[T Son of Ander]

Difficult to categorize, so I chose "I can play a little." I played sax in junior high and high school, which is when I learned to read music. During junior high, I also learned to play drums and have played regularly since. I haven't played the sax since HS.

As an adult, I took a couple years worth of music history and theory/composition, a basic piano course, and an electronic music (MIDI) course. I tried to take a sight singing/ear training course, but I absolutely cannot sing in front of a group of people. I dropped that and practiced the curriculum with a friend who was in the class.

I have no talent at keyboard, but I can play melodic lines with my right hand, and I can use the keyboard to mess around with chord structures and things like that. It has to be the most basic, simple piece of music for me to play two-handed.

Drums are my main instrument - not percussion, so nothing classical in that regard. Although, it's sometimes fun to put on a Bach allegro and play a back beat to it. :lol:

 

[T Son of Ander]

Um - I haven't read it.
Actually, I'd never heard of it, before I read your post!
But I'm feeling a bit better now that I've googled it and Wiki says that it's 'a prescriptive American English writing style guide'.
After all, I'm an English-English teacher.
But I'll probably take a look at it if it's an important book across the pond.
Thank you, Florestan. :tiphat:

To keep on topic, I'll also add that I, like most British children of my vintage, learned the recorder at school. (I believe now that the ukulele has taken its place.)
However, precious little classical music was played - some would say, precious little music.

Not an English teacher, but I agree about Strunk & White's "Elements of Style." I think it should be comulsory reading for any student of English, at least in America.

 

[T Son of Ander]

This sounds like the sort of trajectory self-taught composers take. Do you dabble?

Actually, I have. Sadly, I don't think I have any talent in the compositional regard, either. I wrote several orchestral and chamber works and sequenced them on computer, but they just sound like someone trying to copy Mozart or Vivaldi and failing miserably. :lol: I did write a 12-tone piano piece that I think turned out really good, so perhaps my talents lie in that area. Who knows? But it's been several years since I have tried writing anything.