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Musicians

ImperatorImperator Member Posts: 154
Just wondering whether there are other people of the musical disposition here. So, what instrument(s) do you play, how long have you played, on what level (subjective opinion on skill level, hobby/profession) and do you have any aspirations to be a proper musician?

I myself am a guitar player, have been playing for six years. Occasionally I'll dabble with a bass guitar as well. I have two guitars, both Ibanez's, GAX30 and RGD320. Both are cheap models, and the RGD comes with a Floyd Rose -copy. I also have a Harley Benton bass. My amplifier's a cheap-o as well, Marshall MG30DFX combo. Don't have any other gear, not even a foot-switch (yeah, I'm cheap). Lately I've been thinking about getting a Pod for recording stuff, but I don't know whether the cheaper models are of any use.

On skill level I would say average, a bit sloppy and I don't play solos. Of theory of music I have no knowledge, and I have no intention of fixing that any time soon. Somehow it feels that knowing what I'm doing might limit me.

The style of music that I listen to and play don't seem to meet very often. I listen to metal, but for some reason most of the stuff I make comes out as pop-rock with slight prog-elements. It would be nice to get a band and maybe actually finish the songs that I've started on guitar, but don't have the skill to add other instruments.

The floor is yours.
MedullaOblongataCluaslolien

Comments

  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @Imperator, nice thread idea. Are classical musicians welcome?

    I've played band instruments since I was in seventh grade (I'm 47 now). My professional instrument is the viola, and I played in my local professional part-time symphony for about 14 years, from age 18 to age 32 or so.

    I have two degrees in music, and I teach music for a living, both band, and private violin/viola lessons.

    I am a classical musician to the core. If I listen, it is usually to classical, although listening just to listen doesn't happen for me any more - listening to music is work - what key is that in, what is that chord progression, what techniques and fingerings is that string player using, how did that clarinet player set his armature to make that interval leap across the break, etc.?

    My best enjoyment of music as pure pleasure now comes from game soundtracks.

    Don't get me wrong, I still find fulfillment in my music as work, it's just, well, it's work. I recently started playing the viola with my local community orchestra, and I had my first performance with them last weekend. The concert, from my professional perception, went horribly - people were getting lost, skipping repeats that we were instructed to take, playing out of tune, and ignoring the conductor during the cezurae, getting the whole orchestra lost. But you know what: I still kind of had fun, just for the quality of the literature, (Elgar Cello Concerto, Bizet L'Arlessienne, and Haydn 104), and the fact that most of the winds had a very nice ensemble sound, when the second bassoon and oboe players weren't lost or playing hideously out of tune.

    So, I will keep playing with them. Plus, it's a good chance just to keep my professional contacts fresh with the people who teach and direct it.
    BaldursCatMedullaOblongataSilylolien
  • GygaxianProseGygaxianProse Member Posts: 201
    @Imperator: theory knowledge will not limit you! What I do see limit musicians is an over emphasis on technique, with a lack of performance and improv skill. You know, great technical players who are wooden in performance, oblivious to the audience, or can't play without a chart.

    I have been a guitarist for 22 yrs, also bass, piano. Was a voice major in school though. If you are a creative person, music theory will only expand your horizons. If you are more mechanical, you might more easily get absorbed by technique.

    As for songwriting, that has been one of my favorite arts. You don't need bass or drums to finish a song, a song is defined as lyric and melody, or just melody. Everything else is accompaniment, which gets a different credit.
    MedullaOblongataQuartzCluas
  • eksterekster Member Posts: 234
    I used to play a bass guitar when I was in in college. Played it for 3 years, I was 'okay'. Still needed a lot to learn, of course. But then I moved on to the synthesizers.

