Hobbies/Activities other than flying.

I tried several instruments, both string and wind and found that while I could read music, I have no useful sense of time, even with a metronome.

At one point as the only tuba player, I didn’t even rate a chair.
 
mcdewey said:
Irish tin whistle. None of these whistles are made out of tin though—Carbon fiber, aluminum, brass, plastic. I play at sessions (or seisiúns) and at church.

The reason there are so many is tha the whistle is a diatonic instrument, meaning it plays a diatonic scale of seven notes in an octave rather than chromatic, which is twelve notes. However, with an alternate fingering, it can play eight notes. So a whistle in the key of D can play a D scale (D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#) or with the alternate fingering to play a C, it can play the key of G. So I have several instruments so I can play the different keys, in lower octaves, or a different sounds (e.g., bright vs warm, etc.)

It's a very simple and lovely instrument, but, as with any instrument, difficult to be a master at. It is used to play Irish bar tunes, Irish trad music, and ballads. You can hear examples of them in The Lord of the Rings (Concerning Hobbits) and Titanic (My Heart Will Go On)
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I rock out to Flogging Molly come St Patrick's day to the point of annoying everyone that walks in my shop. Always wondered what instrument I was hearing on one of their songs.

 
mcdewey said:
I'd love to hear them. Brass Ensembles are very cool!
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Now you've done it. ;) Both of these were recorded with an iPhone sitting on a music stand, and unfortunately the iPhone's mic can't really capture the full depth of the euphonium's sound, but...

Here's a clip from a rehearsal with the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band. This is from Robert Russell Bennett's Autobiography, movement 4, From Missouri to New York, and this portion of it represents him proposing to his wife:


And here's a clip with my quartet, Euph-da! This is the traditional Scottish tune Loch Lomond, arranged by Mike Forbes. Hardest part of it is playing pp that high at the beginning so the tuba solo can be heard. ;)


Finally, for those who don't know what a Euphonium sounds like, here's an excellent example, recorded with far better equipment. This is John Stevens' Benediction, performed by the Sotto Voce tuba quartet.


X3 Skier said:
Speaking of tubas, my eldest granddaughter played the tuba in both the Concert Band and Marching Band in High School being First Chair in the first and Section Leader in the second.

She started in Middle School. Her Mom asked her why the Tuba, she said “it was the shortest line” when it was time to pick an instrument.
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I mean, I've heard worse reasons for picking an instrument.
 
Aviation is pretty much my only hobby.
I did do a little auto work this past fall, put lowering springs along with struts and shocks on a GT mustang.
When I was a kid, I had homing pigeons. I'd like to get back into that hobby and then would take the birds and release them at some far away airport and race them home in my plane.
First thing I would have to do is build a coop. Need a little budge to build one. Maybe come spring?
 
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I would love to play a musical instrument but …

When I was a child, my father got me piano lessons. My piano teacher ended up firing me. Later in life as I tried to learn guitar, I understood why.

Basically, aside from aviation-related stuff, my “hobbies” are activities. Tennis and a game that loosely resembles golf.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Now you've done it. ;) Both of these were recorded with an iPhone sitting on a music stand, and unfortunately the iPhone's mic can't really capture the full depth of the euphonium's sound, but...

Here's a clip from a rehearsal with the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band. This is from Robert Russell Bennett's Autobiography, movement 4, From Missouri to New York, and this portion of it represents him proposing to his wife:


And here's a clip with my quartet, Euph-da! This is the traditional Scottish tune Loch Lomond, arranged by Mike Forbes. Hardest part of it is playing pp that high at the beginning so the tuba solo can be heard. ;)


Finally, for those who don't know what a Euphonium sounds like, here's an excellent example, recorded with far better equipment. This is John Stevens' Benediction, performed by the Sotto Voce tuba quartet.



I mean, I've heard worse reasons for picking an instrument.
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Oh, that last piece is gorgeous!
 
flyingcheesehead said:
And here's a clip with my quartet, Euph-da! This is the traditional Scottish tune Loch Lomond, arranged by Mike Forbes. Hardest part of it is playing pp that high at the beginning so the tuba solo can be heard. ;)
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Very nice, although no one took "the high road." Great name for the 4tet, in your neck-o-the-woods.

