No fantasy for myself, I play Tenor Sax, and have since I started studying music at I believe 10 years of age. Participated in solos, ensembles, state music contests etc. throughout high school, and was in my college marching band for four years.....and was not a music major! In 2000, I bought a new, top of the line Sax, a Selmer super action Model 80 tenor. It is a gem. I practice it about 8 hours a week. I also have a Gemeinhardt professional model flute that I play some, but not as well as I would like.
Currently I get together, and not often enough, with a group and we play dixieland jazz stuff.
My fantasy is to play guitar really well.....like Jimmy Page!
That's wonderful you play the baritone sax!
I played alto sax in high school for several years. I was in the high school marching band my freshman and sophomore year in high school, and I even marched in the Indianapolis 500 parade on year! During the winter when it was too cold for marching band, I played both alto and baritone sax.
My parents insisted I start piano lessons when I was 5, I think. I took piano lessons for about 16 years from a wonderful woman by the name of Miss Eaton. She was a spinster, about 65 years old when I first started taking lessons from her. She supported herself by giving piano lessons to roughly 40 people, and she was also the organist at her church. She continued to teach piano well into her 80's until she died. She taught classical piano, so that's how I learned to play, and I think this is probably why I learned to love classical music at such an early age.
I decided to also take violin lessons about a year after I started taking piano, and mom and dad bought me my very own violin! When I turned 8 I think, I started nagging mom and dad for a cello. They told me the piano and violin were enough, but I continued to nag and beg them until they agreed and bought me a cello. I started taking cello lessons and I soon fell in love with the instrument. During my Junior year at high school, I switched over from the band to the orchestra. I loved the orchestra and Mr Grant asked me if I would be willing to give violin and cello lessons to some of the other students after school.
So that was my life as a teenager; violin, piano and cello lessons along with at least 1 hour of practice on each instrument every day. Only on the weekends did I have time to pursue my other interests such as basketball, hiking and playing with my friends.
I also play the banjo and guitar. I don't own a guitar right now, but I'm planning on buying one pretty soon. I do own a banjo and sometimes when my friend Craig comes over to visit he'll bring along his guitar and we'll sit down and play a round of "Dueling Banjos". Currently I don't own a piano either, but I have my eye on a cute little baby grand. Maybe someday, huh? I have a very nice 88 key keyboard though and I enjoy playing on it. It has a tactile keyboard, which means the harder you strike on a key, the louder the tone will be, just like on a piano. It's good enough for me right now!
I think my instrument of choice (if I had to choose) is probably the cello, with the violin a very close second. The cello is a beautiful instrument and very fun to play. Finally, all those years of practice are paying off for me, I think. I love the feeling of the strings vibrating against the bow. I think probably most cellists would agree with me. There is much power in those cello strings, and I can literally feel the music as I play it. It's a special kind of relationship I have between me and my cello. I can hear it and feel it too!
I also played trombone in elementary school for about a year I think, but I never took to it and quickly gave it up and switched over to the saxophone. I never really enjoyed the saxophone either. It's a beautiful instrument but it just wasn't for me, I guess. And I wasn't very good at it. Maybe that was part of the problem? Nowdays, I play my cello, violin and keyboard, and sometimes my banjo. I play mostly classical music, but I also enjoy playing bluegrass and mountain music on my violin sometimes and also on my banjo. It's fun!