    It's been now 6 years. I can play a few small things, but I have been having some serious trouble finding time as I'm pretty busy with working full time, studying part time, and my main hobby is writing. But I still try to find time for the synth as a second hobby. It's definitely something I love and wish to get better at, but I'm in no hurry and only play for myself. My aspiration is limited to being able to play for myself only.
    MedullaOblongata
  • SplodSplod Member Posts: 114
    I've been playing bass now for 11 years. Played through highschool with the school band which is where I learned to read. Most valuable skill I've ever picked up. I had a strong musical focus in college and went on to enrol at the local Con. Finished my undergrad in contemporary performance and am now serving as a Defence Force musician. I get paid to play bass and shoot things. Best job ever.
    Soul, Blues and Motown have been my love. My final performance exam was almost entirely Stevie Wonder tunes. Through work I've had the opportunity to play with some amazing musicians and as part of a 30+ piece big band. Damn I love my job.
    BattleDimMedullaOblongataSkydoglolien
  • BattleDimBattleDim Member Posts: 55
    i'm a professionnal musician, bass player, composer, arranger.
    I play in various bands ( rock/pop/heavy metal/commercial music...), go on tour in europe and U.S.A., record studio album, compose music for some movies...
    i never composed music for video games, and i hope to have the opportunity to do it in the futur!
    MedullaOblongataCluasQuartzlolien
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    edited December 2012
    I took guitar lessons for about two or three years, and I know how to play bass. I wouldn't call myself a musician since I'm not that good at playing and even worse at theory, but I guess as long as it's got soul it's okay. I love to write my own songs and I play in a band, even though we're technically rather bad - it's still fun :) I do suspect, though, that I'm mainly in it for those beautiful Fender guitars and basses :D I guess I'll become a collector someday.

    Anyway, it's getting harder and harder to scrape together the time, as I'm just finishing university and will most likely have to work full-time afterwards...
    MedullaOblongataCluas
  • MedullaOblongataMedullaOblongata Member Posts: 434
    What an awesome thread! I had no idea we had musicians here... Usually I see one or two, but I suppose this kind of game draws the creative types :)

    I don't play anything anymore... But I used to. I started playing b-flat trumpet at 10, and played for a total of 3 years. I stopped as a teenager.

    I had played in several schools, and was in the top 5 in the northeast (USA). I played a number of concerts all over, I did a little bit of everything but my favorite has always been classic jazz :)

    Hopefully I will have enough cash this Christmas so I can buy myself another trumpet. It's been far too long since I played music.
    Moomintroll
  • CluasCluas Member Posts: 355
    I always loved music, been playing keybords, drums, bass and composing my own stuff. I have been playing in lots of different bands and genres, mostly rock and hard-rock.

    I also play guitar in the rockband "Future Shock", we are very happy amatours, and not making a living out of it. But we made a few records, totally homemade. We got no education whatsoever, so it is very much DIY.

    Here's a song from our demo 2012 :



    I also composed music for my own modules in Neverwinter Nights. That's fun.
    The_New_Romancelolien
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    I didn't care at all about music until about 2 and a half years ago. Suddenly it hit me like a brick that it was awesome.

    Since then I've taken up singing a lot. I started having vocal lessons, which helped immensely as my pitch was bloody terrible. I consider myself pretty good at singing at this point. I'm a tenor. I have not yet achieved the ability to blend falsetto with full voice, which is what really limits me at the moment.

    I enjoy both clean vocals and screamy stuff. Yeah, I said it. Screamy stuff can be super cool if you can scream but still harmonize at the same time (listen to some mainstream-ish stuff like Linkin Park or Korn and you will hear that technique). I don't tend to like full-on screaming.

    I play piano mostly to reinforce my rather respectable amount of music theory that I know. Music theory and piano go together like milk and cookies. As such, piano is sort of my composing and theory instrument.

    Guitar is the instrument I jam with. I am very much an electric guitar sort of person. I am *fantastic* at writing riffs, and not so good at a whole lot of other things. Been really satisfied with the amount of progress I have made at becoming proficient with the instrument in the past few months.
    CluasBelgarathMTH
  • MungriMungri Member Posts: 1,645
    I had aspirations to become a musician, but then I broke a wrist:





    Moomintroll
  • MoomintrollMoomintroll Member Posts: 1,498
    @Mungri Awesome! Joplin is the best :D
  • MungriMungri Member Posts: 1,645
    edited December 2012
    I cant play without pain anymore though :(

