Other instruments/styles you play and why

[Mandolin Mick]

My great love is Bluegrass Gospel mandolin and Italian style mandolin. But, I'm a classical guitarist, played bass & keyboards for many years in a Beatles tribute band, and to a lesser degree recorder and other assorted instruments ...

[Paul Busman]

I'm in a little 4 man Celtic band where I play mandolin, pennywhistles (see my signature ;-) )and Irish flute. I'll expand that to Tenor Banjo if I find one cheap enough.
I also play guitar-- still have my Guild F-30 that I bought back in '67. My wife and I play recorder together. In fact, I met her on eBay 12 years ago when I sold her a bass recorder. I have a lot of other ethnic/folk flutes hanging around that I'll pick up from time to time. Every once in a while I'll take a stab at the fiddle, but I'm not good at it. Touch of piano. Probably a couple more that don't come to mind at the moment.

[Charles E.]

I started on jews harp, really, then moved on to lap dulcimer and mandolin. My life changed when I saw a jazz quartet that featured a tenor guitar. I have been a rabid tenor guitar player ever since. I have also added tenor banjo and acustic bass along the way. Right now I am playing a lot of old time and swing-jugband-dixiland.

[allenhopkins]

Play (and own):
Mandolin family: mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin, Octofone, tenor lute, mandocello, mandolin-banjo. The Octofone is strung as an octave mandolin but with the 3rd and 4th course strung in octaves.

Banjo family: 5-string banjo, tenor banjo, cello banjo, 5-string Dobro, mandoline-banjo (Pollman) or banjola (Gold Tone) -- in either case, a mandola body with a 5-string banjo neck, gut-strung "gourd" banjo.

Guitar family: 6-string and 12-string guitars, National slide guitar, "Dobro" (actually a DeNeve) resonator guitar, Mexican Weissenborn copy Hawaiian guitar, tenor guitar.

Ukulele family: soprano uke, tenor "taropatch" uke, baritone uke, banjo uke, tiple, Polk-A-Lay-Lee (weird mutant "surfer" uke).

Bass family: Aluminum (Pfretschner?) bass fiddle, Guild Ashbory electric bass, tourist-grade Honduran guitarron.

Autoharp family: Three 19th-century Zimmermanns, Schmidt Model 73 "black box," Autorinoharp, Tom Morgan harp, Schmidt guitaro (another weird mutant).

Misc. strings: Appalachian dulcimer, bowed psaltery, mouth bow.

Free reeds: Two Wheatstone English system treble concertinas, one Wheatstone baritone, lots of harmonicas.

Misc. other: Jew's harp, pennywhistle/recorder (badly), treble kalimba.

Own, but cannot play, a fiddle and a small hammered dulcimer, also a zither.

What kind(s) of music? A bit of bluegrass and acoustic country, quite a lot of "folk revival" stuff, some blues, Celtic instrumental music, smattering of Yiddish/klezmer tunes, and a decent repertoire of early-to-mid-20th-century "pop" standards that senior audiences like. I do quite a bit of playing "behind" local singer-songwriters, and I do some kids' programming as well. Lots of historically-oriented "theme" programs; just got hired by a nearby library for three November concerts of music from American military history, Revolution to the present (watch me try to slip in some anti-war protest material!). Love sing-alongs; a song with a good chorus grabs me every time.

[baptist mando55]

Mandolin .guitar, and Faded Love and Boil them cabbage down on a fiddle.

[Paul Cowham]

Play (and own):
Mandolin family: mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin, Octofone, tenor lute, mandocello, mandolin-banjo. The Octofone is strung as an octave mandolin but with the 3rd and 4th course strung in octaves.

Banjo family: 5-string banjo, tenor banjo, cello banjo, 5-string Dobro, mandoline-banjo (Pollman) or banjola (Gold Tone) -- in either case, a mandola body with a 5-string banjo neck, gut-strung "gourd" banjo.

Guitar family: 6-string and 12-string guitars, National slide guitar, "Dobro" (actually a DeNeve) resonator guitar, Mexican Weissenborn copy Hawaiian guitar, tenor guitar.

Ukulele family: soprano uke, tenor "taropatch" uke, baritone uke, banjo uke, tiple, Polk-A-Lay-Lee (weird mutant "surfer" uke).

