Show Us Your Favorite Non-Uke Instruments

[frets alot]

These are my two Native American flutes which my dog used to love to sing along to. They are a relaxing change of pace from the ukulele.

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Beautiful! Are they both High Spirits? The ebonized flute looks familiar.
You are right, they are relaxing.

All mine are High Spirits. Three are the Spirit flutes (single chamber).

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Are they both High Spirits? The ebonized flute looks familiar.

Yes they are both High Spirits in F#. I had a couple of drone flutes too but they got lost in a house move.

 

[frets alot]

Yes they are both High Spirits in F#. I had a couple of drone flutes too but they got lost in a house move.

I thought they were. I changed my earlier post to show you mine. Have you tried their Spirit flutes?

 

[LeftHandLuke]

I thought they were. I changed my earlier post to show you mine. Have you tried their Spirit flutes?

You got some beautiful flutes there, that last one is stunning. I haven't tried those Spirits yet but now I'm very tempted to expand my collection

 

[frets alot]

You got some beautiful flutes there, that last one is stunning. I haven't tried those Spirits yet but now I'm very tempted to expand my collection

Thank you. The last one is their pocket flute in G. All my others are keys of A and B. I know they've been running some sales, that's how I recently got the pocket flute.

 

[Canada Jim]

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[Canada Jim]

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[Ms Bean]

Wow, a nice collection! I started on flute, before switching to alto saxophone. After high school, I got away from it. I tried various wind instruments since, but never settled on one in particular, except for the Native American Flute. I have 6 now and enjoy them. Do you play in an ensemble or mostly on your own (or with your dad)?

I've never tried a NAF, I don't think they are very common in Europe.
I played a lot with my sister on clarinet, my Dad on saxophone and myself on flute when I was growing up. We also played in a windband together. As a student I didn't have the time anymore, and then I moved to the UK, where I got interested in the ukulele!
Since COVID, I've started playing chamber music with a couple of recorder players, a viol player (sometimes two), and a harpsichord player. I can occasionally join my local Cobweb Orchestra with the saxophone, but I'd like to join a proper community windband later this year. They seem to have lots of performances on the bandstand of a famous open air museum.

 

[frets alot]

I've never tried a NAF, I don't think they are very common in Europe.
I played a lot with my sister on clarinet, my Dad on saxophone and myself on flute when I was growing up. We also played in a windband together. As a student I didn't have the time anymore, and then I moved to the UK, where I got interested in the ukulele!
Since COVID, I've started playing chamber music with a couple of recorder players, a viol player (sometimes two), and a harpsichord player. I can occasionally join my local Cobweb Orchestra with the saxophone, but I'd like to join a proper community windband later this year. They seem to have lots of performances on the bandstand of a famous open air museum.

That's so cool, I bet you really have fun with your instruments, playing together with your family and friends!

 

[Cliff E]

I'm bit of a Luddite with technology, so if these pics actually uploaded properly I'll be moderately proud of myself. This is my primary instrument - been playing and competing since I was a kid. This set was made in 1876. I play the ukulele after 8:00 pm because, unlike the bagpipes, strumming doesn't' bring the cops to my door after a certain hour of the night.

 

[baconsalad]

Flanking my California Larrivee concert uke is my Victoria Larrivee C19 cutaway and Vancouver Larrivee Rosewood special edition parlor

 

[Patty]

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I'm bit of a Luddite with technology, so if these pics actually uploaded properly I'll be moderately proud of myself. This is my primary instrument - been playing and competing since I was a kid. This set was made in 1876. I play the ukulele after 8:00 pm because, unlike the bagpipes, strumming doesn't' bring the cops to my door after a certain hour of the night.

Wow—I love the picture of you piping in full regalia. And the piping parts of your set are beautiful. Are they ebony and ivory? They look like they’ve been lovingly cared for over the last 150 years. Do you know any of the history of your set?

I once heard a salacious joke about an octopus who meets a set of bagpipes in a bar. Can’t be repeated here. Let’s just say the octopus’s intentions are not honorable.

 

[Cliff E]

Wow—I love the picture of you piping in full regalia. And the piping parts of your set are beautiful. Are they ebony and ivory? They look like they’ve been lovingly cared for over the last 150 years. Do you know any of the history of your set?

I once heard a salacious joke about an octopus who meets a set of bagpipes in a bar. Can’t be repeated here. Let’s just say the octopus’s intentions are not honorable.

Thank you, Patty.

This set was made by Donald McPhee for a gentleman in 1876 (ebony and ivory) who bought the it for his son's 21st birthday. Like so many sets, it travelled to Australia where they were feverishly starting up pipe bands at the turn of the century and importing many sets. Australia, on account of its stable climate, has been like a safe storeroom for bagpipes. They don't have the extreme fluctuations (more regarding humidity and dryness than temperatures) that we have in certain parts of the US, so pipes have remained intact there. Of course, as soon as the set came to this continent it started to develop cracks. Although ebony is a sweet sounding wood, it's prone to cracking, unlike African Blackwood - the wood drone turners now prefer.

I see you're a Floridian. I was at the Dunedin FL Highland Games last weekend. Beautiful weather for it!

 

[Knows Picker]

 

[prewarp]

Not kidding

 

[Patty]

Flanking my California Larrivee concert uke is my Victoria Larrivee C19 cutaway and Vancouver Larrivee Rosewood special edition parlor

The concert is making me salivate.

 

[MorganTheBard]

I have a lot more also rather uncommon instruments but these are the ones I play most often
A 19 string Celtic harp

A stick Dulcimer

And a Steel Tongue Drum which sound similar to a hand pan

 

[MorganTheBard]

I forgot my lyre which I bought from thomann

 

[Doc Ivory]

We love our ukes and we share pictures of them regularly (after all, this is a uke forum ).
Knowing many of you also play other instruments, I thought I'd start a fun thread where we could show our favorite non-uke instruments.

What you got?
I'll start.

My first love is fingerstyle guitar (since 1973) and my second is mountain dulcimer (since 2007). So, I will share one picture of each. There are many other guitars and dulcimers in my home, but gotta limit myself here.

Taylor K24ce (koa):
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Folkcraft Custom (butternut/walnut):
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That Taylor is extraordinary.
Plus the "vine" inlay is stunning.

 

[ploverwing]

I have a lot more also rather uncommon instruments but these are the ones I play most often
A 19 string Celtic harp
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A stick Dulcimer
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And a Steel Tongue Drum which sound similar to a hand pan
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I got to try a hand pan at a (somewhat) local international instruments store. Wow they're amazing. The first time I heard the Hang was at an Anoushka Shankar concert a few years ago, and didn't know anything about the instrument. The hand pan has subsequently taken off and if I were more improvisational musically inclined, I would get one. But I'll keep focussing on ukulele for now!

I bought my Dad a Merlin stick dulcimer and tried it myself. Love the tone but don't really have an interest in learning to play it well myself, other than just occasionally noodling with it when I visit him. And I've always loved harps and admire people who can play harp! Nice collection (plus lyre!)!