* Define 'really' and 'primary' however ya' like.
I'm a 'No'. Guitar>Bass Guitar. 4th grade trumpet N/A.
I'm a 'No'. Guitar>Bass Guitar. 4th grade trumpet N/A.
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Poll for Multi-Instrumentalists
- Thread starter TwentyHz
- Start date
Mother was married to a music teacher/violist in the local symphony.
Us kids had to play violin. There were four of us. Pretty sure I hated every minute of it. Did that from maybe age 7-10.
Was allowed to pick a secondary instrument in 5th grade. For reasons unbeknownst to me, chose cello. Used to walk to school about a mile - helluva long way to schlep a cello so didn't really practice much. Mother got divorced in about 8th grade and I no longer had to play.
Use it or lose it. Forgot how to read proficiently in both treble and bass clefs. Still know the basics and could probably pick it up fairly quickly with practice but read music at about a 1st grade level.
Bought an acoustic guitar when I was about 18 with the goal of being able to sing and play at a campfire. Self-taught, I recall thinking while I was struggling to learn that this was a lifetime process. Been playing for 40 years. Pretty good rhythm player, decent singer. Ended up picking up a bunch of electrics as well.
Bought my first bass in 2012 (MIM Jazz), started playing and doing vocals in a basement band. Picked up an esoteric (Retronix), an acoustic (Breedlove), semi-hollow (D'Angelico), 80s P-Bass, Fretless Epiphone Zephyr and most recently a hollowbody Gretsch 5123b. Never sold any of 'em so pretty much set up with basses through retirement.
Picked up a mandolin last year. Figured that after playing bass a 14" fretboard would be a piece of cake. Then I learned a four-finger 'G' chord... Tuned in fifths like the violin, very easy to pick out melodies on the mando. Maybe that early experience with the violin facilitates the process, but it is much easier for me to pick out melodies on the mando than guitar.
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none (Alison Krauss reference). Don't really seem to favor one over the other. Seem to be in a mando phase right now.
As a solo instrument, much easier to sing and play guitar than bass. Mandolin can be pretty shrill (thinking about picking up a mandola which is the viola equivalent of the mandolin family) and my wife hates it. So for performance usually play acoustic and sing.
Just picked up a Ditto looper earlier this week, which allows me to record a bass line then play it back while playing guitar. Haven't fully explored it yet, but the Ditto allows up to a five minute loop. Working on the Cure's 'Love Cats' for the first song. Super fun and catchy bass line. The idea is to do a little performance on Christmas where I break out the bass and record the bass line into the Looper, then put down the bass and play guitar and sing while the looper plays the bass line.
I love music, listening to it and performing it. Hope to continue to play for the rest of my life. Wear hearing protection! It will allow you to continue enjoying music longer than if you don't.
Us kids had to play violin. There were four of us. Pretty sure I hated every minute of it. Did that from maybe age 7-10.
Was allowed to pick a secondary instrument in 5th grade. For reasons unbeknownst to me, chose cello. Used to walk to school about a mile - helluva long way to schlep a cello so didn't really practice much. Mother got divorced in about 8th grade and I no longer had to play.
Use it or lose it. Forgot how to read proficiently in both treble and bass clefs. Still know the basics and could probably pick it up fairly quickly with practice but read music at about a 1st grade level.
Bought an acoustic guitar when I was about 18 with the goal of being able to sing and play at a campfire. Self-taught, I recall thinking while I was struggling to learn that this was a lifetime process. Been playing for 40 years. Pretty good rhythm player, decent singer. Ended up picking up a bunch of electrics as well.
Bought my first bass in 2012 (MIM Jazz), started playing and doing vocals in a basement band. Picked up an esoteric (Retronix), an acoustic (Breedlove), semi-hollow (D'Angelico), 80s P-Bass, Fretless Epiphone Zephyr and most recently a hollowbody Gretsch 5123b. Never sold any of 'em so pretty much set up with basses through retirement.
Picked up a mandolin last year. Figured that after playing bass a 14" fretboard would be a piece of cake. Then I learned a four-finger 'G' chord... Tuned in fifths like the violin, very easy to pick out melodies on the mando. Maybe that early experience with the violin facilitates the process, but it is much easier for me to pick out melodies on the mando than guitar.
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none (Alison Krauss reference). Don't really seem to favor one over the other. Seem to be in a mando phase right now.
As a solo instrument, much easier to sing and play guitar than bass. Mandolin can be pretty shrill (thinking about picking up a mandola which is the viola equivalent of the mandolin family) and my wife hates it. So for performance usually play acoustic and sing.
Just picked up a Ditto looper earlier this week, which allows me to record a bass line then play it back while playing guitar. Haven't fully explored it yet, but the Ditto allows up to a five minute loop. Working on the Cure's 'Love Cats' for the first song. Super fun and catchy bass line. The idea is to do a little performance on Christmas where I break out the bass and record the bass line into the Looper, then put down the bass and play guitar and sing while the looper plays the bass line.
I love music, listening to it and performing it. Hope to continue to play for the rest of my life. Wear hearing protection! It will allow you to continue enjoying music longer than if you don't.
No, but it's still in the running. Started on clarinet, but bass clarinet is my first musical "true love". 
Trying to get my chops back after decades off.
Trying to get my chops back after decades off.
I a secret meeting behind closed garage doors, it was determined I was the worst of three guitar players, and was relegated to playing bass. That was 2,000 gigs ago. I never wrote to thank my old band mates.