Though trumpet was my first instrument, I played tuba in high school as well. The conclusion was that tuba is actually more fun to play, but trumpet wins for portability. Euphonium is a reasonable compromise: small enough that it doesn' t demand a lifestyle change, much more articulate compared to a bass tuba, and that rich, glorious sound really lives up to the name. Anyone considering taking up a new hobby could do much worse than learning Euphonium.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I would love to play a musical instrument but …

When I was a child, my father got me piano lessons. My piano teacher ended up firing me. Later in life as I tried to learn guitar, I understood why.
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My son is a musician (guitar) with enough of a local following to occasionally get interviewed by various arts media outlets. He has never failed to mention his Dad’s complete lack of musical talent.
 
mcdewey said:
Oh, that last piece is gorgeous!
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Yes - Maybe because I'm not in it? ;)

AV8R_87 said:
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Haha! Luckily, the euphonium doesn't really do "oompa". That's for the tubas and french horns in a traditional march or waltz, while the euphonium usually gets nice countermelodies.

Unfortunately, the euphonium was invented long after the baroque, classical, and romantic periods so there is very little orchestral music that uses it (with notable exceptions like Gustav Holst's The Planets). The sound doesn't really lend itself to jazz, though there are interesting exceptions there as well. Thus, modern concert band and brass band music is where it's most used, and there aren't a lot of professional bands so it's very rare for a euphonium player to find a full time paid ensemble gig. There are several that have made good solo careers, but it's still usually combined with a teaching position for stability.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yes - Maybe because I'm not in it? ;)


Haha! Luckily, the euphonium doesn't really do "oompa". That's for the tubas and french horns in a traditional march or waltz, while the euphonium usually gets nice countermelodies.

Unfortunately, the euphonium was invented long after the baroque, classical, and romantic periods so there is very little orchestral music that uses it (with notable exceptions like Gustav Holst's The Planets). The sound doesn't really lend itself to jazz, though there are interesting exceptions there as well. Thus, modern concert band and brass band music is where it's most used, and there aren't a lot of professional bands so it's very rare for a euphonium player to find a full time paid ensemble gig. There are several that have made good solo careers, but it's still usually combined with a teaching position for stability.
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A classmate of my brother’s managed to make a career out of playing the euphonium…30 years in the National Guard.
 
What I’m remembering is it’s Tuba Christmas time :) Now i need to find the latest Scott Wilkinson video on YouTube

Wait- is the an aviation thread or music jam discussion :). Either way, fun to see others’ passions!
 
MauleSkinner said:
A classmate of my brother’s managed to make a career out of playing the euphonium…30 years in the National Guard.
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Yep. Service bands are probably the only way to do it outside of teaching, and some of the best players have done both (David Werden and Brian Bowman spring to mind).

I really can't find anyone who has never done one of those two. Even Steven Mead still teaches, and he's likely the most successful traveling euphonium soloist... One of those guys who is so good at something and has such obvious fun with it that he's fun to watch regardless of what the thing is:


Anyway, I think I'm probably done hijacking this thread now. :rofl:
 
midlifeflyer said:
I would love to play a musical instrument but …

When I was a child, my father got me piano lessons. My piano teacher ended up firing me. Later in life as I tried to learn guitar, I understood why.

Basically, aside from aviation-related stuff, my “hobbies” are activities. Tennis and a game that loosely resembles golf.
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This was me. I am a hopeless musician with zero talent or ability.

I got punished with piano lessons too. The only way I could get through was to convert the piano keys into numeric offsets. I still know that twinkle twinkle is played thus: 1 1 5 5 6 6 5; 4 4 3 3 2 2 1; 5 5 4 4 3 3 2; 5 5 4 4 3 3 2; 1 1 5 5 6 6 5; 4 4 3 3 2 2 1.

I'm somewhat ashamed typing that. :)
 
1132132-1132(-12).

Same, the only way I was able to pass elementary keyboarding class in school. My teacher taught me to convert the notes to numbers and I associated the numbers with the keys.
 
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schmookeeg said:
This was me. I am a hopeless musician with zero talent or ability.

