...it had been in her garage for over a decade.

lefort_1 · December 30, 2012