Skillsets you don't have that you''d like to, or are learning?

[DoctorMowinckel]

For me, it's sculpting. I'm learning to sculpt busts of people with Sculpey clay. I did one that actually looks like a person, a specific and real person, from every angle! So that's got me all excited and ready to leap into next projects. I've always had a really deep fascination with marble busts and sculptures, but up until now I've been far too timid and nervous to actually experiment with clay. But somehow, I got courage and was successful...Once I get good enough at clay and carving out of Sculpey, I wanna move on to actual marble sculptures...That's where my goals lie! Shoot, I'm gonna be making the next Nike of Samothrace, just you watch!

I would also like to master watercolors, another thing I've always admired and adored but couldn't do myself, until just recently where it just started to 'click'. Last year, I was really getting the hang of the medium, and started to paint well...But then I started art school, and all we've done here is draw, draw, draw. Which is great, since drawing is first and foremost for me, but I just feel like I lost all the progress I was making last year.

Sculpting sounds like it'd be something really cool to get into. How do you pick up sculpting marble? Is there reference material for that, apprenticeships, or are you going to work with clay, and get to marble on your own, learning as you go? I can't imagine it being a trade that these days, is easy to get into and pick up, despite it being totally awesome.

[silvercat]

I would love to learn the violin or the flute. But the price of them is a major challenge for me. I am also live in an apartment complex and I don't think my neighbors want to hear me practice

[DoctorMowinckel]

I would love to learn the violin or the flute. But the price of them is a major challenge for me. I am also live in an apartment complex and I don't think my neighbors want to hear me practice

Student violin, $33; http://www.amazon.com/New-Full-Size-Student-Violin/dp/B000FB6TV8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1330391022&sr=8-5

Your first violin doesn't need to be a Karl Willhelm or a Bazzini. Though if I were buying a $33 violin, I'd definitely restring it, which would cost you all of $15.

[Juri]

I would love to learn how to code !  Started Code Academy a few weeks ago in my latest attempt

[Rocketeer]

I would love to learn the violin or the flute. But the price of them is a major challenge for me. I am also live in an apartment complex and I don't think my neighbors want to hear me practice

Student violin, $33; http://www.amazon.com/New-Full-Size-Student-Violin/dp/B000FB6TV8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1330391022&sr=8-5

Your first violin doesn't need to be a Karl Willhelm or a Bazzini. Though if I were buying a $33 violin, I'd definitely restring it, which would cost you all of $15.

there's no such thing as a cheap cello though, is there?

[DoctorMowinckel]

I would love to learn the violin or the flute. But the price of them is a major challenge for me. I am also live in an apartment complex and I don't think my neighbors want to hear me practice

Student violin, $33; http://www.amazon.com/New-Full-Size-Student-Violin/dp/B000FB6TV8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1330391022&sr=8-5

Your first violin doesn't need to be a Karl Willhelm or a Bazzini. Though if I were buying a $33 violin, I'd definitely restring it, which would cost you all of $15.

there's no such thing as a cheap cello though, is there?

Short answer; Here's a cello on Amazon for $240, with bow, soft case, and stand. You have to set it up (place the bridge, and string it), and while it's $240, if it's your first cello, it'll probably do ya well.

Long answer:

Cellos and upright basses are big, lot of material goes into them. My bass, which I bought after having to sell my Engelhardt ES1 'cause it wouldn't fit in my car when I moved, is a bottom of the barrel bass, it was $350. That's as low as you're going to get on stand up basses. Cellos are smaller, so bottom feeder cellos are a bit cheaper, about $200 is the cheapest you're going to get used, and $250 new. Amazon sells some starter cellos for $240, but as always, you get what you pay for. Good for learning (or getting your fingers up to snuff while you're playing for the fist time in two years), but unless you splurge on some good strings and a good bow, I wouldn't use it for any recitals.

I have no experience with cellos, I can barely play bass arco (arco means playing with a bow, as opposed to pizzicato, which is playing by plucking the strings), I know squat about bows and what strings are good for playing arco, so I'm not going to talk much about that.

The price of instruments scales with the cost of materials. The material of a stringed instrument acts a soundboard (and is in fact, called the soundboard), and much like pianos, the better the soundboard, the better they'll sound, and often times the most exotic and rare woods make for the best soundboards. The soundboard is what the sound resonates off of. When you pluck or bow the strings, it causes a vibration in them that resonates through the body of the instruments. Sound being sound, it travels in a spherical radius (this is why strings and bows matter), and bounces off the materials inside. Different woods have different characteristics, and the quality of the wood (in conjunction with the quality of the bows and strings) will determine the quality of the sound the instrument makes.

There's also the quality of craftmasnship. If a cello or bass is made by hand, by a single luthier (a luthier is someone who makes stringed instruments) using the best materials available, get ready to pay out the butt for it.

