TheaterFire

If you played an instrument in school band in the 80s or 90s, do you still play it; or remember how?

Posted by cherry-care-bear@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 104 comments

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104 Comments

aWesterner014@reddit

Do I still play? No. But I have thought about trying out for our community band or contributing to the special music program at my church. Can I still play? Yes. Can I hit the high notes that I used to hit in college? No.
View on Reddit #78855021

Sausage_Queen_of_Chi@reddit

I played the flute, still have it, and even joined some community orchestras to play it again! It’s funny how similar the experience was to high school band. Same personalities, often the same music, we’re all just 10-50 years older. 
View on Reddit #78777974

FunConsideration9029@reddit

Trumpet, 'cause my Dad was in the Air Force band.
View on Reddit #78627715

BittterQuittter@reddit

I played it professionally for 15 years thereafter
View on Reddit #78558033

Delta-IX@reddit

Trumpet from 1995 to 2007. I don't play now but I 100% can still read music and can still play
View on Reddit #78557311

Ryoukai2001@reddit

Nope. And I’m amazed that I actually knew how to handle key changes and all that. I have no clue how they work all these years later.
View on Reddit #78535700

Itsnotbabyyoda389@reddit

I picked the trumpet back up a year ago. I remembered quite a bit.
View on Reddit #78520970

jthagler@reddit

I do not still play saxophone but I'm confident I could if I had to. I still remember all my fingering 😏
View on Reddit #78374604

Alcoholitron@reddit

Same. Other instruments are more fun to play alone.
View on Reddit #78512114

MikeyLikesItFast@reddit

I got mine back from my folks a few years ago and it's like riding a bike. But your mouth gets tired really quickly just from those muscles being out of shape.
View on Reddit #78435547

SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit

Fellow sax player. Tenor or alto? It would take me a bit to re-learn notation and fingering, but I could do it. Still got my tenor. Probably need a new reed though.
View on Reddit #78380184

jthagler@reddit

Tenor. But I always wanted to play bari lol.
View on Reddit #78382094

non_clever_username@reddit

Naw trust me you don’t. I got stuck dragging that thing around for marching band. The novelty of it being fun to play wears off quickly and then you’re just stuck dragging around a thing that’s 3x the size and weight of an alto.
View on Reddit #78425203

Kenway@reddit

I played alto but filled in when our band needed a bari for a piece.
View on Reddit #78405465

CorgiMonsoon@reddit

![gif](giphy|oO8L2YGa15Gm73mYJw)
View on Reddit #78391069

wazacraft@reddit

[The Curse!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNno63ZO2Lw)
View on Reddit #78413936

CorgiMonsoon@reddit

I just can’t wait to see Oily Sax God’s number in the musical version that’s opening on Broadway in a couple months
View on Reddit #78414170

My_11th_Account@reddit

Niceeeeeee
View on Reddit #78379029

Serious-Mongoose-387@reddit

i don’t play the trumpet much these days so my lips are way out of shape, but i recorded some songs a few years and played trumpet on one. had to build my lip strength back up first.
View on Reddit #78487262

SeaSkimmer2@reddit

The recorder? I could probably pull off Mary Had A Little Lamb again if I put my mind to it.
View on Reddit #78374742

bh4th@reddit

My college had an early music ensemble, where I got pretty good at playing bass recorder. It’s about three feet long.
View on Reddit #78462075

zealot_ratio@reddit

useful to know if you're ever interested in folk music...if you can play recorder, you can pick up tin flute, etc very quickly.
View on Reddit #78427344

avalonfaith@reddit

Hot X Buns baby! I got you!
View on Reddit #78376866

bascule@reddit

I played string bass, then transitioned to bass guitar, then bass synths
View on Reddit #78449174

ckglle3lle@reddit

Played Trumpet and Saxophones. Don't play them anymore but still remember the fingerings. Moved on to guitars and keyboards which I do still play and practice regularly
View on Reddit #78433690

Appropriate-Truck614@reddit

Percussionist from 5th grade through senior year. I still do some mad air drumming in the car and when rocking out at home, but have only held sticks on a handful of occasions since graduation.
View on Reddit #78433459

