Arbo’s thread has us sharing our flutes, but I’m curious what else people play.
In my case, it’s pretty much just flute. I also have an acoustic guitar (Yamaha FG 300 from the early '70s) I rarely play any more, and a whistle (Burke narrow bore D) I no longer play (it’s for sale).
Piano, concertina (sort of), pipes (rarely).
I only play enough flute to keep my embouchure barely in shape for tuning and voicing. Its my 9 to 5 after all! I rarely listen to Irish music even.
Frankly, at times I can’t stand the flute - especially when I have too many clients rudely calling me at such times as Sunday Evening to hassle me about some late instrument delivery. I do enjoy making them however and as they say, “Its a Job”.
Flute-wise, however, I want to play Requinta in F, used in Galician music.
Other wind instruments currently played: Gaita Gallega, Cornemuse Bechonnet from France. The latter less frequently.
Guitar - I am teaching myself to play swing, and Gypsy Jazz a la Django Reinhardt. Am apparently good enough that my friends tolerate my solos occasionally at Swing sessions at Lark Camp and elsewhere. When I first showed up at that camp with a guitar and sat in a session, my friend Mark Nelson, who has known me as a bagpipe player for decades, patronizingly put his hand on my shoulder with a smile on his face and said to me “Casey, you know that this is a much more Socially Acceptable instrument!” (I heartily agree with him)
Ukelele.
I plan to play jazz clarinet, and Accordina if I can afford one, eventually.
Dormant musical activities - I will compose an opera someday. A writer friend of mine is already working on a libretto, based on shared experiences. Sketching for it has been in progress for the last decade. I studied music composition under Tomas Svoboda in my college days and have always wanted to return to that. A new iMac which arrives tomorrow and a Finale upgrade with its Sonata sound font will probably stimulate this activity again. During college I was in several choruses and nearly wore out my vocal chords singing the Britten War Requiem with the Oregon Symphony while singing Brahms in another chorus and Mozart in Cosi. We even sang some J.C. Menotti for the man himself. His advice to us: “Diction!!!” With some training, I wouldn’t mind singing some opera again, but as a baritone rather than a tenor. But not a character like Don Giovanni or Othello or WOtan. I never had the endurance! Maybe Hagen.
I still enjoy listening to opera, and watching the occasional one. I sat through Wagner’s Ring about 18 years ago. Might not repeat that. But I heartily recommend the HD Simulcasts of the Met Opera from New York. I just saw Tosca and was impressed. The camera work was excellent - and not hyperactive like so many MTV broadcasts.
Casey
For a couple of decades, my primary instrument was mountain dulcimer. I still break it out now and then.
I play whistle in the car during commutes.
My dream is to play the lever harp, possibly Portuguese guitarra. We have bought the instruments, but the learning curve for those, at least for my wife and me, is much steeper.
I play the lottery.
Is that what they’re calling Bryan Byrne’s (or Patrick Olwell’s or Chris Wilkes’s) waiting list now? I was just talking with a friend last night at the session who’s playing it too!
hoping to finance something else to add to your resume, Brad?
Like Brad, I also play the lottery. It is my one chance for a prosperous future. As a child, I took lessons on the guitar (plectum style) for several years. I taught myself to play the classical guitar, and that has been with me for 40 years. At one time I was good enough to play in guitar concerts with the classical guitar society in Tucson. Along the way I have learned to play several other instruments, including the violin, viola, and cello, mandolin, djembe and frame drums, piano/keyboard, flute, whistle, harmonica, and shakuhachi. Mostly, however, I mouth whistle, sing, hum, bang my pencils, and tap my foot.
I played guitar for a very long time before taking up the flute – about 20 years in fact. I played mainly fingerstyle acoustic and classical. Tried a bit of Celtic style guitar as well. In all the years I played I never considered myself a “guitarist” or a “musician”; I just thought of myself as a hack. Although I could play along with any guitarist (as long as I could see their fingers) and could play many tunes in many styles, it never felt “right” to me. I got many compliments on my guitar playing over the years, but I never took the instrument seriously. I never delved into the music theory behind the guitar, and what I played was basically learned through memorization.
I rarely have taken my guitar out of the case since picking up the flute two years ago. The few times I did try and strum a few tunes I was VERY rusty, and it all felt a bit nostalgic. At least I’m able to construct and play some simple guitar backing tracks when I record my flute playing, but I’ve done little else lately with the guitar.
Perhaps I should have kept at it, but I turned all of my musical energy toward the flute. At least now there is some “musicality” to my playing (flute playing, that is) and, as new as it all still is, I seem much more at home with this new instrument of choice.
Yamaha 200AD Boehm flute–their bottom-of-the-line flute and it is truly AWESOME for the price ($500). Play classical on it (I get way more classical gigs than Irish/Celtic), but since my Irish flutes are in the shop, I’ve found it has serious potential for ITM as well.
Freeman tweaked Sweetone (squeeze in a jig/reel at most gigs and people just love the whistle).
Bang guitar. Played bass in a band for a while.
Sing decently (mainly pop/rock).
Bang piano chords.
Played jazz sax a long time ago, never to return, though Coltrane and Bird are two of my greatest musical inspirations.
I also play whistle (obviously), bodhran, trumpet, natural trumpet, cornetto, and recorder. I dabble at the quena.
Pat
Horses.
Lotteries are for suckers.
-Tin whistle
-Low Whistle
-Acoustic guitar
-Electric guitar
-Some piano
-Some drums
-And I have a cheap didgeridoo that I got as a gift, that I have played maybe twice
Harp, handbells, mountain dulcimer & hammered dulcimer and as of two months ago, alto sax. My daughter went back to school and took a third of the church horn section with her. As my son is part of the other two-thirds (tenor sax) and without a driver’s license I had to take him to rehearsals so my brother-in-law (music director) suggested I pick up her sax. It’s been a lot of fun. Sometimes I have to ask the boy for a fingering. We’re going to try to borrow a bari so all three of us can play when she comes home for the holidays.
Uilleann Pipes,
Concertina (Jeffries anglo)
BC Accordion,
Tenor Banjo,
Mandolin
Guitar,
Whistle.
Trombone, tuba, trumpet and cornet.
1st study sax player, teach woodwind in school.
Play electric bass in my band.
Musical heroes would be John Coltrane, Jaco Pastorius & Eric Dolphy
I think I’d like to play with my digital tape recorder in Glinjack’s kitchen! 
Just the flute. That’s more than enough for me!
I’m back to playing the 12 string acoustic guitar with the folk group at church since the other guitar player left. I still get to play the flute for a few of the Mass parts.
I keep a harmonica in my pocket and I play this whenever I’m waiting in line or have to kill time.
I play the simple flute in my livingroom and other places that I can get away with it. This is now my primary instrument.
I keep a whistle and a fife (and other fun stuff) in my work computer bag. I’m a social worker and sometimes it comes in pretty handy to have a bag full of tricks.
I try to regularly play my whistles, the silver flute, my ocarina, and concertina to keep in practice.
Side note: We have a new dog. All of the other dogs we had lived for my wife’s daily piano recital for their benefit. When we’re both practicing in different rooms, Lucky will come my way to listen to my flute rather than her piano music. At the moment, Lucky likes me better too.