Musician's thread

Dispatcher · 06-12-2008, 04:21 PM

I thought I would start a Musician's thread.
True, the odds of me getting any posts here are slim, but there must be someone here at LL that plays something even occasionally.

I am an advanced beginner on guitar (have been for 30 years).
I guess I learned enough to entertain myself and quit there.
Actually, I can play rhythm and chords well, and I know a lot of songs, I just never learned how to play any lead.

I took up the harmonica about a year ago. The great thing about a harmonica is it's portability. You can put it in your pocket and take it anywhere. And for me, it was surprisingly easy to learn.

I started playing the drums when I was about 20. All through the early 70s I played in working bands. Then in 1976 I just got fed up and quit.
I sold my drums. Swore I would never play again.
Got in a garage band in 1994 and found myself playing the drums in that same band for 8 years with my friends.

It's like I have Musical Instrument Attention Deficit Disorder.
I can never commit to just one.
That's why my ultimate dream come true would be to get a job in a music store. I could play anything, anytime. My other dream would be to once...just once, TRY one of those electronic drum sets. You know the kind with the pads. I think that would sound soooo cool. One of the things I hated about playing the drums (besides carrying them around) was tuning them. I hate to tune drums.
Don't mind tuning a guitar, but hate tuning drums. And electronic drums you don't have to tune.
I would also once, just like to try out a real expensive harmonica. My Lee Oskar sounds good and get's the job done, but a real GOOD one would sound so sweet I would cream my jeans.

So doesn't anyone here play anything?

thewise1 · 06-12-2008, 04:27 PM

I have a harmonica and I've been trying to learn to play the guitar, which is difficult without lessons. I love music, though.

Does guitar hero count?

Donkey® · 06-12-2008, 07:23 PM

I used to play guitar...was even in a stupid band when younger. Lost all interest and now I can't play much of anything. (not like I could before)

kinggovernor · 06-12-2008, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by thewise1

Does guitar hero count?

I can't even play guitar hero, it hurts my eyes.

My little brother has all the artistic talent, he plays in 3 bands and is on the verge of deciding whether to pursue it full time. I am the no nonsense part (most of you know that), I had a hard time passing art classes in high school

Dispatcher · 06-12-2008, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by thewise1

I have a harmonica and I've been trying to learn to play the guitar, which is difficult without lessons. I love music, though.

Does guitar hero count?

I never took a lesson in my life. It's in my genes. My mother played piano, my father played the organ, my sister played the upright bass.

With guitar, I started out just buying a book of chords. I learned 3 chords.
Then I found a music book that had lots of different kinds of songs (easy songs).
I learned to play only the songs in the book that had the 3 chords I knew.
Then I learned more chords and could play more songs.

What I am learning now is how to play the harmonica while playing the guitar. I've got one of those neck thingys that hold the harmonica.
Playing ONE instrument at a time is hard enough, trying to play TWO at the same time is a ball buster. But...I am practicing and I am getting better every day.

And yes, Guitar Hero counts....but only because I have it too.

thatguyoverthere · 06-14-2008, 05:28 PM

That's great. I too, have been stuck on "advanced beginner" for a decade or two now. I've been writing and playing songs for about 20 years now, and I'm so glad that I did. It's incredibly satisfying to listen to my own songs, and to track them through time. It's like having my own personal life soundtrack. I'm taking a break from songwriting and trying to teach myself to play lead. I've known only the solo from "Sympathy For The Devil", but one can only get away with playing variations of the same solo for just so many times now. I still suck at playing solos, but I'm going to keep trying. I thought I was getting better, but I heard a friend play yesterday, and I realized how bad I still am compared to people who can really play.

And I was wrong on the other thread comparing Guitar Hero to playing bar chords. I do think it's slightly similar to playing solos, though. If you can shift your hand position or stretch your pinky to hit the buttons farther down the Guitar Hero controller, you're using skills that are valuable in playing solos on the real guitar. God knows on both of them I have a hell of a time keeping strength and accuracy with my pinky, and shifting hand position without looking (which is what Guitar Hero would force you to do if you can't stretch), forget about it.

Ardentfrost · 06-23-2008, 07:19 AM

I am classically trained on violin. Started playing when I was four and took private lessons from the same lady til I was out of High School, then continued for a couple years into college. Originally I was going to major in music and even got scholarships for my violin. I ended up not going to that college at my father's insistence, changed career paths, and am now an engineer.

