For me, i started Piano when I was 6. Pretty young i guess. I wanted to learn the Guzheng ( a chinese string instrument) and Violin. but i ended up taking the Piano. I'm really bad at Piano and i only had merit once for my practical. But I got distinction for my theory though. But then there are times where i really wanted to give up. As I had to balance school and other outside curriculum stuff which was basically heavy work load. But now, I certainly didn't regret my choice to take up music.

What's your story then? Can you share it with me? Because i really want to know... thanks

well i got a keyboard when i was younger (as most people do!) then i started piano and violin and havent looked back since!! i now play lots more instrumetns and love them all but the clarinet is the best!

I first played the recorder when I was 4. My sister was 7 and had been practising up in my Gran's attic, I was pretty bored so I 'demanded' that she teach me a tune. well, she tried to teach me the first tune in the abracadabra recorder book (1), some really boring thing, revolving around b a and g. Being me, I said I wanted to play something different, and randomly selected number 7 ( I think) - Now the Day is Over. It was the first tune I ever played - note the sentimentality! I still know it off by heart now!

thrilled by my sucess I ran down stairs (all 4 flights!) to show my slightly shell shocked mum how well I could 'play the recorder'.

after that I 'practised' very intermitantly, mostly mimicking my sister- I had no idea what the music really meant, until I started the flute aged 10. but thats a slightly different story!

I started piano at school when I was nine- much against my will, my mum made me! and then took up the violin a couple of months later.
Since then I have just been getting more and more into it and am now completely obsessed with music!

Well, when I was about 7 or 8, my mum asked me if I wanted to start playing violin, and I thought it was quite a good idea so I did. Then, as i quite enjoyed playing the violin, I decided to start playing the flute when I was about 9 or 10. After that, I saw loads of recorder players in the school concert so I decided to teach myself that as well!!

i started the piano when i was 6 cos my mum wanted me to learn...that was a good thing though cos i got really into music and started to learn more instruments. I currently play piano, violin, 5 recorders, oboe, flute, guitar, mandolin and many traditional instruments! I also love to sing...

Haha. Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate it. Thanks. Well, in school, recorder was COMPULSARY... so i had to take that up for 6 years. We all had to learn it at primary three (9 years old) until secondary 2 (14 years old). But it was really fun though.... haha....

My gran's a music teacher and she started to teach me piano when I was 4, I can also play descant and treble recorder, flute and guitar. And still hoping to pick up the clarinet and saxophone as well!

hi!
i started taking piano lessons at the age of 5. well, my mum made me to! before every lesson, i usually threw tantrum until the age of 7/8.... hahaha.... but now, i'm glad she made me take piano lessons!!!

QUOTE (Soph @ Jun 9 2004, 11:20 AM)

And still hoping to pick up the clarinet and saxophone as well!

yes do take up those instruments immediately!! sorry i just love those instruments and want everyone to play them!!!

QUOTE (Natalie @ Jun 1 2004, 10:34 AM)

well i got a keyboard when i was younger (as most people do!)

Yeah me too. But I still prefer piano and I will only be starting now and I'm 22... Started so late due to financially unable to learn during a younger age.

My mom was a piano teacher (and a nursery school teacher) and she was so determined for me to play that she made me take up piano@ age 3! but, i had absolutely no idea what I was doing and never really got further than CDEFG untill age 5 (when my mother asked someone else to teach me instead!)

QUOTE (joychoi @ Jun 10 2004, 02:22 AM)

But I still prefer piano and I will only be starting now and I'm 22... Started so late due to financially unable to learn during a younger age.

same...i mean that i started piano just recently, when i was 16...

i used to play the recorder in primary 3 and i liked it so much that i used to play it everyday till now!
but i never got any lessons...

then when i was in year 10, i decided to take up an instrument in school...wanted to take the violin but then the teacher shall we say *ran away and never came back*...lol!

so i had to choose between the flute and clarinet

and i ended up taking the flute because 2 of my other friends did

and i still do not regret taking up that instrument...
im now better than 2 of my other friends

