10 instruments and still going strong


It seems that despite our somewhat cramped space, we have managed to accumulate 10 instruments in our home. Now, these are only instruments that we have not made or do not improvise. This means the drum that we made for Michael out of a Oatmeal container, spoons, and tin-cans do not count. I have come to realize that a rhythm instrument can be made out of just about anything, not the least of which is a car steering wheel.

So, here the list starts... in fairly close to chronological order.

1. A Viola
Now, this was Mommy's instrument that she started playing as an adolescent. I think that she has only played it half a dozen times or so since we have been married (nearly 3 years.)

2. A Trombone
I plea guilty to the same instrument neglect that my sweet wife is charged. I think that I have the excuse that the slide really never moved all of that well. I don't have much other excuse other than every time winter or similar dry weather set in, my bottom lip would crack and split. It didn't matter how much chapstick I put on it, it would still happen. So when I finished 8th grade, I ended my 3 year career as a mediocre trombone player. I still love the instrument though, so I still have it.

3. The first accordion
Hohner Student I. I am still not sure why it was in my grandmother's 6 car garage in Weaversville, PA, but I have to give credit to my brother who found it amidst the all of the boxes and hoes. I was a little jealous because I thought it would be cool to be able to play, but it ended up with me in Provo after my mission. 4 recently returned missionaries with instruments from all over the world. I had the accordion. I only played by ear. I knew how to play the piano side from a few months of Suzuki method leaving me with learning the chord structure. Oh how we would try to woo the ladies with a guitar and accordion. Despite this, I still did get married.

4. The trumpet
So, I thought that I was getting an incredible deal at a garage sale. I got a trumpet for only $7. That was an amazing price. It didn't have a mouthpiece, but I could always get one later. This also meant I couldn't try it out first either. In all my excitement, I missed that one of the tuning slides was missing. Well, that makes for an interesting instrument. But I wouldn't feel right about trying to sell it either. It helps me remember to really evaluate an instrument before I purchase it.

5. The keyboard
A power surge completely fried the components to a really nice keyboard that we were given one Christmas. In efforts to fix the situation, we had decided to get another keyboard so we could keep playing the piano. This was good and all, but really out of our budget. So we decided to settle on a smaller keyboard, which we knew would be eventually used by the children. Since children seem to not use all of the nice features, we thought that a cheaper one would work. It did. This time we tried it out in the store before we bought it.

6. The Big Accordion
I was starting to get frustrated by playing a small accordion which never seemed to have all of the keys I wanted, not to mention that it was not exactly in tune. This really was not helping dispel the ugly image that is typically bestowed upon such wonderfully beautiful instruments. After being overbid on ebay quite a few times, I finally won a bid. It really is a beautiful instrument. It could be better, but I am quite satisfied.

7. The Piano
We took a trip to Texas to visit with my ailing grandmother suffering from cancer. My dear wife sat down and played the piano there in their home. Grandma joined in. It was such a sweet experience for my Grandmother to know that the piano was still a loved instrument. Besides the great memories, she left my wife her piano. This has brought much joy into our home as we have been able to use this beautiful instrument to make lovely music. I think Grandma would approve.

8 and 9. The Harmonicas
For my 26th birthday, I started to think about what might make trips easier on the family. Music is loved by our family, except when Michael wants the attention instead of us playing; I thought it prudent to have something a little more transportable than the big accordion. I think that somewhere in the blog is a little birthday gift list (in case any of you feel inclined to send me a gift a few months late) which included a harmonica. Well, I got two. One is in the key of E and the other in the key of C. I have been learning how to really play, not just get pretty cords out of it.

10. The Concertina Accordion
Once more my sweet wife found a great deal on a Hohner Concertina. It even sounds good. The bellows are tight, and most importantly, I got an instruction book so I can learn how to play. This has been a lot of fun for me and is amazingly more transportable than the larger accordion. I have realized that in the movies when you see someone playing one of these accordions, you don't realize that they are accompanied be an entire orchestra or a large group singing. So, I have realized that this will be a little different than the other accordions. It works like a harmonica where if you push the bellows or pull the bellows, it changes notes. It takes time to get used to this, but it is very practical. You get twice as many notes with the same number of buttons. The hard thing though is that you get the key of C and G, not accidentals.

So here is the list, 10 and still counting. What do you play?