I got punished with piano lessons too. The only way I could get through was to convert the piano keys into numeric offsets. I still know that twinkle twinkle is played thus: 1 1 5 5 6 6 5; 4 4 3 3 2 2 1; 5 5 4 4 3 3 2; 5 5 4 4 3 3 2; 1 1 5 5 6 6 5; 4 4 3 3 2 2 1.

I'm somewhat ashamed typing that. :)
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Dude! You not only learned a little Mozart, you figured-out the Nashville Numbers system right from the get-go.

Your new hobby will be playing sessions in Music City!
 
1 5 5 43432 2 123 234 313 2... :D

schmookeeg said:
I got punished with piano lessons too. The only way I could get through was to convert the piano keys into numeric offsets. I still know that twinkle twinkle is played thus: 1 1 5 5 6 6 5; 4 4 3 3 2 2 1; 5 5 4 4 3 3 2; 5 5 4 4 3 3 2; 1 1 5 5 6 6 5; 4 4 3 3 2 2 1.
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My wife is a middle school band director. One of her students memorized pi to 100 digits!

How'd he do it? Exactly like this - He converted the numbers to notes, wrote it out and played it on his saxophone until he had the tune memorized, and then converted the notes back to numbers from memory. Pretty slick.
 
MauleSkinner said:
A classmate of my brother’s managed to make a career out of playing the euphonium…30 years in the National Guard.
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Haha i have some euphonium time as well but i was originally type-rated in the tenor trombone. Always wanted to try the bass trombone but I have never touched one.
 
Old97 said:
Haha i have some euphonium time as well but i was originally type-rated in the tenor trombone. Always wanted to try the bass trombone but I have never touched one.
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My H.S. band director put me on bass trombone for my freshman and sophomore years, partly because I wasn’t putting enough air through my tenor trombone and he thought it would help. I think he ended up regretting that choice. He had to move me to the right side of my music stand to block some of the sound, and i still got “the hand” fairly frequently.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
1 5 5 43432 2 123 234 313 2... :D


My wife is a middle school band director. One of her students memorized pi to 100 digits!

How'd he do it? Exactly like this - He converted the numbers to notes, wrote it out and played it on his saxophone until he had the tune memorized, and then converted the notes back to numbers from memory. Pretty slick.
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Brilliant! I'm going to use this system to memorize 13-character passwords. Maybe even adapt it to remember where I left my car keys and who borrowed my cable swager. Oh, did I mention that finding searching for lost things has become a hobby of mine?
 
Roger Wilco said:
Brilliant! I'm going to use this system to memorize 13-character passwords. Maybe even adapt it to remember where I left my car keys and who borrowed my cable swager. Oh, did I mention that finding searching for lost things has become a hobby of mine?
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Because my brain works this way, I am imagining you tied to a chair, with evildoers threatening to harm you if you don't give up your password, and they somehow don't believe that your password is actually "skiddly-bop doo wop a bee bop bowww" :D
 
schmookeeg said:
Because my brain works this way, I am imagining you tied to a chair, with evildoers threatening to harm you if you don't give up your password, and they somehow don't believe that your password is actually "skiddly-bop doo wop a bee bop bowww" :D
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You knew about that? How? Who are you working for?

Actually, skiddly-bop doo wop a bee bop bowww was just a subterfuge. To obtain the actual password you have to transpose up a minor 6th, in which case it becomes Ooma mow mow, papa ooma mow mow papa ooma mow mow, papa ooma mow mow.

Kinda makes me wonder if anyone on PoA is a cryptology hobbyist.
 
Roger Wilco said:
Kinda makes me wonder if anyone on PoA is a cryptology hobbyist.
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I don't know of that many people who are seriously into IT that haven't played around with it. And willing to bet lunch money that more than one person on here has done it for a living and can't say.
 
MauleSkinner said:
My H.S. band director put me on bass trombone for my freshman and sophomore years, partly because I wasn’t putting enough air through my tenor trombone and he thought it would help. I think he ended up regretting that choice. He had to move me to the right side of my music stand to block some of the sound, and i still got “the hand” fairly frequently.
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My wife's philosophy is that if she isn't getting the hand, she's not playing loud enough. She can put an impressive amount of air into a trombone and convert it into near-biblical-disaster levels of sound.
 
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