Introductions?

[ChiefDanG]

Welcome, GianfridMG!

[KuruPrionz]

I've been on here for a little while, I guess this thread just got bumped. Haven't done a deep dive except for the George Massenberg forum, where I've perused every page and many threads.

 

I think I found MPN using one of my search tricks - type in what you want to know and add the word "forum". That often brings up enlightening conversations in the topic in question.

So, why does a guitarist who isn't good at keyboards hang out in a keyboard forum?

 

I learn new things and meet interesting people in a decent, relatively non-divisive environment where everybody remains civil and (mostly) stays on the rails - exceptions made for "humor", which is sort of like music in that nobody likes everything that somebody else likes.

 

Anyway, Cheers and good to know ya!!! Kuru

[drawback]

Belated welcome, KP. Nice to have a neighbour from the Pacific SouthWest (from our perspective, :wink: ).

[KuruPrionz]

Belated welcome, KP. Nice to have a neighbour from the Pacific SouthWest (from our perspective, :wink: ).

 

 

Thanks Drawback, one of these days off yonder the border will probably re-open.

I've been to Vancouver Island but not Victoria yet, I want to see it!

 

Bellingham is pretty close, gotta got to Anacortes or across the border for the ferry. The band misses our Canadian friends!

[JoeToGo]

As a long-standing guitarist/bassist/singer, bored of playing in classic rock bands, I turned to synths for some new direction. And why not: as a teen I was fond of Pink Floyd, which easily segued to Jarre and other synthy music, and I had never become bored with that. Not to denigrate other styles: every musician should be willing/able to tackle whatever comes their way, within their technical range (e.g., Hargus Robbins' piano behind Patsy Cline is truly lovely). And any music that seems initially uninteresting usually just needs to be experienced in the right environment, whether its mariachi music at a quinceanera or a lonely spike violin down a stairwell at Pike Place Market.

 

I enjoy coming here to read the wisdom, follies and inquiries of real musicians. Real musicians are always inspiring -- for work ethic, for hints/clues/tips to musical life, for references I have to look up (Ethel Smith?? -wow!). For humor.

 

I don't expect to be a working musician ever, as I've watched that life dwindle over the last four decades. Reading the advice thread (in the key threads forum), I found Keep Your Day Job to be key. For me that's been yard work lately, though I still get to claim to be a musician (watch me improvise this next lawn-mowing ...) Best part is, I get to listen to music while I work, as long as it's something I can accurately hear while running a leaf-blower. Sure, I *could* listen to Eno's Ambient series, but only if I want to hear it augmented by a leaf-blower solo that goes on and on, monotonously ... which of course does work, to some extent.

 

Actually, that isn't the best part. Even better is when the ipod is dead, and I have to 'hear' music for myself -- running over an unfinished track, niggling out a better meter for a lyric, thinking up a bridge for a good but otherwise repetitive song. There's a Beatles song I heard recorded before the bridge was added (was it "I'm Looking Through You"?). It's funny to hear the earlier version: it sounds right, it's the same song ... but not quite. The bridge made all the difference. Gotta love that.

 

Anyway, I'm off to leaf-blow another solo. Thanks for all the tips/ideas/stories.

[StankbellyPie]

I found this forum because I was searching for deeper info than YouTube videos alone can provide on how to play "Foreplay," by Boston. That landed me on this thread.

 

I got my first Casio keyboard for Christmas in 1982, when I had just turned 13. I used it mainly for hiding in unoccupied desks at school and allowing the annoying auto-song to play at a volume just audible to the teacher. (I was 13.)

 

By the time I was a senior in high school I had a larger Casio of some sort and by the time I got to college I was messing around with it just enough to be able to play some chords from 80s songs by ear. Then I took music theory as a sophomore, which was and remains extraordinarily helpful, even if I didn't put it to dedicated use. I also had a drum machine and sequencer, which were stolen off the porch during moving day before I could really learn how to use them. But I was lazy about things I could not immediately master anyway. But always tied to the idea of exploring more.

 

For most of my 20s and 30s I did other things I always seemed to have some hacker unit sitting around, as $250 would buy me increasingly cool keyboards.

 

Finally, in 2016, I quit drinking and found I had more money, a better memory, and a distinct need for an outlet besides distance running to occupy my dead-space mental moments. I already had a Casio electric piano I had gotten as a present, and then decided to commit to a Kurzweil PC3 that was going for $800 on Craigslist. The guy who sold it to me was a serious musician and someone all of you would love, even though you can't trust a damn word of what I say yet.

 

Anyway, I've started pushing though the tough spots and found that not only has my own musicianship increased, but I have a greater appreciation and understanding of music composition overall. It's just an amazingly rewarding use of time to fool around fori a couple of hours and achieve competence in something new, and honor the original artist.

 

I can't normally play at loud volume, so my whole setup is basically the PC3, whatever laptop I am using to play whatever I'm learning, and a speaker monitor handling the output of both. All of these items have decals from various local marijuana dispensaries on them; I usually add one more when I feel I have taken a genuine step up in skill.

