What is your favourite instrument?

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What is the instrument you most like to hear in music? What is that sound you can't appreciate music without? What is the instrument you enjoy playing the most?

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

It depends.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I love playing guitar, though I've started playing the bass some time ago and am enjoying it as well. I have now a 12-string guitar that is now giving me a lot of pleasure; I taught myself to play the intro to Yes' "And You And I" and I feel accomplished... ;)

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:26 (twenty-two years ago)

12 strings is way too many.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:27 (twenty-two years ago)

drums

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Drums rule!

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Drums, for sure. But after that, the upright bass. I've developed a real fondness for the trombone in the last couple of years, but it's not usually played the way I like it (loud and dirty).

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:30 (twenty-two years ago)

kettle drums and/or really low-tuned tom-toms rule even more.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Probably electric guitar, though ironically none of the genres I am most excited about listening to right now make much, if any, use of it. Other than that, pretty much any traditional Arab instrument (at least the ones commonly used Egypt, Lebanon, or Syria--not necessarily Iraq, which has some sounds I don't like).

x-post: oh yeah, also timbales.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

808 drum machine

― paulhw (paulhw), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

*covers ears*

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I hate drum machines.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Piano or voice.

I love listening to the cello by itself too.

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:35 (twenty-two years ago)

the zither

― jason m (jason m), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Cello's great. I play violin though.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:36 (twenty-two years ago)

(Voice is the best. I was excluding voice.)

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:36 (twenty-two years ago)

You should try learning to play violin Arab style. It sounds a lot nicer (when it's solo anyway).

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:37 (twenty-two years ago)

How would I do that?

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:38 (twenty-two years ago)

x-post

Aja, drum machines are now used for rather different uses than live drums (and sometimes are used together with live drums). Even so, I think that, as cool as the pulsating beat of an 808 can be in some occasions, nothing can replace a John Bonham or a Dave Grohl...

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:39 (twenty-two years ago)

That's right!

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Violins are tough to get to sound nice, you've got to have some level of talent to do that because the natural sound of a violin is a screech. When it's played well, though... again, gorgeous.

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:42 (twenty-two years ago)

The only time I get a screech is if I press down too hard with my bow.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.dannycarey.org/synths/moog.jpg

― nate detritus (natedetritus), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Then you're a better violinist than I was when I was eight, when I couldn't get it to produce anything other than a screech and so gave up.

xpost

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I only had one semester of lessons.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Ditto.

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:47 (twenty-two years ago)

My teacher's name was India. That was weird. India and Aja.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Well my teacher's name was Maureen so I guess we can put it all down to the coolness of their names.

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I had a substitute for a while.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Aja, I'm not a musician, so I can't say too much about learning to play any violin style. I guess you'd have to find someone who knows how to play that way. Don't take my word for it, listen to some first. Actually I don't even own a single CD with only solo Arab violin on it. There aren't all that many, but solos show up in the longer vocal pieces.

If you just listen to someone playing the outline of a mode, it sounds strange, but when they are really playing, it sound good (to me anyway). You can try the "violin taksim" on this page.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 21:57 (twenty-two years ago)

The maqam is even named after you. I didn't notice until I posted that last message.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:00 (twenty-two years ago)

The maqam is even named after you.

Not exactly.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, it's close. I don't know how "Ajam" would be pronounced in Arabic.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

A nice gigantic gong. (they're an entire song in one hit)

― A Nairn (moretap), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:09 (twenty-two years ago)

My name means "holy" or "saint" in Arabic.

― Aja (aja), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:10 (twenty-two years ago)

And some gongs can kill people if they are loud enough and have the right overtones and exposure to the sound is long enough.

― A Nairn (moretap), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I sense a Dune joke coming soon...

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:18 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.rockprojekt.de/Keyboards/Images/mellotron.jpg

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 22:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Clarinet! I love it.

― James Slone (Freon Trotsky), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 23:14 (twenty-two years ago)

This is a beautiful instrument, heard way too rarely, particularly in popular music:
http://stang.donnerparty.net/pictures/hoffman/indexfiles/harp.JPG.jpg

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 23:16 (twenty-two years ago)

the pan flute. all hail the god zampheer!

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 23:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir, allow me to recommend the Lou Harrison piece "Perilous Chapel," which can be found on a CD of the same title. Flute, harp, cello, and percussion. It's not pop music, although I think many people would consider Harrison "light" classical, which is fine with me. It is just slightly modernist around the edges, but I think it has pretty broad appeal.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 23:26 (twenty-two years ago)

(Hmmm. The second movement might be a little too dissonant for you, but it's still pretty accessible.)