I started piano wen I was about 10. I cant acctually remember why, I think I just wanted to play it. I loved it and Im doing grade 4 in a week. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! I wanted to play the flute as well but the flute teacher I went to see said something about how it wasn't a good idea because I was too young or too small and would end up standing funny!!! I gave up on it agter that and so a year later I took up the violin because I picked one up at a high school open evening and when I played it it didnt squeak like people said it always did!!!!!
I also play treble recorder because in year 7 we were supposed to learn descant but seeing as I could already play I played treble instead. Incidently I can't remember one note on the descant now!!!!!
Its quite a wierd story now I look at it but there you go, I'm now taking GCSE music and loving it!!!!!
Luv Becs
xxx

I had just started secondary school, aged 11, and there was an announcement over the tannoy (do schools still have those!) asking all pupils who were interested in learning an instrument to go to a meeting after school that day. I decided to go along and ended up learning the violin.

Stopped after I left school. Then took up the viola, flute and clarinet 10 - 15 years later! Soon to be joined by the piano.

It's funny, but I now have a passion for playing instruments that I never had when I was younger. I think it was because I was too embarrassed to practise within earshot of my family.

I wanted to become a rock star so I bought a guitar joined a few bad bands, became good, got into a music course, got in to composition realised I had to sort my theory out and here I am. Still a rock Gawd tho;)

i heard a lovely record when i was 5 and i was determined to learn to play the piano...it was hard when i first began... but i really love it...

then i picked up recorder when i was at school, nothing special really and i played it quite well...

i love going to concerts....especially operas... i love singing and i decided to learn singing....just for fun... but my professional training hasn't begun until i've passed my grade 8 in april...

and i started learning the organ last year..coz i just love the sound of it...it's very rich...

that's it really..

Well i just remember my mum asking me do i wnt to play something so i sed yes and i was thinking at the time that she ment football or basketball or something like that and then she ordered a piano but i didn't realised ( i was about 6-7) and then after couple of weeks it came and my mum say that is what i wanted right.. i said right then i played it for some time and got rly used to it and now i luved playing piano but i hate thoery and i've just done my grade 5 thoery so it took a lot of preasure of me.. im going to start to lern some songs like Britney everytime and then after i get my score im going to start to do pratical but im pertty confidence that i just passed lol..

how i started is kinda interesting...

once in school (i was 9 yr. old) i was in physical education class when this kid got up and played the piano that was in the room with the coaches permission. He played Fur Elise and i felt some drive to be able to play that piece. When i got home from school i told my dad that i wanted to learn how to play the piano and play fur elise. I started piano lessons and after 6 or 7 months i was playing it like a pro - the whole thing. After that i was addicted!

I started playing trombone when I was 10 years old. I wanted to play the trumpet but the school had ran out and only had trombones left. I have been playing the bass trombone in a British Army Band for 22 years now and still really enjoy it. I now teach so its great to put something back into music having got so much out of it.

Being a musician in the Army is a great way to travel and see the world for free.

Well, when I was around 5, you had the option about playing the descant recorder so I did. Then when I was around 7, a music company came to the school and you could try all different isntruments. I got decide between the flute and the clarinet, so I put both down on the form and ended up getting the flute. Then, when I was 9, my Mum and Dad bought me a keyboard for my birthday and I learnt the keyboard for 4 years. Because of a mix up for my Grade 6 flute I had to do Grade 5 theory and got 91%, I didn't enjoy it that much but it has helped me enormously with playing the flute. I am now hoping to get a place in an orchestra and do Grade 7 by the next year (stupid GCSEs get in the way!!)

I started violin when I was 6 yrs old... wanted to learn because my bro was learning it..hehee... but i quit 1 year later because my mom changed the teacher and I don't like the new teacher Then when I was 11 I started piano... after listening to a cassette tape of piano music and was mermerized by it!

I've liked the piano before I can remember... So when I was 7, I took lessons for a year or two; then I stopped. My mother claimed that I didn't want to continue, but I just don't remember it that way.

Anyhow, I started playing again at the age of 14, but this time, by myself. I gathered up piano books and simple pieces and started teaching myself. My mom once heard me play, and decided that I should start taking lessons. Of course, I had been playing on a keyboard all that time (to add to the difficulty of self-tutoring), so my mother bought me a piano for my 16th birthday, and I've been taking lessons ever since.

By the way, is the accordian a difficult instrument to play?
(I'm thinking of taking that up on the side)