HopelesslyHuman@reddit

I've been a drummer since 1998 and I'm still at it.
View on Reddit #78431926

Verbull710@reddit

I remember Bb scale and Carmina Burana on Bassoon https://preview.redd.it/zwbr0to2zdjg1.jpeg?width=724&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=69c919ab33c14f402574797e45121399ee3f6560
View on Reddit #78378058

zealot_ratio@reddit

The bassoon is an underrated instrument.
View on Reddit #78427432

sarithe@reddit

Played basically every brass instrument my middle and high schools had available at various point in concert band. Trumpet, trombone, french horn, baritone, and tuba. I was all-state at trombone my junior and senior years. In marching band I played bass drum my freshman year and sophomore years. I switched to quads my junior and senior years. I played trombone in jazz band my freshman and sophomore years before switching to drums (other jazz band drummer graduated) my junior and senior years. Jazz band was a lot of fun as a drummer because I had no real music to read. It was all groove and feel. Band director would give me the starting tempo and then signal when he wanted a change, but I had complete freedom otherwise. I still own a trombone and occasionally with break it out. I went through a stretch during COVID where I was playing it basically every day again after only playing it a few times a year since high school before that. I forgot how much fun it was honestly.
View on Reddit #78376972

zealot_ratio@reddit

I wish I had kept it up. I stopped playing after having played all the bands with it in high school, tried once in a music shop in college and couldn't get a single sound out of it. Never looked back.
View on Reddit #78427402

zealot_ratio@reddit

I played trombone starting in '86 or so (because when they showed us instruments in 4th grade, I thought it was cool that the trombone did the wah wah wah slide sound) and played through graduation in '94. For a brief moment in the 90s trombone was relevant outside of jazz for ska. In 1995 after a year at college I picked one up at a music store and blew into it, and couldn't make a single sound. I had completely lost my embrouchure. Never picked one up again.
View on Reddit #78427227

non_clever_username@reddit

Sax. I don’t play it anymore and don’t have access to one, but I’m confident it would come back to me.
View on Reddit #78425279

NatrousOxide23@reddit

French horn/mellophone player from 4th grade through 8 years of collage marching band. I haven't played in 15 years, but I just tested and still have my college fight song memorized (the fingerings at least). While my brain remembers the fingerings, I am sure my embouchure is completely shot. If I could find some way to play French Horn again, I would take it.
View on Reddit #78422331

ZaphodBeeblebrahx@reddit

I’ve been playing sax since the 4th grade. I still play a couple times a month in a group with some other dads in the drummers basement. We play funk and fusion and just jam to have fun. We have no desire to play out, it’s too much hassle and we just wanna hang out, play some tunes, drink a beer, smoke some weed and shoot the shit.
View on Reddit #78415749

_madar_@reddit

Trumpet - I couldn’t play it very well, I’m certain I couldn’t play it now.
View on Reddit #78411133

OllieFromCairo@reddit

Trombonist, and yes.
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DirtyBirdDawg@reddit

Yep! I played trombone in high school and I can still remember how to play it. The only problem is that my horn is wildly out of tune. It makes me want to just buy a new one, but I'm pretty sure my old one can be saved.
View on Reddit #78408629

uniquecleverusername@reddit

I played Trombone for seven years. I used to be pretty bad at playing it and practicing. I still am, but I used to be too.
View on Reddit #78408406

Dry-Astronaut-8640@reddit

I played the clarinet in the band. I haven’t touched it since I graduated high school. I don’t doubt that I could still play it if I tried. It might take me a second to get the embouchure right, but that’d be it. Outside of school, I took 14 years of piano lessons when I was a kid. I still play the piano quite a bit and even have my childhood piano in my current home.
View on Reddit #78407764

jreashville@reddit

I played Baritone. I haven’t touched one in thirty years. I think I remember how to play a C.
View on Reddit #78403794

nocrisistoday@reddit

Funny story: my dad is a retired music professor and woodwind player, mostly clarinet. When I was a kid, I wanted to play sax, but my dad said I had to play clarinet for at least a year before I could switch to sax, and he said this like it was a law of nature. So from grades 7-12 I played clarinet and bass clarinet in the band—never bothered switching. After graduating, I didn’t touch a clarinet again for ten years. I got out of the service and went back to school, ending up at a small state school about an hour from my parents’ house. My second semester, I’m printing stuff out in the student center and I hear a familiar voice: “Excuse me, can you tell me where the music room is, please?” I look up and there’s my 71 year-old father with his clarinet case. Apparently random people from the community can just join a college band if they can play and the bad needs people. How dare he?? This was my territory! I spent the whole fall semester thinking of the funniest way to get back at him, and then it hit me. The first rehearsal of spring semester my dad is warming up in the band room and here I come with the bass clarinet. The look on his face alone was worth the 4 weeks I’d spent practicing.
View on Reddit #78403681