Bass family: Aluminum (Pfretschner?) bass fiddle, Guild Ashbory electric bass, tourist-grade Honduran guitarron.

Autoharp family: Three 19th-century Zimmermanns, Schmidt Model 73 "black box," Autorinoharp, Tom Morgan harp, Schmidt guitaro (another weird mutant).

Misc. strings: Appalachian dulcimer, bowed psaltery, mouth bow.

Free reeds: Two Wheatstone English system treble concertinas, one Wheatstone baritone, lots of harmonicas.

Misc. other: Jew's harp, pennywhistle/recorder (badly), treble kalimba.

Own, but cannot play, a fiddle and a small hammered dulcimer, also a zither.

What kind(s) of music? A bit of bluegrass and acoustic country, quite a lot of "folk revival" stuff, some blues, Celtic instrumental music, smattering of Yiddish/klezmer tunes, and a decent repertoire of early-to-mid-20th-century "pop" standards that senior audiences like. I do quite a bit of playing "behind" local singer-songwriters, and I do some kids' programming as well. Lots of historically-oriented "theme" programs; just got hired by a nearby library for three November concerts of music from American military history, Revolution to the present (watch me try to slip in some anti-war protest material!). Love sing-alongs; a song with a good chorus grabs me every time.

Is that all? !!

I play mando, guitar and octave mando. Used to play the violin when I was a youngster but don't any more. Main things I enjoy playing (or trying to play) are bluegrass mandolin and fingerstyle guitar but also play quite a lot of plectrum rhythm guitar for Irish/Scots muisic and Klezmer music...

[klaezimmer]

Have mastered none of these but have played them in public (usually in ensemble settings) with occasional embarrassment. Guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, piano, mandolin, mandola, Irish bouzouki, Greek bouzouki, Celtic cittern (soprano and alto), requinto (or quart guitar), mondo mando (9-string guitar variant masquerading as a mandolin variant), lap steel guitar, banjo, bowed psaltery, native American flute, recorder, and a couple of my own creations. I enjoy adding the odd voice or texture not typically found in pop, rock, country, blues, folk, Israeli folk, Celtic, contemporary and traditional Christian worship music, urban/Black gospel, etc. and finding ways of making it work. I continue to look for instruments from other cultures, and if I think I can make some musical sense out of it in the contexts within which I play, I am likely to add it to my arsenal. Hopefully, it will help keep the mind nimble....

[Ivan Kelsall]

'Scruggs style' Bluegrass Banjo,although it's taken a back seat to Mandolin this last 6 years. I can finger-pick Guitar but,again i've hardly seen my Guitar since begining Mandolin,let alone played it,
Ivan

[Yandy]

I love the variety here.

I spent years playing anything with holes in that you can blow down (recorders, whistles, oboe, flute, harmonica, chair legs, plumbing surplus etc.), but usually found my way back to recorders (alto by preference). I got to 40 and decided to celebrate with a project to exorcise my string demons and hit on the fiddle as a serious challenge. Get a mandolin I thought soon after, and get two for the price of one. That was optimistic, but 1.5 for the price of one possibly (discuss).

I have to practice the fiddle much more, and deliberately restrict the mandolin playing. Mandolin's more socially acceptable, especially when traveling for work, and it's really great fun to play - mastering the fiddle is still the ultimate goal - but tough.

And double-stopping stunts in fiddle music has brought the recorders back out too - I always tried to take them further than they ought to go, and you can have a lot of fun with two of them and ambidextrous hands.

I also have an Appalachian dulcimer hanging around looking cute and sounding sweet - you have to.

[Jim Bevan]

One of the disadvantages of having spent my youth training to be a pianist is that I spent my career playing "keyboards".

These days I live on tour -- having a piano around is pretty much impossible.

I suppose that's why I spend all my free time playing the mandolin -- appreciating, enjoying, and loving its acoustic-ness (not to mention its portability).