    I've been slowly plodding through The Chrysanthemum, Stoptime Rag, Pineapple Rag, and Searchlight Rage since the last one, but cant get through enough before my hand decides to stop working.
  • rexregrexreg Member Posts: 292
    edited December 2012
    i've played the piano for as long as i can remember
    i have a music history degree
    @Quartz said "Music theory and piano go together like milk and cookies"....indeed!! music theory rocks & the piano is the perfect instrument with which to learn!!
    amongst the most advanced music i've played are various Bach fugues (luv 'em!!), Beethoven's piano sonata #13, a Scriabin Etude & Charles Ives' (luv Ives!!) Three-Page Sonata...
    i don't practice 4-5 hours a day anymore & would need to work my way back to this level of playing...
    played in a couple of hair-metal bands, back in the day...
    i don't base my musical taste on genre; good music is good music, whether it be country swing, 12-tone music, or what have you...
    the music i have discovered in my old(er) age is Medieval & Renaissance music...
    BaldursCat
  • MedullaOblongataMedullaOblongata Member Posts: 434
    I'm nervous about playing tue piano. I misspell quite a bit, and I worry that clumsiness will translate into playing :(
  • LadyEibhilinRhettLadyEibhilinRhett Member Posts: 1,078
    edited December 2012
    Hm. I play the ukulele, the ocarina, the recorder, and the piano. I am learning to play a wooden flute. I can also sing in multiple styles. I took several music classes, a few years ago, like beginning music theory and voice, but the folks at my college wouldn't let me advance any farther in the music program because my operatic performances were too weak. That's why I'm an English major now instead (with a minor in legal studies).
    Sometimes I dabble in composition. I perform weekly at a local coffee house for their open mic night and people around there like my stuff okay but I don't think I would ever become a professional. Too much stress, too much structure, too much playing for other people before yourself. I'm afraid it would kill it for me.
    The_New_RomanceBelgarathMTHGygaxianProseQuartz
  • ImperatorImperator Member Posts: 154
    Piano is something I'd like to learn. It's a beautiful sounding instrument, and since I'd most likely have to take lessons to learn it properly, I just might learn some theory as well. Do synthesizers have good piano sounds or is the real deal the best?
  • Fighting_FerretFighting_Ferret Member Posts: 229
    New digital pianos are awesome, they even feel like the real deal (weighted keys). Big plus is that they are usually smaller than parlor pianos and never need tuning.
  • QfwfqQfwfq Member Posts: 12
    My band...

  • eksterekster Member Posts: 234

    New digital pianos are awesome, they even feel like the real deal (weighted keys). Big plus is that they are usually smaller than parlor pianos and never need tuning.

    Nothing beats the sound and feel of a real piano in my opinion... but the newer synthesizers are awesome and you can barely tell the difference for the most part.
  • rexregrexreg Member Posts: 292
    a synthesized piano can be more economical in several ways, but in the end a wooden instrument is the way to go; synths have yet to fully capture all of the overtones of any natural instrument & a trained ear can tell the difference
  • QfwfqQfwfq Member Posts: 12
    The frequency spectrum of a 'synth' is near limitless and far greater than any acoustic instrument. If you want to hear the vibrational acoustic quality of a real instrument, of course a real instrument is the way to go however, there is a lot to be said for what a synth can do.
  • drawnacroldrawnacrol Member Posts: 253
    I've been playing electric guitar for 10 years. I play piano, bass, classical/acoustic guitar aswell and I've gotten really into music tech lately.

    Here is a video of me playing the Baldurs Gate 1 theme on a synth guitar.
    BelgarathMTH
  • SkydogSkydog Member Posts: 111
    Splod said:

    I've been playing bass now for 11 years. Played through highschool with the school band which is where I learned to read. Most valuable skill I've ever picked up. I had a strong musical focus in college and went on to enrol at the local Con. Finished my undergrad in contemporary performance and am now serving as a Defence Force musician. I get paid to play bass and shoot things. Best job ever.
    Soul, Blues and Motown have been my love. My final performance exam was almost entirely Stevie Wonder tunes. Through work I've had the opportunity to play with some amazing musicians and as part of a 30+ piece big band. Damn I love my job.

    wow, motown tunes rule)

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