Something like my bass, whose maker I haven't been able to identify, and a starter cello from Cecilio is likely made out of composite materials, as opposed to a single cut of material. When you cut the wood to a single piece, especially for something big, like cellos and basses, there's a lot of waste, you can't get a lot of cuts out of a piece of wood for large instruments, and even when it is cut, there's no guarantee that the particular cut is going to be up to snuff for the makers and luthiers. That definitely adds to the cost of basses and cellos.

If you want to see a bit of what I'm talking about, check out the documentary 'Note by Note'. It follows Steinway's process for making a piano. While a piano and a cello are different things, a lot of the principles about qualtiy of wood are there, and it's a really great look at the craftsmanship that goes into making really high quality instruments.

This is a very long answer, but it's something I know a lot about, so when I get a chance to talk about it, I'm going to take it.

[CadePony]

I wish I could sew, as there's lots of Transformers plushies and clothes for my Busou Shinki figures that I want to make... but I just don't have the time nor the patience to learn. =(

[MLPgal13]

This is going to seem off the wall compared to other posts I've read BUT... I'd like to learn more about Excel and Access. I have almost no knowledge of these programs yet I use them daily for work. 

And for fun, I'd like to get better at photography.

[fiwen30]

Wow have I learned a lot about stringed instruments reading through this thread!

As for skill sets, I'm currently trying to teach myself gardening, but would love, love, love to have private lessons and go back to basics with my horse riding, now I'm a confident adult, with an instructor who knows what they're doing.

[ShortyBoo]

One thing I've been wanting to learn for quite some time is Japanese. I have picked up some just by watching lots of Japanese movies, games and anime, but I'd like to learn to read Japanese and become somewhat fluent. I'll probably end up using Rosetta Stone. I could work on it during the day while my son's at school.

The other thing I'm working on learning is clay. Back in school, I was always really good at making clay figurines. I've now moved into Polymer clay, but I haven't tried any actual figures just yet. I'm working slowly, starting with little charms and jewelry, but I'm planning on making little clay pony figures soon. I just have to work on my techniques a bit and figure out a good way to smooth out fingerprints on the clay.

[Skeen]

Hmm, sewing right now.  Apparently I can sew by hand.  I didn't know that!  I was always stumped by just putting a button back on, but a few weeks ago I sat down and made a pattern from scratch, put it together, and just sold the finished result on ebay.  O.o 

But I agree, sewing machines are dark magic.  I'm more afraid one of my cats will impale themselves on the needles than I am of sticking myself, but whatevs.  Those things are wicked.

[Sonata]

Guitar. I have one. A nice one, an ESP. I can play some things, but I have problems with my left hand. It has "stupid days" and whenever I've really tried to learn more hardcore it frustrates me. I have good form but my fingers won't move quick enough for the stuff I want to play. If only I was more into doom metal, I'd probably be fine

OMG YOU LUCKY YOU AN ESP AND ALL OMGGGG !! Sucks your hand doesn't cooperate much :'( Have you tries doing some exercises to warm your fingers beforehand? It helps a lot. But don't despair, keep trying, it's all a matter of keeping at it (been there, done that, not on the guitar though xD)

Post Merge: February 29, 2012, 01:40:52 PM

I would like to learn how to cook. Like Really cook. I can do simple stuff and I do make a mean lasagna, but I would like to learn how to use spices and not use recipes, just cook to taste.... Does that make any sense?

I would also like to learn how to banter. (How weird is that?) I can come up with the greatest one liners.... about fifteen minutes after the fact.... and I just end up feeling dumb.... *phooey*

I SO know what you mean ! Although I don't think I can even tackle the most basic things xD

Nevertheless, it is all about keep doing it and eventually you will start getting it, I guess. My boyfriend is the one who cooks at home, but I usually help him and I see it's not that hard Here, have a look at his cooking blog and try some of his recipes !

Post Merge: February 29, 2012, 02:44:32 PM

As for myself, I would love to learn how to sew on machines so that I could make cute dresses for my dolls, ponies and most of all, make plushies !! I still have that dream of making on of a kind commissioned plushies and sell them~

Also, watercolours. I am not as bad as I thought I was, but there's still a lot to go. Oh, and drawing backgrounds, too, though I have started tackling that recently.

Lastly, I would LOVE to learn how to make those amazing looking cakes and pastries ! I love sweet things, always have, and recently I am the one who makes desserts here at home, while my boyfriend cooks. But I would love to make even more~

[mollldoll]

I would love to improve on my origami, start to draw again, use my sewing machine properly, use maya properly, learn Pyrography, crochet in the round and sculpt with clay and make resin moulds....so much I want to learn..so little time lol

[DoctorMowinckel]

I have finally gotten over my fear of being too, something, to look into drawing the human form, and drawing for fashion design. It's something I've been interested in forever, but I've never had the courage to even google where to start. I've recently found some books, and placed a request for them at my local library.

Drawing isn't something I have any sort of skill for, but lack of talent hasn't stopped me from doing things in the past. Stick-to-it-ive-ness > innate ability.

[Scraleos]

To learn how to properly play my ocarina. I can play a few Zelda songs, but that's about it :L