Do you have lapsed musical skills?

axisus

Wasn't sure the right section for this?

It occurred to me whilst posting in another thread, that I have let certain musical skills lapse, and I really wish I hadn't.

1) I used to play piano a lot as a teen. I could sit and reel off about 45 minutes of memorised music no problem. These days I have forgotten virtually all that music, have lost my 'chops' and I can't seem to memorise a single bloody bar of music! I still play keyboards, but mostly noodling around with chords

2) I used to be big on acoustic guitar, and would write short instrumentals in alt tunings. I rarely pick up acoustic these days, can't remember the tunings, can't remember many of my pieces and can't play the ones I remember very well.

3) I invested many years in playing Chapman stick, and could rattle off about 12 tunes. Got a bit jaded my the difficulty and not progressing like I wanted to so I stopped about 6 years ago. Can't remember a sodding thing now! One piece in particular I wrestled with for a looong time to learn and play. A bit gutted that I let it slip and forgot it.

UnclePsychosis

I was a very good flute player (grade 8) but I've barely played at all for the last few years.

I need to get back into it but it's too loud to do when the kids are asleep. Need to join an orchestra or something again.

viz

God yes - virtually everything I played last year, I can't play this year!

quarky

I played the recorder at school. Played keyboard for about a year. Screw the recorder, but wish I had been able to carry on with the keyboard.

What the hell is a chapman stick??

EricTheWeary

quarky said:

What the hell is a chapman stick??

It's that thing you put on sore lips. 

57Deluxe

I won a scholarship to the Temple Church Boys Choir/City of London Boys School for my chorister vocal accolades... I also had to learn the violin for that too... My parents couldn't cough up their share of the bursary and thus I never went...

chillidoggy

I once held an oboe when I was at school. Opening the case was tricky, but I got there in the end.

breakstuff

I used to play the trumpet about thirty years ago at school and used to impress my mates with my rendition if the Blackadder theme tune.I reckon I could just about play one of the scales through muscle memory.

speshul91

I used to be pretty good on keys at school, stopped playing when we no longer has a music teacher.

Sambostar

I suppose I could play classical guitar as a kid.  But no not really.

axisus

chillidoggy said:

I once held an oboe when I was at school. Opening the case was tricky, but I got there in the end.

We had a music teacher like that. In the cupboard and the light bulb went?

ArchtopDave

Used to be in the Choir at school many moons ago.

Fretwired

Had classical guitar lessons in my teens ..

Philly_Q

I had piano lessons for a couple of years when I was a little kid, I didn't do any exams but I could actually read music at a rudimentary level, which I certainly can't now.

It all stopped when my piano teacher got married and packed it in.  My parents found a replacement, an elderly gent, but there were rumours he was (whisper it in shocked horror....) a homosexual.... so that was the end of my keyboarding career.

We also had recorder lessons in school for a very short time.  I was the best in the class, but I suspect that was only because my single night-before attempt to play whatever we'd been assigned as homework that week meant I'd done 100% more practice than anyone else.

stimpsonslostson

I used to be a decent rhythm guitarist/bassist- in bands, playing gigs etc. I stopped playing for 7years & had a family etc. Now I spend more time on thefretboard.co.uk than I do on the fretboard. I suspect I'm not alone though.

richardhomer

stimpsonslostson;963550" said:

I used to be a decent rhythm guitarist/bassist- in bands, playing gigs etc. I stopped playing for 7years & had a family etc. Now I spend more time on thefretboard.co.uk than I do on the fretboard. I suspect I'm not alone though.

Yeah - I used to be a guitar player....

Deadman

Violin. I packed it in when I started secondary school as it felt wrong carrying it to school in my sta press trousers and pilot jacket with a Jam patch sewn on the arm.

Dopesick

Used to be a rather talented recorder player at school (recorder was mandatory learning up to the age of 11 or whatever). Haven't touched one since I was 12 and I doubt I'll remember how to play any tunes.

CabbageCat

I was fairly good at clarinet as a kid and didn't touch it for decades. When I cracked it open a few years back I was surprised at how quickly it came back to me.

Nitefly

chillidoggy said:

I once held an oboe when I was at school. Opening the case was tricky, but I got there in the end.

Pink one, was it?

chillidoggy

axisus said:

chillidoggy said:

I once held an oboe when I was at school. Opening the case was tricky, but I got there in the end.

We had a music teacher like that. In the cupboard and the light bulb went?

Funny you should say that, by my old school music teacher was a definitely a nonce.