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I’ve never been able to answer this one as there are quite a few variations and some that I play only a bit so now you can find out:
Violin: My first study when I did my degree this remains my favourite. There are two sides to this – classical and modern music get played on my first fiddle and folk and West Gallery music on my old school fiddle which has been converted to sound more like a baroque instrument – gut strings, baroque bridge and sound post, no chin or shoulder rests.
Viola: I’ve been playing viola, the violin’s big brother, for a few years now and have come to love its big sound and the opportunity to hear pieces from the middle of the band. It has three of the same strings as a violin (A, D and G) but has a C string at the bottom instead of an E at the top.
Viella: also known as the Medieval Fiddle this is another big instrument. It is shaped like a guitar and has 4 gut strings which can be tuned in all sorts of different ways and are often played 2 or 3 at a time. It also has one metal string off to the side which buzzes and hums along with the music, adding to the richness of the tone.
Rebec: This is also a medieval instrument. They came in all sizes and with different numbers of strings but the one I play is about ¾ violin sized and has 4 strings which I tune like a violin, or sometimes I tune the G and even the D up a tone to A and E, again this can allow lots of double stopping. It has a lovely round back and is made of one piece of wood all the way up the back to the figurehead at the top.
Guitar: Most people know what one of these looks like! I took to the guitar as a grown-up and play folky finger-picking and classical styles. Did you know that there are now more guitars in Primary Schools than there are Recorders? Or so I’ve heard.
Lute: This was the guitar’s predecessor and was just as popular in Tudor times as the guitar is with us today. It has a round back made of thin strips of wood and is very light and delicate but has a big sound. The strings were gut but I use nylon at the moment.
Harp: The harp I play has 19 gut strings. I use it for early music only and am still very much learning how to get around it.
Piano: I have a certificate somewhere that says I can play the piano to Grade 6 but you won’t often hear me do so in public as I’ve never been able to cope with finding so many notes at once. I enjoy it at home sometimes though.
Clarinet: This was my second study at High School and continues to be useful in fits and starts.
Bass Clarinet: I don’t have one of these but borrow one whenever I can as it’s great fun to play – it sounds an octave lower than the normal clarinet and has a slightly saxophony sound
5-key Clarinet: My oldest instrument, this dates from the 1830s and has a completely different fingering system and sound to the modern clarinet. I play it with the Norfolk Gallery Quire and their associated band The Fall of Eve.
Shawms: These were the loud wind instruments of the Middle Ages and Tudor times. They have a double reed like a modern bassoon and similar fingering to a recorder (most wind instruments had the same fingering before they invented the keys that we use today). I play soprano and alto and am waiting to get my hands on a tenor.
Recorders: Like most children of my generation and the one before I learned recorder at first school and I still have my old plastic Aulos somewhere. Now I also use recorders of various sizes and shapes with the King’s Lynn Waites, Wyldes Noyse and the Colchester Waits. If you’re at school and have the chance to play recorder take it – it makes learning any other woodwind instrument so much easier as well as being a beautiful instrument in its own right.
Whistles: For a few years I played penny whistles with the folk rock band Map of Tazmania. This is my only experience of amplified pub music and was quite an education in itself. The whistle is great for improvising on as they come in different keys so as long as you pick up the right one……
Ocarina: Well, a bit any way. I was fascinated with this little 4 holed instrument at school and still have mine in a cupboard somewhere.
Shakuhachi: I had lessons on this fiendishly difficult Japanese flute for 3 years at Durham and was quite good at reading the music in Japanese characters by the time I left, too bad I felt faint by the time I’d played a page!
Indian classical singing and violin: Not sure if this counts as an instrument but I had lessons in Newcastle for a while and spent 3 weeks in Delhi learning this beautiful music. It’s had quite a strong effect on my views on melody, harmony and tuning and left me with the love of drones.
Gamelan: Again this was an important part of my life up in Durham while I was at Uni. This Javanese gong ensemble is played using formulas to create layered variations on the basic melody. It’s a whole collection of instruments really but I most enjoyed playing the boning (the one that looks like a rack of saucepans) and the drums.
Djembe: I learned this west African instrument and its music in wildest Norfolk so am not sure quite how authentic a tradition I’m carrying but my goodness its fun!
Samba: Brazilian drum ensemble. As above only louder!
Steel pans: Caribbean orchestra of oil drums, again learned in Norfolk.