I think I'm spread too thin

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 8:53 pm

I was very tempted to buy a tenor recorder on eBay the other day then a little voice in my head told me not to. In the past five months in addition to oodles of cheap whistles and a couple not-cheap whistes, I've bought:

boehm flute
bamboo flute
quena
soprano recorder
glockenspiel
istruction books/tudors for them

I've also been playing my clarinet, an old keyboard, and now the guitar.

I suck at everything because I try to do everything. The thing I'm best at is whistle but not because I'm good, it's because I'm so bad at everything else.

Nope, I don't really have a point. And I know I need to stick to one (or mabey two) instruments, but I can't decide which ones. I just like blabbering, it gives me a sense of relief that other people know what I'm talking about. I got rid of most of my whistles to better my playing, but bought other instruments in their place. Wasn't that brilliant?

Now I'm back to collecting whistles again.

I've bid on a hundred other musical things on eBay too. All I can say is thank god I didn't win any of them.

littlejohngael · Post by **littlejohngael** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 9:53 pm

You can get a glockenspiel on Ebay for 34.95? Oh great. Thanks. There goes my next chunk of change. ...

Definitely keep the whistles ... as for the others, that's a hard decision. I have a keyboard and a violin. But I play my whistles so much ... well, it'd be hard to get rid of the others....

Good luck!!

Little John

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 10:12 pm

I think this is a glockenspiel... It was labeled on eBay as a xylophone (CB 700) but from what I've read xylophones are made of wood and if they're made of metal then they're called glockenspiels. Whatever.

I want to just buy a tenor recorder, but God as my witness if I do I'm going to shoot myself in the foot for it (you heard it here first).

Blackbeer · Post by **Blackbeer** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 10:32 pm

Well don`t feel like the Lone Ranger Cranberry. Today was a Bouzouki day cause I was oiling my flute. Also got a Silkstone Bb in the mail today. Nice whistle. I loaned my guitar to a Hatfield (yes a real Hatfield as in Hatfields` and McCoys`) who plays country/bluegrass and broke his guitar. I refuse to count my whistles and flutes. I want another Bouzouki and I may try to trade my guitar for one. (F-30 Guild) I don`t know what it is about instruments but I can never get enough of them :roll: But I figure if I don`t count them I won`t feel as guilty. Right now I`m going to wipe down my flute and catch up on my practice. Its to hot to go to bed.

Tom

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed Jul 09, 2003 10:43 pm

Quote @ Blackbeer

Right now I`m going to wipe down my flute and catch up on my practice. Its to hot to go to bed.

Don't you hate the heat? I've been staying at my friend's house and there is only one air conditioner in the whole house, and it's in the living room window. During the daytime everybody stays in the living room and during the night everybody fights over who is going to sleep on the couch.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 5:12 am

Spreading yourself thin CAN be a problem!
If you DO decide to get a Tenor recorder, don't buy one "blind" from eBay. You never know what you are going to get. For less than $100 ( $60-80 I think) you can get a superb Yamaha plastic Tenor from a number of sources ( eg courtlymusic.com ). It's as good as wooden Tenors costing thousands of dollars (and you KNOW I'm a fan of wooden instruments...). I regularly play one in performance with our Baroque recorder consort. It's great for playing low D whistle music too.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 5:16 am

Let's see. Mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, mandolin, autoharp, banjo (which I haven't even touched yet), harmonicas, flutes, whistles, recorder and even a jaw harp.

Yep. I understand completely. We are not alone!!!

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 6:28 am

Cranberry wrote:I've bid on a hundred other musical things on eBay too. All I can say is thank god I didn't win any of them.

I can't tell you the time that I find myself spending on Ebay as of late. I need more whistles (at least that's what I have convinced myself). My daughter wants a flute, 2 or more of the kids want guitars, my other daughter wants a fiddle, and then of course more whistles. I would LOVE a mandolin and a banjo as well. SIGH!!!!!!! If you find yourself bidding on that soprano recorder, and then shoot yourself in the foot, could you please come and shoot me in the foot as well?

Heather

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 7:59 am

Three guitars, whistles, flutes, spoons, recorders.

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 8:21 am

cranberry, if you took up uilleann piping and sailboating you might feel more, oh well there's not a word for it in the kings english,
well rounded?

tansy

markv · Post by **markv** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 9:08 am

There are four guitars in our house and nobody who knows how to play them.
I started learning mandolin this week and having wierd moments where I realize the last time I had to think to play a simple scale was in fifth grade.
Let's see, there is also the mountain dulcimer, erhu and a couple uke's around somewhere as well, dozen or so drums and a box of assorted percussion, more whistles and flutes than anything, couple thumb pianos I made a week or two ago (fun instrument by the way), keyboards, upright piano, pile of ocarinas, basket of panpipes and a crock full of quenas.

Looks like you are certainly in good company Cranberry.

Mark V.

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 9:33 am

izzarina wrote:If you find yourself bidding on that soprano recorder, and then shoot yourself in the foot, could you please come and shoot me in the foot as well?

Hey, then while you're waiting in the emergency room together, you could play some tunes!

I'm actually struggling very hard not to be in the same boat as Cranberry (and several others, it sounds like). My brain is really yelling at me that banjo and concertina would be loads of fun to play, even though I'm still trying to get halfway decent on the whistle and flute. Plus, of course, there are a few whistles I don't have that I really need to own. Good thing I'm buying a house in a couple of weeks, so I have the excuse that I need all the money for that. Once that's bought, though, I may be in trouble..........

Steven

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 9:41 am

Cran, eventually you'll pick one or two instruments and stick with them. I can't begin to count the number of instruments my wife and I have, many of which we picked up about 3-8 years ago, intending to learn them. Eventually, we came to grips with the likelihood that we'd learn them in retirement.

For ages, lap dulcimer was my instrument. I haven't played it for more than an hour in the last year, but could be fluent in a week if I desired. I'm sticking with the whistle and picking up the Irish flute slowly. She's setting her priorities, too. It's something one has to do to keep one's sanity.

pthouron · Post by **pthouron** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 9:46 am

Six guitars (three acoustic, three electric), and eight whistles (four soprano D, three Low D and one Low G)...
Now if only I could learn how to play the guitar with my feet, so I could use the guitars and whistles simultaneously!!!

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 2:12 pm

Hm, I'd say you'd best pick maybe 2 instruments to work on at a time. Maybe spend 2 months playing whistles and keyboard, then switch, and so on. I wouldn't try doing it all at once.

Chiff and Fipple Forums

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I think I'm spread too thin

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