I mostly play piano/keyboard (I'm in one band at the moment, but the plan for that one is to be the worst band in the city. We're almost winning...we've had one gig and already people are talking about us. For the Brisbanites, the guy who books for the Zoo asked the guy who books for the 610 if he'd heard of us...creepy!)
Apart from that, I sing reasonably, although I prefer to play with my voice...currently I'm trying to teach myself a few throat singing styles...I almost have the hang of Gyuto tantric chanting, but I could never do that properly without being a Buddhist monk...
I also do some vocal percussion stuff, but I only do that on occaision...
Back to instruments, I play a little guitar and a little ukulele, a very tiny amount of shakuhachi and slightly more harmonica. Oh yeah and I was a percussionist for a while, so I'm always banging things (had a jam session with a guy from an African percussion group called Wala once - on tea cups and saucepans...that was a weird day...)
As for writing music, I constantly do little bits and pieces. At the moment, I'm compiling an album...although with all the stuff there, I'll probably have at least seven complete ones and twenty that need cleaning...
And never let me near a loop pedal connected to a mike. That always goes badly for everyone but me...
As for what Deacon was saying about technical proficiency as opposed to musicality - just compare any second rate pianist playing Rachmaninoff to David Helfgott playing the same piece...he can literally make me cry with his musical ability...
Musicians?..
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iMav
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[quote="Inc_B";p="511506"]Back to instruments, I play a little guitar and a little ukulele[/quote]
I thought a ukulele WAS a little guitar!
I know this is a really long dead thread, but come on, that's hilarious.
I "play" piano... that is, I played for a few years, but I'm rubbish at it now.
In the near future, I want to learn the guitar, the ukulele, and the accordion.
I thought a ukulele WAS a little guitar!
I know this is a really long dead thread, but come on, that's hilarious.
I "play" piano... that is, I played for a few years, but I'm rubbish at it now.
In the near future, I want to learn the guitar, the ukulele, and the accordion.
imav also available on [last.fm]
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Dayan Rabalyn
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I used to play the guitar and the piano when I was younger. Both came to a grinding halt though when I took my singing a bit more seriously. Again though that all went on hold at uni and I've yet to start it seriously again. However I do find mysel singing just for the hell of it when I can, and I belong to a choral choir too. I'm not in the main picture on the website, but I'd pop over there and listen to this to see what we sound like: http://www.hemelhempsteadsingers.org.uk/SweetAndLow.mp3
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Spongiform
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[quote="Spongiform";p="510749"]I played trombone for two years, and hated it. (stopped 2 years ago.) This summer I'm going to try learning the electric bass.[/quote]
Bass hasn't been working out great. I stopped taking lessons because I didn't feel like I was in control of it, doing it at my own pace. The idea behind quitting lessons, though, would be that I would start practicing more on my own, and I have yet to do that. Learning standard music notation and applying that to frets was/is a major stumbling block.
I'm thinking about trying to learn piano/keyboard, partly because I think the vast majority of the time, bands need to have a keyboard to have a unique sound (look at Phish, the Doors, Particle, Grateful Dead, et al.), and the best way to ensure that a band I'm in has a keyboard is to be a keyboard player. Besides, I am still in love with bass (the general sort of sound
) and the keyboard has a wide range of whaddayacallit. Also the piano I think could help me get a better handle on music notation.
If I get good enough to be in a band before the end of high school I might look into learning to "sing good" also because I have a deep voice compared to most of my friends, and bands made up of high school kids tend to have an annoying nasal teenage singer. I hate that sound.
I'll shut up now.
Bass hasn't been working out great. I stopped taking lessons because I didn't feel like I was in control of it, doing it at my own pace. The idea behind quitting lessons, though, would be that I would start practicing more on my own, and I have yet to do that. Learning standard music notation and applying that to frets was/is a major stumbling block.
I'm thinking about trying to learn piano/keyboard, partly because I think the vast majority of the time, bands need to have a keyboard to have a unique sound (look at Phish, the Doors, Particle, Grateful Dead, et al.), and the best way to ensure that a band I'm in has a keyboard is to be a keyboard player. Besides, I am still in love with bass (the general sort of sound
) and the keyboard has a wide range of whaddayacallit. Also the piano I think could help me get a better handle on music notation.If I get good enough to be in a band before the end of high school I might look into learning to "sing good" also because I have a deep voice compared to most of my friends, and bands made up of high school kids tend to have an annoying nasal teenage singer. I hate that sound.
I'll shut up now.
[quote="Spongiform";p="592551"][quote="Spongiform";p="510749"]I played trombone for two years, and hated it. (stopped 2 years ago.) This summer I'm going to try learning the electric bass.[/quote]
Bass hasn't been working out great. I stopped taking lessons because I didn't feel like I was in control of it, doing it at my own pace. The idea behind quitting lessons, though, would be that I would start practicing more on my own, and I have yet to do that. Learning standard music notation and applying that to frets was/is a major stumbling block.
