Musical background.

In fourth grade music we all learned to play the Tonette. From that experience, I learned Every Good Boy Does Fine, and FACE. In fifth grade I took up the Trumpet in school, and quit before I got to sixth.

For my 45th birthday my mother for some reason had a guilt trip for selling my trumpet. Thinking that if she had kept it, I might have started playing it again, she bought me a trumpet. I went to the music store, bought some beginner trumpet books, and got myself back to where I was when I quit in the first place. Didn't like playing the trumpet any better than I did in the fifth grade.

Winter of 2013/2014, hung around most of the winter in San Juan, PR with my neighbor, a drummer, and his brother-in-law, guitar player. Played some rhythm on the pandereta with them.

April of 2014, age 64, took up the ukulele.

Prior to April, that is the extent of my musical experience. The ukulele is my first stringed instrument. At times I feel like what I don't know about music is overwhelming. Other times I feel fortunate that I'm a clean slate. Most of the time I don't think much about it either way. Obviously, I was thinking about it when I wrote this thread though.

Know what you mean about early music lessons. At about the same young ages I had accordion lessons (small 12-bass). When no one noticed after I hadn't touched it for a couple years, I gave it to a kid my age who just immigrated and also played - definitely a win-win.

Rllink said:

At times I feel like what I don't know about music is overwhelming.

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I've been doing something musical for most of my 46 years and I still feel that way.

Jim Hanks said:

I've been doing something musical for most of my 46 years and I still feel that way.

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Fifty five years,same for me.....

Almost 62 and as of 4:00 pm today I know everything about music.

Age 6 - learned to play piano and the lovely EGBDF and FACE
Age 9 - learned guitar
Age 13 - played flute in my school band
Age 32 - picked up the uke and never looked back!

Somewhere in there I also learned to play the ocarina but that only impresses the guy that hand makes them at the Ren-Faire and people who love The Legend of Zelda hehe.

Can't read music, but sang in choirs from 7th grade on. As a high school senior, I found out that the choir directors all thought I could read music because I picked it up so fast. They played my part once or twice, and I had it. I quit choir in college, when choir director insisted I sing Operatic Tenor Style - which hurt both my throat, and ears.

Only instrument lessons I took in elementary school were drum lessons - kicked out ofter 1/2 year because I was still unable to do a quarter-note roll. I know what a time signature is, but can't put it into practice to save my life.

Taught myself to play guitar when I was 13 by memorizing chord diagrams in the back of "Alfred's Basic Guitar Course Book One", and played (mediocre at best) until an arm injury about 4-1/2 years ago.

My late father-in-law gave me his 1950s Harmony 3 years ago on Thanksgiving, and I've found I can play for hours without any problems - so I do.

I have several ukuleles - probably more than average, but play them all.

I still can't read music, and have a hard time remembering the names of the strings (gCEA, I think?), but I play by ear, and enjoy every second of it.

I can count on one hand how many things I think I know about music. Based on experience, I'm probably selling myself short, but still feel like a complete beginner.

In a nutshell:
Piano
French Horn in public school band and orchestra
Los Angeles Conservatory of Music
Community Symphony Orchestras
USAF NORAD Band
California State University Northridge Band and Orchestra
Alto Horn (British Tenor Horn)
Monterey Peninsula College Jazz Band
Salvation Army Band
Great Highland Bagpipe
1st Salinas Valley Highlanders Pipe Band
Piper at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach
Ukulele
Along the way I've encountered the Autoharp, Recorders, Guitar, Harmonica, and the Musical Saw

I have literally zero experience. As in nothing ever... Picked up the uke at around age 35 figuring it would be good for relaxing from work. I'm just a basic strummer but it does work well for relaxing/decompressing/having fun with. For me that's good enough.... My brother played drums/drumline in high school. My uncle plays trumpet and taught music, so there is some rhythmic ability in my genes somewhere.

Received my first uke at age 10. My Dad taught me "Yes Sir, that's my Baby". It took me about 55 years to learn any more songs and pick up a few more ukes....see signature. Between those times, I blew on a harmonica, banged on some conga and bongo drums and tried to learn guitar and bass about 10 years ago with few results.

Age 2: Took rubber bands and strung them on the drawer pulls of my mom's dresser and played them, improving ways to be musical
Age 11: Started Clarinet and pursued it through school
Age 22: Taught elementary music and band after graduating from college
20's/30's: Take up some instruments and try guitar unsuccessfully
Age 34: Took some time off from music so I could change lots of poopy diapers
Late 30's: Started teaching lessons again and remembered just how much I love it
40's: Teaching lessons to wind instrument students, playing ukulele, clarinet and flute and loving it.

And I feel like I have only scratched the surface in what I want to learn. That's okay; it's the journey, not the destination, that excites me.

In school they made us learn a few songs on plastic recorders. I joined the school band bacause my friends did, but only played bass drum (doesnt count really!) I got a set of bongo drums at a yard sale but never learned how to play them. I finally got into learning music in 2012 with the perchase of my Hugh Tracey alto kalimba. But I recently fell in love with the ukulele at 28. I no longer worry about being percieved as "cool" so being a beginner at music is not a problem.