Traditional_Entry183@reddit

Nope. The Thanksgiving parade in my hometown in 1994 was my retirement. I haven't a single time since then.
View on Reddit #78402661

crazycatlady331@reddit

I played French horn in 4th grade. I quit after that year because I couldn't carry the thing (I was a small kid). Played piano from k-8th grade. Don't think I could play now.
View on Reddit #78400349

CantFindMyWallet@reddit

I've been playing drums for 32 years. I started a band with the other parents at my kids' daycare last year, and we get together every couple of weeks to play. It rules.
View on Reddit #78400204

ImitationCheesequake@reddit

started playing snare drum moved to bass drum then moved to all different kinds of percussion in JR/SR HS, haven't had a drumset in years now.
View on Reddit #78374731

unholycowgod@reddit

Started percussion in jr high then marched cymbals, bass drum, and snare drum in hs and even marched tenors in college. Still have some chops but nowhere near what I had back in the day.
View on Reddit #78378330

ImitationCheesequake@reddit

I didn't march I was in jazz band and competitive jazz quartet, played timpani for a year but had no desire to pursuit it. I still like to pick up and play a kit with the brushes now and again. I tell myself that I'll pick up another full size kit for my 50th birthtday in lieu of a sports car lol
View on Reddit #78378479

unholycowgod@reddit

Apparently the electronic ones are a great alternative for (quiet) home use just fyi! (Hint hint to Cheesequakes SO)
View on Reddit #78399264

morganalefaye125@reddit

I was 1st chair flute in 7th and 8th grades. I remember the basics, but haven't drug out that instrument in a looonnnngggg time
View on Reddit #78399042

MeatPopsicle10@reddit

Yes!! My saxophone is one of the few things I will never part with. Still read music too and am teaching all my kids how to via my piano.
View on Reddit #78398686

kheret@reddit

I played double bass in orchestra for 7 years in middle and high school. Acquired a bass guitar in high school as well and noodles around in my room but never played that with other people (I’m female and none of my friends wanted to start a terrible band with me.) Double bass is not an instrument you take with you to out of state college so my parents sold that as soon as I matriculated but I kept the bass guitar. But even it earned a long term parking spot in the closet through grad school, establishing my career and having a kid. But my kid is almost 7 now and I picked it back up again a few months ago. I’ve been amazed at how quickly some things have come back to me, particularly the left and right hand coordination and the “how music works” stuff. I can almost kinda sorta still read bass clef too though that’s not a priority for the kind of music I want to play now. I was a relatively serious orchestra student though, playing a couple hours a day between school and home. My biggest challenge is that I had bad technique on bass guitar back then because I played the strings like you would a double bass - too hard. I’m learning to “play the amp not the strings” now, which is essential because 41 year old hands and wrists are a lot less forgiving than 19 year old ones.
View on Reddit #78398331

Scalytor@reddit

Played trombone in marching band all through middle and high school and college. I play it every couple of years when I decide to go play in alumni events. I wish I had the opportunity to play more often.
View on Reddit #78397844

alwaus@reddit

Violin, still own one. Still play occasionally.
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s-multicellular@reddit

“Band”….I dont still play trombone. Orchestra, bass, I still play bass, though mostly electric, but I can still play upright. I have one and occasionally will use that for a recording.
View on Reddit #78396476

User_Says_What@reddit

Clarinet. Heck, no. I hated that thing.
View on Reddit #78396185

bcentsale@reddit

Forced to play violin from 3rd through 11th grades because someone somewhere gave my grandparents a violin, and my parents weren't going to pay for something when there was a perfectly good violin sitting in a closet. I still have the violin, and could probably still read simple music, but last I checked it needs a new bow and the tuning pegs spin freely in their slots, so it'd take a bit of money to get it up to snuff. My youngest (of 3) is the only one interested in music and plays flute.
View on Reddit #78396167

ilikeaffection@reddit

Play, write and arrange music for bands, and occasionally teach. My day job is writing software.
View on Reddit #78374710

bcentsale@reddit

Little bit of overlap there, at least on a philosophical level. 😉
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PitBasset@reddit

Nice. Concert and or marching? I’m a drill writer.
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ilikeaffection@reddit

Both, but I mostly enjoy arranging marching music. I've done some arrangements for small ensembles as well.
View on Reddit #78375882

PitBasset@reddit

Cool. Shit, maybe I’ve written to your arrangements before. I’m mainly a Midwest guy. Ever do drum corps?
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ilikeaffection@reddit

