Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with musicalinstruments

Sing-alongs for the talentless

Alizaria — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:27:21 -0800

How can a person without skill or talent have fun at an informal family-style sing-along? I'm going to a family reunion where everyone else is musical and the big activity is a sing-along. They — a group of 10 adults and 4 teens — want to do a lot of Beatles songs and so forth. I don't play any instruments and I'm not any good at singing. I can perfectly well enjoy being around the others and listening, but I don't want to be/look too passive. Somebody suggested a tambourine, which seems on the right track, but too annoying. Any other instrument I could play without skill or talent? Any techniques for enjoying a sing-along without skill or talent?

Help Me Find My First Autoharp!

sarabeth — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:00:42 -0800

I've decided to learn how to play the Autoharp, and am looking into purchasing one for the very first time. What's a good entry-level instrument? (Note: keep in mind that I'm an absolute beginner, and am looking at the lower end of the price range, since I'm just starting out.) Thank you in advance for your help, all!

Where do I get a box for a big keyboard?

zvs — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:19:12 -0800

Where can I find a box to ship a big keyboard? I'm eBaying the keyboard that's been taking up space in my apartment, after getting fed up with various scammers and flakes on Craigslist. Now I have to deal with the quandary of shipping it. Where can I find an appropriately sized box, 50"x16"x6" or so? (I don't have the one it came in.)

Does some company sell these on the web? Or better yet, in NYC?

What conditions do banjos dislike?

homelystar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:33:38 -0800

How can I store my banjo long-term to preserve the best possible sound? I have a hard case (not a soft "gig bag") and the instrument is in a dark closet. We keep the humidity between 40-55% whenever possible... I have a new-ish job, a toddler, a marathon to train for, and an online class starting next week. All good things, but combined they mean my 3-year-old, open-back Deering Goodtime banjo gets very little attention. Short of loaning it to someone who will play it regularly (I am trying to find someone), how can I store it to minimize if not avoid warping or other damage?

Looking for a junkyard of musical instruments

moonmilk — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:05:28 -0800

Where in New York City or the San Francisco Bay Area can I buy dirt-cheap used/wrecked musical instruments? I want to dig through bins of dented trombones and xylophones with missing bars. Is there such a place? Preferably near public transit.

Learning a musical instrument for the non-musically inclined?

lychee — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:42:46 -0800

Suggestions for a quirky, small musical instrument that a music-newbie can learn to play on their own? I'm tired of being surrounded by piano and violin players; the neighbors practice their cello and drums, and there's a guitar player on the bus every day. As a youngster, I chose the visual arts as my creative outlet, and I've been happy with the decision, but now as an adult, I want to pick up a musical instrument as a new hobby. But I don't want to do the typical stuff: piano, guitar, violin, flute, etc. I want something unique and portable, something I can learn to play on my own. Any suggestions?

Where to find a Stroh violin in New York

235w103 — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:05:47 -0800

Is there any shops in New York City where one could find a Stroh violin, aka Phonofiddle or violinophone? I'm a lapsed violinist, looking to get back into it, and I was thinking of dropping some flow on a Stroh violin. But I'd really rather play one before purchasing, so I'd rather buy from a shop than through the internet. I'm in New York for a while, so I'm hoping that I might be able to find a purveyor of unusual instruments. Any ideas?

Luthierizing

arcticwoman — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 12:05:31 -0800

Help me understand how guitars (steel-string and classical) are built. I am researching an important but little-known Canadian luthier who built acoustic steel-string and classical guitars from the 50s to the early 80s and I know very little about the instruments. Searching "guitar building" or "guitar making" brings me mostly to sites advertising kits/classes or teaching how to build a guitar at home, but what I am interested in is how they would be built in a professional crafts-person's shop.

Specifically:
What is the process?
What are the tools/materials needed?
What was guitar-building like in the 50's-80's?

Any primers on guitars in general (what are the parts and what do they do, etc) are also welcome.

