That's... quite a lot you've got going there. o-o What made you wanna learn all that? And how does one play the maracas anyway?
You'd be surprised. Maracas are actually a surprisingly technical instrument. As a matter of fact, the amount of technical skill that is included with truly good playing of a variety of smaller percussion instruments would probably shock you.
Anyway, if you couldn't tell, I'm a percussionist, primarily. I'm going into my third year of Drum set performance at a University, majoring in Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music. I started playing drums back in seventh grade for concert band, but I never took lessons and just stuck to jamming in my bedroom. Once I started school back in September of 2015, I had my first official lessons, and now I practice everyday. During school, I practice at least 3 or 4 hours a day, but since I've come home for the summer, I only get to play for around an hour or two, and not even every day. As I go to a school that focuses on a variety of styles, I'm a fairly strong player in almost any genre. I can also play a large variety of other percussion instruments, ranging from Djembe to Tambourine to Finger Cymbals. I am an active player in my school's percussion ensemble, and I also spent a lot of time this past year playing with a local Wind Symphony.
Going along with the above, my particular program also puts emphasis on mallet percussion (xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, etc.). As someone with ten years of piano experience, mallet instruments came naturally to me. In high school, I did several solos, and I am one of the strongest Marimba players at my school. When we started in first year, I was the only one with experience, and the only one who knew how to read music, so I guess I had a head start. Unfortunately, I don't possess any true mallet instruments of my own, but I'm saving up to eventually purchase a MalletKat (an electronic, MIDI based mallet instrument that is able to be played with drum sticks).
Back in fifth or sixth grade (can't remember exactly), I started learning how to play the Piano. It was my first instrument, and coming from a very non-musical family, I progressed surprisingly quickly. I ended up obtaining my Grade 8 certification for Classical Piano, but I didn't go any further than that. Nowadays, I don't play as much anymore, due to playing drums full time, but I still do when I can. Mostly, nowadays, I just play video game music and other stuff like that, but I do also return to my Classical roots on occasion.
Aside from these, I can play a little bit of Guitar (I've learned a few chords from my friends), Bass, Trumpet (and most other brass instruments), Ocarina, and I recently started trying to pick up Panflute. I've also been told by many people that I have a good singing voice, but my technique is crap so I don't actually consider myself a singer, even though I do love singing a lot, and I've been working a lot on expanding my range lately.
