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Hi, my name is Peter, and I wanted to tell you about some of the musical instruments that I have played. I have played the clarinet, the recorder, the guitar, the bass guitar, the piano, and the instrument I’ve played the most is the trumpet. I started playing trumpet in sixth grade, and played all the way through twelfth grade on a regular basis.
One of the hardest things about learning to play trumpet is how to position your lips. With a clarinet you have a reed, and with a guitar you have a string, to make the sounds that you need. But with trumpet, you have to hold your lips in just the right way in order to make the proper sound. One of the tricks my teacher taught me was to say the letter “M” – once I say the letter “M,” then I have my lips in the proper position to play.
The cool thing about playing trumpet is that it can play a wide variety of music. I was able to be in the jazz band, the marching band, concert band, and pit band, because I knew how to play – and we had a lot of wonderful experiences.
The really neat thing about playing an instrument like this is it’s best when you play in a group – and music has a way of bonding people. I made new friends, I made old friendships stronger, and it was a really neat experience to be able to perform for an audience. We performed for a wide variety of groups, and it’s – there’s something about music that really entertains people.
Now I haven’t been playing my trumpet since high school, but I do play guitar. And one of the great things about guitar is that you will run into a lot more guitar players – and so there’s greater opportunity for collaboration, and just sitting down and having a good time on the spot.
The hardest thing about playing guitar is teaching your hands to do what you want them to do. It’s all about muscle memory. You may know in your head what you wanna do, but you have to help your fingers learn where to go, playing chords, getting your fingers to move to the proper spots every time.
The other difficult thing that you might run into is fatigue. After a while, your hands just get tired in the beginning. But as you keep playing and building up your muscles, that won’t be a problem anymore.
One of the things that I like most about guitar is that I can listen to a song on the radio, and learn how to play it – AND sing along with it. With my trumpet, I could either sing or play – but with my guitar I can do both. I enjoy playing for friends and family, with friends and family, and sometimes just sitting down and playing for myself.
But if you get the chance to play a musical instrument, I hope you take that opportunity. It really is a fun time. I’ve had so much fun throughout my life because of music – and it’s something that you just can’t compare to anything else. So I hope you take the opportunity, and thanks for taking the time to listen.
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