I started playing Tenor Saxophone in 7th grade with the school band. In 10th grade I tried out for my high school's Jazz Band and got in. Jazz was my life for the following 3 years through High School. My senior year I made South Carolina's All-State Jazz Band (I was the only saxophonist there not rich enough to afford a $3k sax and not having years of private lessons). That year the all state band played with Dave Bargeron, the famous brass player for Blood, Sweat, and Tears. It was a great musical experience, but I was daunted by all the snobby kids playing Jazz, which really confused me (I was more classic jazz style.. very laid back and kinda go with the flow... I still am that way).

My senior year in high school I broke my right wrist just before marching band season started. I had already been voted into the band captain position, I was also the musical lead for the band and was expected to be the low brass section leader (usually tenor sax marches with low brass, not saxophones). My broken wrist did not allow me to play my sax, so I picked up a Baritone having never played one before. After a few days I was comfortable playing it and marched Baritone the whole season.

In college, since I wasn't majoring in music anymore, I decided to join up with a band. I put out my credentials in the music department and was called that night to sit in with a 13 piece swing band called The Mobcats. For the next year I played with them, often going to Savannah to play at a dive called The Velvet Elvis (which I think has since turned into a country/western bar). A lot of SCAD kids would come swing dance when we played down there. Our biggest gig ever was the headliner band for the City of Macon's Millennium Party on New Years Eve 1999. After that I sat in with a couple Jazz combos, but by 2002 had pretty much left the music scene due to having no time with classes.

Now-a-days I barely pick up my instruments. I've been wanting to get back into it, I just don't know where to look for a band that would be what I'm looking for.

That's my story

thewise1 · 06-23-2008, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by Dispatcher

And yes, Guitar Hero counts....but only because I have it too.

If guitar hero counts, I'm a friggin' rock star bro

Dispatcher · 06-23-2008, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by thewise1

If guitar hero counts, I'm a friggin' rock star bro

Then rock on!

But i'm tired of replacing batteries in my cordless guitar. I go through more batteries than Samantha on "Sex and the city".
I want one with a cord. A guitar...not a Samantha

.

Dispatcher · 06-23-2008, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

I am classically trained on violin. Started playing when I was four and took private lessons from the same lady til I was out of High School, then continued for a couple years into college. Originally I was going to major in music and even got scholarships for my violin. I ended up not going to that college at my father's insistence, changed career paths, and am now an engineer.

I started playing Tenor Saxophone in 7th grade with the school band. In 10th grade I tried out for my high school's Jazz Band and got in. Jazz was my life for the following 3 years through High School. My senior year I made South Carolina's All-State Jazz Band (I was the only saxophonist there not rich enough to afford a $3k sax and not having years of private lessons). That year the all state band played with Dave Bargeron, the famous brass player for Blood, Sweat, and Tears. It was a great musical experience, but I was daunted by all the snobby kids playing Jazz, which really confused me (I was more classic jazz style.. very laid back and kinda go with the flow... I still am that way).

My senior year in high school I broke my right wrist just before marching band season started. I had already been voted into the band captain position, I was also the musical lead for the band and was expected to be the low brass section leader (usually tenor sax marches with low brass, not saxophones). My broken wrist did not allow me to play my sax, so I picked up a Baritone having never played one before. After a few days I was comfortable playing it and marched Baritone the whole season.

In college, since I wasn't majoring in music anymore, I decided to join up with a band. I put out my credentials in the music department and was called that night to sit in with a 13 piece swing band called The Mobcats. For the next year I played with them, often going to Savannah to play at a dive called The Velvet Elvis (which I think has since turned into a country/western bar). A lot of SCAD kids would come swing dance when we played down there. Our biggest gig ever was the headliner band for the City of Macon's Millennium Party on New Years Eve 1999. After that I sat in with a couple Jazz combos, but by 2002 had pretty much left the music scene due to having no time with classes.

Now-a-days I barely pick up my instruments. I've been wanting to get back into it, I just don't know where to look for a band that would be what I'm looking for.

That's my story

I think that's very cool. I played the drums in various local bands during the '70s. I have played some upscale clubs and some real dives.
Mostly now I just play guitar and harmonica, but I go through spells where I play all the time and spells where I don't play at all.

thewise1 · 06-23-2008, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by Dispatcher

Then rock on! But i'm tired of replacing batteries in my cordless guitar. I go through more batteries than Samantha on "Sex and the city".
I want one with a cord. A guitar...not a Samantha .

I actually played GH3 so much that my Wii's DVD drive failed

I need to get it fixed