Hell no. My stuff has mostly been used locally for high schools and occasionally the local college. I have neither the education, talent nor connections to land a gig even orchestrating for the dudes who arrange for DCI. That's a very small community of incredible talents with resumes that do not look like mine (my degree is in history & philosophy, and I write software for a living, lol)
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PitBasset@reddit

That’s interesting to me. I’ve never written for college but I’ve written 15 DCI/DCA shows. I suppose it is somewhat different for music arranging vs. drill writing. Getting those jobs is very dependent on not just talent, but having someone know you and be willing to give you a chance. I did March 8 years of DCI, so that helped. Of the 3 corps I wrote for I was a fill in halfway through because someone else flamed out. Lost 2 of the jobs due to the corps folding, and lasted 11 years at the other one. Now on my longest stretch away from drum corps in my life now. Hoping for another shot sometime, but there are so many talented writers.
View on Reddit #78377332

knivesofsmoothness@reddit

Fuck yea! Just got back from 6 hours of jamming at a local festival. It's 3 am and I'm wired. Going back for more tomorrow.
View on Reddit #78391026

Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Drums and I just do air drums more than I should probably.
View on Reddit #78387423

CottaBird@reddit

Saxophone for 30 years now. Mostly baritone sax these days.
View on Reddit #78384989

16Shells@reddit

my school didn’t have a band or even music classes, but me and a couple other guys took over the music room as a jam spot and a place for band practice. i still play guitar a bit and dabble with synths and drum machines, but not nearly as much as i should.
View on Reddit #78383772

Additional_Egg7024@reddit

Still playing the drums
View on Reddit #78383613

schenkzoola@reddit

I definitely don’t remember how to play anymore, but I could probably re-learn.
View on Reddit #78383024

hurtinforasquirtin77@reddit

We were white trash, no instruments were played
View on Reddit #78382195

bissimo@reddit

No. Started on trumpet back then, moved on to bass guitar in high school/college, synthesizer as an old man.
View on Reddit #78382150

SlackPriestess@reddit

I played flute in elementary school and trumpet in high school. I can still play both, albeit not as well as I used to
View on Reddit #78381884

CunnyMaggots@reddit

I played flute. Or at least i faked playing the flute for a couple years. I own a wooden flute now but due to fucking my lungs up and getting COPD with 16 years of smoking, I don't have the lung power for wind instrument.
View on Reddit #78381827

AshDogBucket@reddit

Yep. I played viola in orchestra, and trumpet in band. I don't own a viola, but I think i could pick it back up pretty easily. I don't play trumpet all the time but I did just play for an audience at christmas. I play 12 instruments. They just come naturally to me. One of my "things" - I play music by ear, so as I'm listening I generally know the notes. When I'm listening to a song or i have a song in my head, the fingers on my right hand are often passively playing the notes on air trumpet (or my lap or steering wheel or whatever I'mholding). I've been doing this for 30+ years now, so... even though i don't actually pick up a trumpet all that often, the fingerings are etched into my brain at this point.
View on Reddit #78381761

Expensive-Day-3551@reddit

I played violin. I don’t even remember how to read music
View on Reddit #78374587

VectorJones@reddit

Same here. I vaguely remember how to hold the bow, but that's about it. I sucked at it anyway.
View on Reddit #78381427

SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit

Oddly high number of sax respondents here...
View on Reddit #78380236

Riala4@reddit

Played clarinet at school and church for over 7 years. I could probably still play but it's been a long while...
View on Reddit #78379541

Stsberi97@reddit

I mimed the saxophone in 4th grade. This was actuality I big moment in my life. I remember being so nervous I couldn’t play the songs we were supposed to play for the winter concert. Then I had an epiphany! I could pretend to play! I still pretend to do stuff to this day like be a functional adult and it all traces back to that saxophone!
View on Reddit #78379539

thisbroadreadsbooks@reddit

I played alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone from 3rd-9th grade. The last time I picked up a sax was 12 years ago. My friends kid got an alto gifted to them and wanted to learn how to play it. After sucking on a new reed for about 2 minutes, I remembered how to play twinkle twinkle little star, Mary had a little lamb, and hot cross buns. I was not able to read music though. It was all muscle memory. I remembered a couple parts from a few more advanced pieces but not well. But I think if I had a couple hours to watch a couple YouTube videos I’d be able to read simple music again.
View on Reddit #78379347

Truth_Seeker963@reddit

I don’t play anymore but I remember how.
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audiate@reddit

