Looks like this thread has had a bit of a resuscitation. Might as well add my own two cents.
I come from a very formal musical performance background, picking up piano in my early years as well as violin in grade school. Middle school came around and my aunt enabled my desire to play drums. I took drum lessons for nearly 7 years with the same teacher before going off on my own and going to college for music education. In between that, I picked up guitar, bass, organ, alto saxophone, and a little bit of trumpet, but my main instrument was always percussion and I was selected to several high school honors bands over the course of my junior and senior years for it. I then had the pleasure of playing both in battery and front ensemble in college marching band. Under Matt Lusky (spokesperson and educator sponsored by Vic Firth) my knowledge grew vastly as a percussionist, and to this day I use that knowledge in all of my writing, whether it be my solo prog rock project, my chiptune works, or anything else I delve into.