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 23:27 (twenty-two years ago)

"i'm sooo very sad. I'm the saddest harpist ever. I'm sooo very very sad"

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 00:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Keyboards in general, the piano in specific.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.tomfranzak.com/images/pic-theramin.jpg

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 00:15 (twenty-two years ago)

That harpist stole something out of my father's wardrobe. (I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but it looks just like something my father would wear.)

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 10 December 2003 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

The Waterphone is pretty cool:
http://www.waterphone.com/

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 00:22 (twenty-two years ago)

cor anglais. as used on Wire's "A Mutual Friend".

― Broheems (diamond), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 00:22 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.richardawaters.com/waterphone/images/megabass3.jpg

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 00:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Skipping 27 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Jordan, I can't remember what your tolerance of, or interest in, Afro-Latin music is, but the trumpet is still crucial in many varieties of salsa, and, I would assume, Latin jazz. On the other hand, I don't think it's usually used in particularly complex ways there, more to create stabbing sort of accents; though the little trumpet solo in the middle of Grupo Niche's "Han Cogido la Cosa" (either of the two mixes I've heard) does it for me.

But trumpet must not be an easy instrument to play, or so I gather from the sounds that come from a trumpet playing street musician whose been around here for a year or two now.

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 10 December 2003 17:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Kazoos.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 18:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Rockist, I didn't really mean that it's not used in music enough (and I think it's used plentifully and in complex-when-necessary ways in Latin music), but that the actual number of decent trumpet players in most cities seem to have seriously dwindled. It really was brought home when I was in New Orleans on the weekend, where you take for granted that there are great trumpet players everywhere.

It is a really, really hard instrument to play, and probably the most demanding in terms of practice...if you miss even a day, you'll pay for it.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 18:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I Love Fiddles

― Leee Iacocca (Leee), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 19:46 (twenty-two years ago)

appropriation

― bakhtin, Thursday, 11 December 2003 07:22 (twenty-two years ago)

808 drum machine

Yay!

http://www.home.zonnet.nl/studio-b/TR%20808.jpg

Reprasent.

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 11 December 2003 07:39 (twenty-two years ago)

the theremin and electric guitar are my favorite to play but the mellotron, fender rhodes, ondes martenot, and optigan are probably my favorites to listen to.

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Yay for the Optigan! But surely that is also one of the most fun to play?

― Broheems (diamond), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:25 (twenty-two years ago)

i would imagine, but ive never actually seen one in person

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Somebody explain to me what the deal is with the ondes martenot.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:27 (twenty-two years ago)

it's a more advanced version of the theremin with a string-controlled pitch and a lot of knobs with which you can fuck with the tone. jonny greenwood's friggin great with it. it's the closest any instrument (that ive heard of) has come to sounding like a human voice.

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:28 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/martenot/

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I want one.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:37 (twenty-two years ago)

me too. jonny's got 5. that's totally not fair. what a gearhog.

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.ermine-ind.com/image24.jpg

― Aja (aja), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I was thinking the other day that tambourines are the most inherently funky instrument. They have to have heads on them though.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 11 December 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Yo to the Melotron

― Speedy Gonzalas (Speedy Gonzalas), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:08 (twenty-two years ago)

So I assume that ondes martenots are pretty expensive and hard to find, naturally?

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I love the mellotron, but being on the King Crimson list way back among people who would fetishize it and buy any album where it was used kind of put me off. Happy Apple uses it on a song on their new album and it kicks ass though.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:11 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah. i heard a rumor that someone out there knows how to make them well and is going to start selling them. it's definitely not the kind of thing you can keep an eye out for on ebay.

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:11 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.wwnorton.com/classical/glossary/gifs/glock.jpg

― Aja (aja), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:13 (twenty-two years ago)

The Mellotron has a beautiful sound. The Beatles have used it, Moody Blues abused of it, heck, even Billy Corgan played that beotch in almost every friggin track on Mellon Collie...

So, are you keen on voting what is the most popular instrument on ILM? I guess that there's a tie between the bass and the mellotron...

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:19 (twenty-two years ago)

BASS!!!

― Aja (aja), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:22 (twenty-two years ago)

The most beautiful use of the Mellotron I think I've ever heard is on OMD's Architecture and Morality record (multiple songs).