I made my career and life mission out of it. 
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mercedesdahlia@reddit

Yes
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Astrohumper@reddit

Momma dadda momma dadda momma dadda
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VardellaTheWitch@reddit

I still play my flute and piccolo sometimes, but it's not as engaging outside of an organized program. I've been meaning to join a community band or orchestra, but just not sure if I can commit the time with all of life's other demands
View on Reddit #78378002

TimToMakeTheDonuts@reddit

I played piano and trumpet. I still play piano because I love it. I stopped playing trumpet became what would I even continue? Unless you’re plying taps at the cemetery or are a member of the symphony , grownups don’t need to play brass.
View on Reddit #78377799

jimkurth81@reddit

I played trombone in middle school in mid 90s. I remember it fully though I haven’t played since. It’s so easy, a caveman can do it. ![gif](giphy|8xsrNAZGhTCW4)
View on Reddit #78377702

esmerelda_b@reddit

Played trombone from 5th to 8th grade. Couldn’t do it now. Took piano lessons in 5th grade, and can play something simple.
View on Reddit #78377541

Ralliman320@reddit

I played French horn in middle and high school and still remember how well enough to play it today, but it isn't really a hobby-type instrument (I have guitars for that).
View on Reddit #78377425

Roads76@reddit

Played the saxophone from 4th through 8th grade. I wonder what my parents ever did with that thing.
View on Reddit #78377241

ReturntoForever3116@reddit

I play violin still in a cover band (it's electric now though). Going on 35 years now.
View on Reddit #78377202

Living-Video-3670@reddit

I played percussion/drum line, and I still play the drums to this day. Almost 30 years playing drums, and I'll keep going till I'm physically unable.
View on Reddit #78377164

violetstrainj@reddit

I could probably figure out the fingerings still, but I sold my flute back in 2009 to pay for my last semester of college, as I had too many credits to qualify for student aid, but it was the last class I needed to graduate.
View on Reddit #78376754

ZipperJJ@reddit

Yeah I can still play trombone. I played in bands from 89-2001, then a couple years after I graduated, and I did my high school alumni band a few years ago with ease.
View on Reddit #78376717

Spartan04@reddit

I played trumpet starting in middle school through high school and then was in my college marching band. I still have my horn and have pulled it out every now and then but I haven't seriously played in over 20 years. So I remember the technical parts like how to read music and how to play each note but am nowhere near where I used to be. I have considered picking it up again as a hobby since I do miss playing music and I could probably find a community band to join, though I'd definitely need to practice for a while first since I'd at least want to get back to a high school playing level before I even thought about letting anyone else hear me, lol.
View on Reddit #78376407

AdComprehensive7939@reddit

I do still play violin. I pursued it professionally, actually. But I play my piano and guitar more these days.
View on Reddit #78376382

greaterwhiterwookiee@reddit

Played sax for 5 1/2 years. I could still play probably. But my embouchure is probably terribly weak
View on Reddit #78376107

nneighbour@reddit

I played flute. I played occasionally for fun up until a car accident about 5 year ago. One of my fingers doesn’t work properly anymore and I’ve lost a the dexterity in that hand to play anything except really slow pieces.
View on Reddit #78376060

No-Relation4226@reddit

Played cello from 4th-12th grade. I still have it but don’t get it out much. I also played trombone for a year. Even if I owned a trombone I don’t think I could remember much about how to play it. I’m sorta-kinda learning ukulele now.
View on Reddit #78375396

6thBornSOB@reddit

Holy F…So I BEGGED my incredibly broke parents to let me play the Tenor goddamn Saxophone in 5th grade. They were waaay out of our price range used, but a music store let us rent one… …good thing it was a rental, I made it to our first (X-mas) concert and burned out! DONE! I’d prolly bet you under a hundred dollars tho that I could still belt out “Good King Whats-his-shit”, but that’s about it!🤣
View on Reddit #78374853

shakespeareriot@reddit

Played sax in band… maybe I could play it. Also played piano, guitar, and bass… still play all of those things.
View on Reddit #78374831

Jonestown_Juice@reddit

I do, yes. I learned sax in 6th grade, played all through middle, high school, and college. Continue to play it and it helped me branch out to learn other instruments.
View on Reddit #78374739

ryhoyarbie@reddit

Was in high school band and played percussion. Haven’t touched that stuff in 26 years. Got a lot of marching videos recorded thanks to my dad who recorded everything.
View on Reddit #78374538