 

I'm from New England and now live in Colorado. I occasionally get paid to generate or manipulate words and phrases.

 

That should be enough for now!

[Doerfler]

Welcome.

[nursers]

What Mr Doerfler said, big welcome

[dixonge]

Howdy.

 

Long-time keyboard pounder and drummer and singer. Piano lessons from church pianist in 7th grade. Used to own the complete works songbooks from Chicago and Elton John. Played off the guitar tabs more than anything. Won a church summer camp talent contest. Briefly played with high school jazz band. Played every percussion instrument through high school band years. Played and sung w/ various church worship groups. Led worship at small church for five years from behind keyboard, adding midi using an old Mac. Brief stint on keys w/ a Stevie Ray Vaughn cover band (as seen in avatar).

 

Overall feeling looking back is one of imposter syndrome. Jack of all trades, master of none. It also occurs to me I'm probably better at mixing/production/composing via DAW, etc. Wish I'd thought of that years ago...

[dixonge]

Two extra thoughts:

 

1: For those who didn"t see it, I figured out I had a previous profile. Search for 'donblanco" for my posts in 2018

 

2: This is the first introduction in five months?

[vonnor]

ZOMBIE ALERT! (for Me and for this thread)

Hi! Some of you might remember me, I used to be a frequent poster/follower on this forum. Since my day job changed I haven't had access to internet during the day. But now I'm doing a Work-From-Home thing and will be checking the forums more often (not sure how I'ma catch up on 25 pages of topics tho, wow!)

 

Anyway, hi again to everybody and I'll see ya around!

 

~ Bill C. (vonnor)

[Michael Wright]

I have changed my Face place name to Mickey Keys (cheesy I realise).  

[stoken6]

20 hours ago, vonnor said:

Bill C. (vonnor)

 

3 hours ago, Michael Wright said:

Michael Wright

<Reality TV show voiceover> One's a zombie. The other's a pseudonym. Both are legends. This year, Bill and Michael join forces to kick off ... "Introductions Thread 2024"!

 

Cheers, Mike.

[J.F.N.]

 

I've been snooping around here the last weeks after creating an account, seems to be a nice vibe on this forum, and a good balance between music and gear!

 

JFN (initials, staying out of the google database with my real name), from up in the north of Europe where the moose and the wolf rule (not really!).

 

Been playing all my life, by ear, no formal music education apart from a couple of years on ensemble/prep courses for professional musicianship (learn the industry, ethics, professionalism, etc.). Spent a good part of the 1990's earning my living with my fingers (with a side job in a keyboardstore...), mainly Hammond and obviously clones, electromechanical keys, and synths. I am not very good at "Piano", not my territory, but enough for hacking rock/pop etc.. When I grew up there was an electric organ in the living room, a Viscount, with a little analog beatbox and simulated leslie, I think it all started with that.

 

Late 90's I decided to quit the entertainment musicianship (covers, galas, and other things in that line), and more or less stopped playing and started working with IT instead. Participated a bit on the local jam scene, on Hammond, playing blues etc. Eventually got picked up by a band playing original material, creative stuff, fun people with very different attitude than what I was used to, got involved in composition, recording at "real level" in a professional studio with a producer, etc. Lasted for 4 years, had my last gig with them in Paris at a "hip" club in 2001, then we all got in a conflict with the bandleader, royalites, good old one, so the band split, and I stopped playing completely. 

 

At that time I had left the northern landscape and moved to Paris, and life caught on, met the then soon to be my wife, now exwife, and spent 15 years with her, had a little studiocorner at home, did some composing jobs, some music for commercials, but nothing really put me on fire with this, I am a people person!

 

After having slalomed my way down through Europe, France, Spain, for the last 20+ years, I am now divorced and just moved to Lisbon after have been hanging out here a lot before Covid just after the separation. Found that this is a GREAT place for meeting other creative people, all fields (I am into arts photography too, street/documentary/social), and I want to integrate the creative life into my reality again now!

 

Already the first month I, by happy coincidence, met some good folks into music, and next week I start rehearsing with a band here, covers, more like a hobby band, great start for me to get back and to start networking, decent level musicians, nice people, no real ambition more than "maybe a gig in some fun context every now and then". In addition I have also been engaged in a community project creating a musical, where they needed a composer, and now, that's me, haha, so sometime soon I will invest in a mac mini m1, an orchestral library, and start learning how to do this the proper way. The music is there already inside my head, I just need to learn how to make everything sound the way it is supposed, will be a fun project!

 

So back on the stool, and hopefully soon enough spending all my free time doing what I love again. I don't think, at this point, that I am interested in any committed commercial projects again, I just want to play and have fun, but with some sort of real purpose.

 

In addition to music and photography, I like outdoors life, I have a dog (JRT) that I spend a lot of time with, soon a second one (this autumn he will get a buddy), and dreaming about van-life, maybe next year I will pick up something that can be used for living in on short trips... I work from home, since the last 20 years, office rat in communications (contractor for a software company in the pro audio industry).

 

Good to meet y'all!