Your Musical Instrument

[Bramblethorn]

He clearly never listened to Type O Negative

Or, he listened to TON and it made him feel a kind of way that he couldn't deal with. Wouldn't be the first person to discover their bisexuality after listening to a few minutes of Peter Steele.

(He gets a brief affectionate mention in one of my stories here: the characters are at a goth concert, playing a game where the object is to spot people wearing velcro, latex, fur and feathers.)

 

[Bramblethorn]

In the 1980s I "played" and sang live in the Eurovision Song Contest ( details vague for obvious reasons). I didn't win, but it was the biggest gig I've ever done. Yamaha lent us two Yamaha DX7s, which weren't yet available to the public. They sounded incredible, but I stuck to Fender Rhodes after that until the Kurzweil K2500 came out.

In that case I've heard you performing!

 

[Belegon]

Played bass guitar and guitar all through high school. Started with the guitar to try and impress girls, of course. Found out that for some reason bass suited me better. Played bass for my high school jazz ensemble and pep band, played along with a few guys in garages over the years. Never managed to be consistent enough with my practice to get to the point where I could make money at it, but it certainly has helped me appreciate the gifts of others better than I once would have.

 

[MetaBob]

I taught myself acoustic guitar in college, then fell in love with surf music and bought a Stratocaster. Once I played a Telecaster, I'd found my favorite. I played guitar for many years before deciding I'd probably be better on bass.

I was right.

So now that's mostly what I play. I own too many basses, but they're hard to sell once I get my hands on them. And they all do something different. I gravitate toward Fenders and G&Ls. I don't read music well, but I learn very quickly by ear; on bass, I can have a piece ready to perform in a few hours. Guitar takes a few days.

It's nothing like writing. Writing is a solitary endeavor; music is best played with, or for, or in preparation for performing with, other people. I enjoy being in my low-key [bass joke!] band at work. We play out a few times a year. I can also dabble in lapsteel, penny whistle, and harmonica. I've built my own ukuleles, whistles, and guitars in the past, from scratch. That was fun.

WHAT IS THAT RACKET!?