When they play Rossini, they work their butts off. It's interesting hearing the pieces played by string orchestras because they are scored differently for the make up of high school bands (more brass & sax, less [if any] strings.) There are lots of bold lower-end runs in that first tune that just don't come across with their single trombone player and a bunch of bass fiddles...but that's my primary frame of reference for every song. I have no idea how it was originally scored. And those players are bound by one thing only: a common hatred for the conductor As an aside, when I was in band, one graduation was held at The Feline Fine Arts Center/Wolf Trap when it was first constructed (obviously, before it burnt down), and another was held at Constitution Hall. I've been on stage (and backstage) at both...not because I'm a fine musician ('cause I ain't), but by virtue of being in that band at that point in time. It was quite the experience.
Same here. Acoustic guitar but not very well. I lost the tip of my ring finger on my left hand and I can't press down hard with it - I have to stick to simple chords.
That's not a good thing. I've seen some southpaws play guitars "backwards"...I don't believe there are left-handed ones made, but I may be wrong. I bought a cheap guitar back in the early 70s, and the glue on the bridge was also cheap, so the tension from the strings caused the bridge to pull off. I took it back for repair and the store went belly-up shortly thereafter...the doors were permanently closed with my guitar inside. I never did get it back, nor did I replace it. I may have borrowed guitars from others, but I never got beyond plucking out a hesitant rendition of Red River Valley.
I'm pretty good at getting good sound out of cheaper guitars. Some cheap guitars have a nice bright sound. It's usually bass volume they lack. I file down the bridge, nut and frets to get a low action and clean sound without buzz. It's slow work because you have to keep all the frets inline with each other. I bought a $50 guitar in La Grande, Ore. in about 1972 and played it for over forty years. Geez, I'm getting old. Sigh.