[5thBeliever]

No other trumpet players here? i play trumpet in my school Jazz band, it's uphill but well worth it! I picked up mandolin so I could have a mouthfree instrument to play, and because it is hard to play a trumpet informally unless you are good enough not to blow people's ears out (I'm not...). I play Jazz, some Klezmer and Jewish music, and on the mandolin I've been working on rock and blues, with fiddle tunes thrown in. I'd really love to learn ska. I recently learned some ukelele chords, but don't own one yet. Also, I bugle for the Boy Scouts, and can play Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire" on harmonica, but that's it...

[JMUSIC]

Chicago-style dirty Blues harmonica mostly, through vintage custom mics and custom Harp Gear amp(love that thing), Mandolin (hack) guitar (rhythm), uke (all different sizes).

[Mike Scott]

I play the guitar, mandolin and ukulele. Time on the instruments are in that order. On guitar I play mainly country blues, for no other reason than when I started taking lessons, that's what the instructor had me play. Now 14 years in I can play a bunch of that stuff. I also play a little bit of contemporary fingerstyle too. On mandolin I drift from fiddle tunes to a bit of Bluegrass (but I am too slow for most of that) and have recently taken on picking out some Beatles tunes. I'm not big jam guy so that works well for me. Just been playing the uke for a short time but mainly play all kinds of stuff and it's a pretty forgiving instrument. Working on fingerpicking on that too. For me it's all about the learning and the challenge of mastering something. I have a long way to go on all the three instruments, but it beats watching a bunch of tv and all. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[majorbanjo]

I'm known around home for playing my Les Paul Goldtop and Southern Rock ala Duane Allman style of playing......folks are usually shocked when they hear me play banjo and mandolin....and fiddle......and when I filled in for our drummer.....

[Lukas J]

Jazz: Bari sax - My primary instrument that I've played in big bands and combos through high school and college. I also got to double a little on flute.

Wind ensembles: Bari Sax, Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet.

Rock band I play in: Bari Sax and Mandolin.

Bluegrass Band: Mandolin

Old-time and Irish tunes: Mandolin or tenor banjo.

I love my guitar but rarely get to play it anymore because everyone plays guitar, so I started digging deeper into mandolin, and found out that it just might be my favorite instrument.

[JeffD]

A friend of mine plays cello and told me bowing was the easiest part for him, idk, it seems kind of easy to me, different ofc and I am sure would take practice, but seems kind of funner.

Wow I am jealous. I would love bowing to be easy. Like anything else I am sure once I get it I will have it, but getting it is steep going.

[mandobassman]

In order of proficiency, mandolin, upright bass, guitar, octave mandolin. My bandmates may disagree with that order but that's how I see it. I play primarily bluegrass and classic country.

[catmandu2]

Wow I am jealous. I would love bowing to be easy. Like anything else I am sure once I get it I will have it, but getting it is steep going.

With regards to Dave1's post, I play arco as well as pizz on doublebass (in addition to fiddle)--the ergonomics involved with DB/cello bowing are generally easier than fiddle/violin. I use French style grip for DB arco, and while it is a similar grip to that used for violin, the heavier equipment--making movements (errors) less amplified--and ergonomic differences make it easier on DB/cello.

The analogy of violin of "seismograph of the heart" is apt. If anyone feels frustrtaed with fiddling, you may try cello to assuage your bowing impulse and be pleasantly surprised.

[Wesley]

I started on trombone and bass guitar but gave those up. I've been plaing guitar since the mid 1960's. Played electric guitar and synth in a new wave band in the early 80's. I started again on the mandolin in ernest about ten years ago. This year I picked up my first uke.

[catmandu2]

And while we're on the subject of arco bass (and cello), I happened to acquire a second doublebass on Monday, set up specially for jazz and arco-playing. I've played cello suites on guitar for 25 years, and recently gave it up due to the technical demand and time/practice requirement. Now here I am digging into this repertoire on DB.

The "...and why" part of the OP question is very broad issue--evoking, for many of us, myriad reasons, rationale, and compulsions. Aside from the fun of playing different instruments with different folks, the stimulation of learning various styles, techniques, cultural forms and contexts, there is a more nebulous and abstract quest for sound, which can mean so many things, and also motivation for an even more meaningful relationship with all of this. We can get very deep into this issue of our relationship with sound.

I used to regard this crazy relationship with so much music as somewhat of a curse. But after coming to more understanding and acceptance (and a loving, supportive wife), the only real dilemma now is choosing a current avatar.