Can you take a guitar on a plane these days ?

y2karl — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 21:54:48 -0800

I am flying to another city soon and would like take my guitar with me. On the plane--not as baggage. I would like to read about the experiences of anyone here who has tried to do the same. My research thus far yields no fixed answer.

What (musical) keyboard should I buy?

Jack Karaoke — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:43:48 -0800

I've played guitar for 10+ years - I want to learn piano, for writing, performing, and to widen my musical understanding. A real piano doesn't jive with my life, what should I buy? I've been writing songs for 10+ years, I have a good ear, and good hands. I'd like to buy a keyboard, and know that I'll be pretty satisfied with it (sound and feel) for a good while.

The undisputed top factors are action and sound. Like I said, I have good ears, but I'm not a pianophile, I'm not going to buy the Vienna Orchestra software or anything. I'm open to a controller with an outboard sample bank. I'm primarily interested in straight piano sounds, but organ/rhodes tones wouldn't hurt.

Portability would be great, but not critical. I'd like to pay $400-$1000, I could spend beyond that, but there should be a compelling argument to shell out anything beyond $1,000. Used is fine, I don't care about scuffs, scratches, or spray paint.

Gutar Man

rtimmel — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 08:48:29 -0800

My 13 yr. old son has been taking electric guitar lessons for about a year and is getting ready to spend his hard earned money on a new guitar. (more inside) In doing some preliminary research, the electric guitar world seems to be broken down into two broad categories (please correct me if I'm wrong): the stratocaster single pickup world; and the les paul double pickup (humbucker) world. Fender also has an HSS line that seems to straddle the two. While I realize that he really needs to go in and play a few, I would like to be a bit forearmed. Can anyone explain the difference between the two and give me a sense of which would be better for a fairly new player to buy? He seem to concentrate on the classic rock of my youth in his playing -- Zeppelin, Skynard, Hendrix, with some Blink 182 and The Killers thrown in. Bonus points for suggestions of good deals for around $400-$500.

Electric Guitar

Tommy Gnosis — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 16:16:54 -0800

Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap, but great sounding electric guitar, say in the $300-600 range? [more inside] I'm currently living in Southern Connecticut, but starting up a new band project (rehearsals 2x per week) in Brooklyn. I'm looking to get a cheap axe that I can leave behind in the space (a locked space in a friend's bar, so low danger of theft), so I don't have to shlep it back and forth on the Metro North and the Subway to Fort Greene. Problem is, I'm a bit spoiled as far as quality, goes -- my principal guitars for the past 7 years have been a '56 Les Paul Goldtop (reissue) and '62 Fender Jazzmaster (the real thing) -- so something crappy like a Squier would be a little too uninspiring to play with. I have been reading good things about ESP and Ibanez guitars, but have no experience with them. Anything I’ve overlooked?

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Fretboard Hangers-ons

COBRA! — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 07:55:03 -0800

What are the three things on the body (just above the fretboard) of Jeff Tweedy's guitar in this picture? I've been seeing them on that guitar at Wilco shows for years, and have never been able to figure out what they are. At some shows, it seemed like they were glowing, but it could have just been the stage lights.

Bugarijas

notsnot — Sat, 06 Mar 2004 20:55:52 -0800

Odd Ethnic Croatian instruments...I found my dad's old bugarija, and took it to the local folk-music shop to get restrung. They gave me strings based on the thirty-year-old strings that were on the thing. I looked online and foud out that the instrument is commonly tuned to an open D, but there's no way I can wind the strings up that tight without breaking stuff. If possible, I'd like to tune it like a guitar's top strings, and leave the bottom two strings as a drone and octave ('chorus'), but don't really know what my options are. My dad hasn't played it in 40+ years so he's no help...any one know anything 'bout a bugarija? One other thing: it's got five tuning pegs, but both the nut and the bridge have seven slots, with different spacing. Anyone know what the heck is going on?