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I know I shouldn"t start another thread, but I just had to write this.

 

Okay, I am making an effort with playing a synth. Especially after buying a long discontinued synth, by thirty-one years. The Roland D-20. I figured, if I am going to really try and put some effort into this. I may as well buy an inexpensive keyboard. I managed to get a really good deal on it through Reverb.com. It has a built in Rhythm machine, and a sequencer. I know, it does NOT have USB, but I"m not concerned about that. I know, there are way better synths, on the market today, but with my income and bill"s. I need to watch my spending carefully. Besides, who says you have to have the latest toy? As most of you know me, and I know you do, and have read about my not wanting to play music, or think I am not good at it, or think I am talented enough? I am going to at least try? After all, the only way to get better, is to practice! I know, people have told me this time an time again, and I am sorry I did not listen. This time, I am listening!

 

As for not connecting with gear, well I must admit the D-20 is a pretty decent synth. Although programming the thing, is a nightmare!

 

Life is too short and I"m not getting any younger, but at least I can try!

 

Thank you to everyone one here, for not giving up on me!

 

Paul :cool:

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Have fun!!!!

 

Music is supposed to be fun!!!

 

It is also supposed to be social.

 

If there are any Open Mics nearby, start checking them out. You don't have to bring an instrument or sign up, just go check out the scene.

When you find a supportive group, reach out and make new friends.

Learn a couple of songs and start performing.

 

I've seen lots of people grow over the years and become more confident and competent simply by attending open mic regularly and doing their thing, whatever that may be.

 

The rule is "I will clap for everyone and hope that everyone claps for me." When you find an open mic where the rule is adhered to, that's your new happy place!!!

 

Have fun!!!!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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First of all, starting threads is always more than welcome.

 

Second, always remember that there is not necessarily a correlation between technical proficiency and emotional impact. Technical proficiency may make it easier to create songs with emotional impact, but if technical proficiency was all that mattered, Bob Dylan would still be trying to find places to play :)

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First of all, starting threads is always more than welcome.

 

Second, always remember that there is not necessarily a correlation between technical proficiency and emotional impact. Technical proficiency may make it easier to create songs with emotional impact, but if technical proficiency was all that mattered, Bob Dylan would still be trying to find places to play :)

 

Actually, i thought one of the rules on this board was about writing multiple threads?

 

Thank you Craig!

 

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First of all, starting threads is always more than welcome.

 

Second, always remember that there is not necessarily a correlation between technical proficiency and emotional impact. Technical proficiency may make it easier to create songs with emotional impact, but if technical proficiency was all that mattered, Bob Dylan would still be trying to find places to play :)

 

Actually, i thought one of the rules on this board was about writing multiple threads?

 

Thank you Craig!

 

That rule is about not posting the same thread in multiple forums. It is to prevent spam threads for one thing.

Legitimate threads posted in one forum are not against the rules, even if you post 10 different threads all over the board. :- D

 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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To learn piano and drums I took two very different routs. Piano: My parents bought a piano and I took lessons from a very good teacher. Drums: I did not start until I was a freshman in high school. My first kit was a collection of plastic boxes ranging from freezer boxes to a canned ham container with a resealable lid and a few pennies inside to mimic a snare. I sat in the middle of the bed with the boxes around me and played along with records. No lessons. I was much more comfortable playing drums in front of people and I spent more time practicing drums. My senior year of high school I went to the leading university in the state and tried out to major in music. I was accepted as either a piano student or percussion, my choice.

 

You don't have to have the best equipment to learn how to play well. You just need drive and dedication.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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I learned the hard way about the wrong way to go about learning how to program synthesizers. My first synth was a Kurzweil K2000 which, back in its day, was an amazing bit of kit, no question. But very, very complicated. Pretty ridiculous to expect a self-taught beginner to get very far with it - but I gave it my best shot. The big manual was my breakfast, lunch, and dinner for months. I studied the patches - participated in the K2000 list-serv email list - subscribed to Keyboard and Electronic Musician, etc,, etc., etc.

 

I was eventually able to crank some quirky and unique sounds of it. Which when I go back and listen to on some of my old tracks, I still kind of like a good deal. But what I missed, starting off with such a complex beast, was a solid understanding of the fundamentals of synthesis. I was great at mangling samples with the thing, but terrible at such basic tasks as programming up a decent Rhodes emulation with the amp and filter envelopes doing what they should.

 

I would have been better off with a Minimoog or an MS-20 to start off with. To understand the power of synthesis, you have to first learn just how freaking powerful one or two oscillators, modulated with envelopes and LFOs, with a tiny dash of reverb or delay, can be. But since I started with something like an Apollo rocket that could go to the moon, I remained poorly grounded in basics. I would have done better, and made faster progress, figuring out how to shoot tin cans over the garage with cherry bombs and worked my way up from there.

 

All this to say - I recommend you stick to the real basic analog emulation patches for a good while if you are not already conversant with the basics. Sure, you can, and should, just play around with whatever the thing can do - but if you can learn to build patches that you truly understand how they work and why it sounds the way it sounds - rather than relying only on tweaking other people's patches or messing around till you get lucky with a sound you like - you'll be miles ahead of the crowd.

 

Believe me, the majority of synth owners just play the presets and twiddle an effect or two.

 

All the best - have fun!

 

nat

 

 

 

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Good advice. I was lucky enough to have a good paying job at a coal company while living at home with my parents, and bought a Minimoog. I spent hours with that thing, wearing headphones, and experimenting with sound. The manual was very basic, no one in my small town had a synth so there was no one to teach me, and back then, no internet. I experimented with everything from audio rate modulation to detuning osc's just enough to get that stairstep effect in the harmonics. If the budget does not allow for a budget knobby like the Behringer Model D, download one of the many free computer synths based on the Minimoog and experiment.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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Lot of love for old Roland gear here! Still have a working D-5, D-110 and PG-10 programmer, among other 80's & 90's models. One of the most common issues is having to change the back-up battery, but it's an easy fix, and there are lots of videos to help.

 

If you have a Mac, you already have access to a number of VI's within Garageband. The D-20 doesn't have USB Out, but a Roland UM-One MIDI-to-USB interface is around $35US, and will let you use your D-20 as a controller for all those VI's. It also allows you to download new D-20 Patches from online sources, and dump them into your Synth.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I still have a Roland MT-32 sound module and use it often. Some of the patches are dated, and that's a good thing. Some of the patches are even better than modern pure sample based synths for certain songs. Some of the patches are cheesy by today's standards so I don't use them unless I want cheese.

 

I play sax, flute, wind synth, drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards. For me keys are the most difficult, especially when playing piano type songs where the left hand is doing something totally different from the right. But I'm not dead yet so there is time for improvement. Guitar came much easier. I've known people who take to the piano better than the guitar though, I guess it depends on the musician.

 

Actually I sing too and voice is the most difficult instrument for me, I wasn't born with great pipes and the amount hours of practice for me to get good control and intonation are huge.

 

As mentioned by a few, music is supposed to be fun. That's why they call it PLAYing music.

 

Keep at it and enjoy every milestone you pass. Don't be to critical about yourself, instead look at whatever progress you make. Thiat attitude is more productive in the long run.

 

BTW you can get a MIDI to USB interface fairly inexpensively. You don't need the ones with dozens of whistles and bells. I have a couple of Roland UM-1s that work just fine and you can get one on ebay for less than $50.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

 

 

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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