Started on Trumpet in fourth grade. Played through ninth grade (plus Drum Major).
Switched to French Horn for high school orchestra and Baritone Horn in marching band (too short for Drum Major).
Also played 2nd Trombone in a dance band, and sang in Choir and boy's Glee Club. Played a little Sousaphone for
kicks, but they're hell on a windy day.
Played Bugle in the Keesler AFB Drum and Bugle Corps -- lotta fun.
After a long break, I bought a 2nd hand Cornet and played it for a long time. In addition, I taught myself to play a
borrowed flute (using old trumpet music), and later bought one of my own (Later sold) .
Then I went berserk and bought a French Horn. My first musical failure. I fought with that darn thing for years but
just couldn't re-master it. So I traded it for a Euphonium which turned out to be my second musical failure. I just
didn't have enough lip for the high notes.
Sometime in there I bought a King Tuba that I really, really love. It's a blast to play. I play all kinds of music on it.
Then I traded the euphonium for a Baritone Horn, and it's all right. I also bought a keyboard--only a partial failure.
Whew! Then I bought another Flute which I still play, and later an Alto Flute which I play and like even better. I'd
Like a Bass Flute, but they're too expensive. I've picked up over the years a bunch of wooden flutes (Baroque, Irish,
Fifes and wooden piccolos. I also played Harmonicas (and still do) for a long time.
Then I got the urge to sing again, and took an old Uke that my Godmother (a Hawaiian lady) gave me many years
ago off the wall to accompany myself. After that, I got a mild case of UAS and got the Ukes that I have now.
I want a new Alto Flute and two or three more Ukes, but I think I'm too old to keep buying all this stuff. I don't know
what the heck my wife's gonna do with all this stuff when I kick the bucket.
Well, that's my musical history except for what I've forgotten. ld:

I suppose I began in my church choir as a preschooler.
I began piano lessons at 6 and played until I was 13. I learned most of my theory and how to read music that way.

I played clarinet in the school band for one year. I didn't hate the clarinet but I sure hated band. Then I tried guitar lessons in high school (mostly to impress boys) but I wasn't really in the right frame of mind.

I stuck with choir through college, even though I majored in other things. I met my husband there. He's a guitar player and even teaches a bit so he's been helpful when it comes to teaching my piano/choir brain to "get" strings.

I suppose things are coming full circle because I took up the uke to teach music to the preschoolers at church.

Music is wonderful.

@Down Up Dick. You've had some pretty neat experiences, IMO. I don't see any of them as mistakes either. It's a lot of fun to try new things in music. I'm currently an intermediate level trumpet player and I play in public concerts and with various groups. I've bought and sold a number of horns and currently have a trumpet, cornet, and flugelhorn. It took me some purchases and sales to get the ones that work best for me. I've also been on the mouthpiece safari. I quit playing at age 15 and didn't start again until age 65. I have some ukes, but I'm still a rookie. I've tried piano and guitar but I could see that they would be really difficult for me to learn. I have no big ambitions to be a great uke player--only to have fun which I'm having. If there are instruments you want to try and can afford it, I say, why not? You might sell them at a loss later, but so what? Trumpet playing is becoming a little of a chore for me because I no longer want to spend as much time practicing. That's the price you have to pay to play a brass instrument in keeping your chop muscles in shape. Whereas with the uke it's not so hard to get back in playing shape--at least for the types of songs that I try and play. My problem is that I have too many playing commitments. People ask me to play and I can't seem to say no. The commitments cut down on traveling and other things as well. I guess the uke could save me from that though. When I'm asked to play, if I bring a uke instead of my horn, they won't ask me to play there again .

Down Up Dick said:

My first musical failure. ld:

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I don't believe in musical failure - or at least, those experiences aren't just failures... They carried you to where you are now in your musical life. I think you've done some cool stuff.

You and I have played quite a few of the same instruments.

Ukejenny, I really like the sound of a clarinet especially the low range. I bought an old metal one from a pawn shop near Keesler AFB, and I was gonna teach myself to play it. However, there's a rule against playing musical instruments in the barracks, so I took it back. Luckily the store guy gave me my money back. I can play clarinet a little bit.

If I were 50 years younger and had unlimited funds, I'd learn to play the banjo and/or the oboe. I have a fantasy that I'm locked in a music store over night and can try out all the instruments. Wouldn't that be fun? Later ld:

Down Up Dick said:

Ukejenny, I really like the sound of a clarinet especially the low range. I bought an old metal one from a pawn shop near Keesler AFB, and I was gonna teach myself to play it. However, there's a rule against playing musical instruments in the barracks, so I took it back. Luckily the store guy gave me my money back. I can play clarinet a little bit.

If I were 50 years younger and had unlimited funds, I'd learn to play the banjo and/or the oboe. I have a fantasy that I'm locked in a music store over night and can try out all the instruments. Wouldn't that be fun? Later ld:

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Consider the four-string tenor banjo. Just restrung mine tonight from GDAE to CGDA and it's a fun instrument.

SteveZ, learning new information isn't an old person's forte. I'm having enough problems with the Uke. Just to learn all the chords I know, I've had to play them over and over. And sometimes I start to play something, and I can't remember a chord. I have to look it up.

My embochure is on it's way out too. Some days I can still play well but some not. That's one of the reasons that I picked up the Uke -- Ahh well . . . ld:

Down Up Dick said:

SteveZ, learning new information isn't an old person's forte. I'm having enough problems with the Uke. Just to learn all the chords I know, I've had to play them over and over. And sometimes I start to play something, and I can't remember a chord. I have to look it up.

My embochure is on it's way out too. Some days I can still play well but some not. That's one of the reasons that I picked up the Uke -- Ahh well . . . ld:

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Our section leader (23 trumpets) in our symphonic band is 87 years old and still very close to the best player in the section. AT 75, my chops are starting to feel flubbery at times, but I think I have a few years left. No chops problems with my ukes, though.