Favorite Musical Instrument(s)

[Phantonym]

Guitar, cello, piano...and just about anything that can squeeze out a wonderful sound.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

 

[gromit]

 

[ragashree]

My doubtless eclectic selection!

If I play it myself, I probably ought to like it on principle, otherwise why bother? Well, I'll list the instruments I like most out of what I play, there are a few others I can't be arsed to mention because they're not interesting or fun enough. Otherwise, I'll just list the things I most like to hear, or would like to play if I had the time/opportunity/ability. This may make the first part of the list even more eclectic than the second, as I have reason to be intimately acquainted with the fine distinctions between several obscure percussion instruments that most people haven't even heard of!


Stuff I play

Tabla

Pakhawaj

Khanjira

Mridangam

Khol

Bodhrán

Stuff I don't play

Sitar

Sarangi

Cello

Rudra Vina

Bamboo flutes (in general, there are a lot of different varieties)

Hammered dulcimers (how can anyone not like hammered dulcimers? )

Launeddas (Sardinian triple reed pipes, an ancestor of the bagpipes.)

Bagpipes are quite interesting too, as long as they're not too screechy. For this reason I think I prefer the quieter varieties such as the Border pipes. Highland bagpipes actually hurt my ears within a few hundred yards.

Guqin

Oboes (in general, both the orchestral kinds and the various other types used in folk and world music)

Violin/fiddles (as long as they're used in moderation and played well, otherwise they can be excruciatingly effective implements of aural torture)

Pipe organs/harmoniums

 

[Oeufa]

They always remind me of Bill Bailey

Bagpipes are quite interesting too, as long as they're not too screechy. For this reason I think I prefer the quieter varieties such as the Border pipes. Highland bagpipes actually hurt my ears within a few hundred yards.

Have you heard Uileann Pipes? They're a bit gentler on the ears and actually pretty cool. I'd love to learn them at some point. Examples:
YouTube - Davy Spillane Caoineadh Cu Chulainn Uilleann Pipes Riverdance The Show Dublin 1995 Stereo
YouTube - Finbar Furey ~ "The Coolin" Uilleann (Irish) Pipes

 

[Nonsensical]

Percussion. Hands down.
[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rJWW_KqeAw"]Black Fire Percussion[/YOUTUBE]

and of course, the Bb Contrabass Clarinet

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6HteNRMU5U&feature=related"]Contrabass Clarinet[/YOUTUBE]

 

[ragashree]

Have you heard Uileann Pipes? They're a bit gentler on the ears and actually pretty cool. I'd love to learn them at some point. Examples:
YouTube - Davy Spillane Caoineadh Cu Chulainn Uilleann Pipes Riverdance The Show Dublin 1995 Stereo
YouTube - Finbar Furey ~ "The Coolin" Uilleann (Irish) Pipes

My knowledge of the Irish stuff is a bit patchy, I've probably heard them before without knowing what they are. But, yes, they do sound pretty good, thanks. I think I've got my own hands full at the moment with what I do already (literally!) but if you have the chance, I say go for it!

 

[Magic Poriferan]

The keyboard instruments are the superior instruments. They allow a single musician to do more than any other instruments do.

My preference is the organ. Organs have such powerful, fascinating sounds, and of course the eternal sustain is preferable to the piano's fade out. They are also easy to get a sound out of. Of course, the downside is that you don't have dynamic control over the organ like you do the piano.

In a lot of ways, the harpsichord is inferior to the piano, but I have a soft spot for it. I like the way it sounds.

Also, celestas are cool.

 

[Moiety]

Synthesizer

 

[Nonsensical]

Shit, I COMPLETELY forgot the most beautiful instrument on the whole face of the Earth:

BAGPIPES!!

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO5y2O_hv3I"]Amazing Grace - Scottish Bagpipes [/YOUTUBE]

 

[crumejack]

I like the guitar because I remember being about 5 and my dad playing it for me all the time. Now that I play I do the same thing for my kids

 

[neptunesnet]

Cello
Bassoon
French Horn
Violin
Drums|Percussion
Trumpet
Piano

 

[debbiegirl]

I love instruments like the piano, violin, and guitar, but I think I have a particular fondness for the Asian zither. To me, they sound so beautiful and bittersweet. The instruments gives off a very nostalgia feeling for me when I'm listening to it...

 

[copperfish17]

Violin and piano. I play both (though my main instrument is the violin).

Violins are beauuutifullll... Both in terms of looks and sound.

^ Soil, a Stradivari.

 

[Sarcasticus]

Acoustic guitar and banjo. But I really want a sitar.

 

[Katsuni]

#1: Bagpipes
#2: Theremin
#3: Vibraphone

And of course the human voice can be beautiful at times as well.

 

[Kanamori]

Bass
Cello
Guitar
Chapman Stick

 

[Reflection]

Piano
Cello
Flute

 

[Redbone]

Violin
Drums
Bass

 

[Oberon]

My violin is my best instrument, and so also my favorite even though I humiliate it by playing it like a fiddle.

It's a Lewis student model, but it's got a solid spruce top (the current student models have plywood tops), and I've been playing it for over 30 years now. The steady use has mellowed the sound somewhat, and good strings make a world of difference.