― Broheems (diamond), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I love the Mellotron. I love how it works, the whole tapes-as-sound-source thing. Tony Banks I think (it might've been someone else though) used to call it the "Hobbytron", cuz you had to dedicate a lot of time to maintaining it.

― -- ([email protected]), December 11th, 2003 4:27 PM. (nickalicious) (nickalici, Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

ha ha whoops

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I bet this is the really uncool answer, but I love guitars personally.

Uh... I mean... I love obscure electronic instruments and ones invented by tribal people from some obscure country!

Phew, nearly lost my Wire-cred.

― Stupid (Stupid), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Sadly, my brother not only owns a mellotron but runs a website dedicated to them : http://freespace.virgin.net/andy.thompson/
Since he lets me borrow it for recording I'll let him off.

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Check this place out too : http://www.automatomania.com/

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:54 (twenty-two years ago)

that's the most frightening sight ive seen in a long time.

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Pan flute

― Johnny Badlees (crispssssss), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:56 (twenty-two years ago)

i've got a pretty badass plastic ocarina from wendy's.

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:58 (twenty-two years ago)

im surprised no one's mentioned the singing saw yet.

― Felcher (Felcher), Thursday, 11 December 2003 22:00 (twenty-two years ago)

My name means "holy" or "saint" in Arabic.

Aja/Aisha was the prophet Mohammed's last and favorite wife. He took her as his wife when she was nine years old. It's meaning in Arabic is unknown to me.
Aja/aya means holy/saint/saintly in Turkish. People who speak Turkish use many Arabic words and vice versa.

Kola sana wenti tayibi

― Mush Mouth, Friday, 12 December 2003 17:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Hello.

― Aja (aja), Friday, 12 December 2003 17:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I AM BACK IN jAPAN.

― Mush Mouth, Friday, 12 December 2003 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

That's nice.

― Aja (aja), Friday, 12 December 2003 17:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I honestly can't choose a favorite instrument, really. I can choose a least favorite though, and that would be the flute. Actually I love the sound of the flute, I just hate it as it's the only musical instrument I've ever attempted to play that I couldn't squeeze even the slightest sound out of.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 12 December 2003 17:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Flute's fine. Don't get me started on the piccolo though.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2003 17:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Not that exciting yet. We got in at 10 this morning. I brought some specimens to the lab, drew labs on some people there then went back to work. It is now almost 2:30 in the morning here.
Read your e-mail.

I will be on a train to Yokohama tomorrow then on to Tokyo to see if I can get some KJ or FF CDs for you.

Peace

― Mush Mouth, Friday, 12 December 2003 17:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks! :)

― Aja (aja), Friday, 12 December 2003 17:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I gotta go now!!!! A lot of drunks have been making the ER busy tonight.
Watch out for the package I sent. It is going to your Nana's place!
Ciao

― Mush Mouth, Friday, 12 December 2003 17:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I am soooo happy to see no mention of the turntable yet :-)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 13 December 2003 03:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Is everybody shying away from guitar because it's such a common instrument? I don't think any other instrument comes close to producing the range of sounds that a guitar is capable of making, from soft and beautiful to harsh and violent. Not to mention the myriad of ways in which it can be used/played.

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 13 December 2003 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I mentioned electric guitar first. Acoustic guitar can be great as well, but I don't consider them the same instrument really.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Saturday, 13 December 2003 03:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean, electric guitar was the first instrument I mentioned, not "I was first to mention electric guitar."

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Saturday, 13 December 2003 03:21 (twenty-two years ago)

A good piano always does it for me.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Saturday, 13 December 2003 07:02 (twenty-two years ago)

i like handclaps a lot, whether fake or real. i really want a roland hc-2 handclapper synth.
i also like the 303.
i play drums, but i spend most of the time on the cymbals if i can. i really love a large, dark cymbal with sizzles or rivets. i will get one eventually.
guitar can be great in the right hands and with the right pedals. i am a sucker for delay, and i usually try to convince every guitarist i know to buy one if i am out drinking with them.

― Aaron Grossman (aajjgg), Saturday, 13 December 2003 07:13 (twenty-two years ago)

My beautiful orange microwave xt
My Pro-53 native instruments plug-in
of course the Juno 106
the banjo
the 303
Akai sampler filtering

― cs appleby (cs appleby), Saturday, 13 December 2003 08:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Ricky 12-string, buchla 200, mellotron (esp on hawkwind "the demented man")

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 13 December 2003 11:40 (twenty-two years ago)

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