I'm thinking about trying to learn piano/keyboard, partly because I think the vast majority of the time, bands need to have a keyboard to have a unique sound (look at Phish, the Doors, Particle, Grateful Dead, et al.), and the best way to ensure that a band I'm in has a keyboard is to be a keyboard player. Besides, I am still in love with bass (the general sort of sound) and the keyboard has a wide range of whaddayacallit. Also the piano I think could help me get a better handle on music notation.
If I get good enough to be in a band before the end of high school I might look into learning to "sing good" also because I have a deep voice compared to most of my friends, and bands made up of high school kids tend to have an annoying nasal teenage singer. I hate that sound.
I'll shut up now.[/quote]
Well, assuming you mean the kind of bass that is played in bands like The Doors, Phish, etc (which you mentioned), you do not need to know actual music notation at all. A lot of guitarists and bassists can't read a lick of sheet music. Makes no difference at all.
There are four ways to learn a song. By ear, by tablature, by sheet music or by having someone teach it to you. Learning by ear is probably the most reliable once you've mastered it and it frees you up to learn songs faster, as you don't have to depend on someone having written tab or sheet music for it, and you don't have to wait on some guy to teach it to you.
So don't let problems with music notation hold you back. If you like the sound of a well played bass, pick yours up and try and figure out what the bassist in the band you're listening to is doing by trying to mimic what you hear. Find the simplest song you want to learn and run through it as many times as you have to in order to get it right. Once you've done that to a few songs it gets easier and easier. Before you know it you hear a song once and know how to play the basics of it before you even touch your bass.
I've been playing guitar since '89. When I'm jamming on my own I mostly play the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Prong, Chimaira, Arch Enemy, etc. I just joined a band, however, and with them I play Motley Crue, Poison, Firehouse, AC/DC, Scorpions, etc.
Aside from guitar, I can also play bass. Which, you will find, isn't all that uncommon for guitarists. I have played Alice in Chains, Tool, Anthrax and Metallica on bass, for example (mostly to show bassists how to play specific songs).
I would venture a guess that you don't practice on your own because you probably don't feel very satisfied with your playing and, more than likely, it's frustrating to you... and/or you don't know any/many songs and thus have no sense of direction.
Question, do you know anyone personally who plays bass already? One very easy, and quick, way to learn how to pick things up by ear is to have that person play a note while you sit/stand so that you can't see them. And you, using just what you heard, try and find that same note on your bass. You can do this for hours and hours non-stop. While watching a dvd, if the other person needs a distraction. You're the one focusing on what's being played.
As you do this you will start to get a feel for what string is being played, what fret he's pushing the string down on, whether he's plucking the string with a pick, thumping it with his thumb, popping it with his other fingers, etc. The whole exercise basically fine tunes how you hear a base. Just like learning a language you need to learn how to figure out the individual words in a sentence and train your brain to hear the individual sounds, and not a blurred mess.
I garauntee once you get past that you will be picking up songs accidentally. Next thing you know you ARE a bass player and you will have a hard time putting it down, instead of a hard time picking it up.
Bass hasn't been working out great. I stopped taking lessons because I didn't feel like I was in control of it, doing it at my own pace. The idea behind quitting lessons, though, would be that I would start practicing more on my own, and I have yet to do that. Learning standard music notation and applying that to frets was/is a major stumbling block.
I'm thinking about trying to learn piano/keyboard, partly because I think the vast majority of the time, bands need to have a keyboard to have a unique sound (look at Phish, the Doors, Particle, Grateful Dead, et al.), and the best way to ensure that a band I'm in has a keyboard is to be a keyboard player. Besides, I am still in love with bass (the general sort of sound
) and the keyboard has a wide range of whaddayacallit. Also the piano I think could help me get a better handle on music notation.If I get good enough to be in a band before the end of high school I might look into learning to "sing good" also because I have a deep voice compared to most of my friends, and bands made up of high school kids tend to have an annoying nasal teenage singer. I hate that sound.
I'll shut up now.[/quote]
Well, assuming you mean the kind of bass that is played in bands like The Doors, Phish, etc (which you mentioned), you do not need to know actual music notation at all. A lot of guitarists and bassists can't read a lick of sheet music. Makes no difference at all.
There are four ways to learn a song. By ear, by tablature, by sheet music or by having someone teach it to you. Learning by ear is probably the most reliable once you've mastered it and it frees you up to learn songs faster, as you don't have to depend on someone having written tab or sheet music for it, and you don't have to wait on some guy to teach it to you.
So don't let problems with music notation hold you back. If you like the sound of a well played bass, pick yours up and try and figure out what the bassist in the band you're listening to is doing by trying to mimic what you hear. Find the simplest song you want to learn and run through it as many times as you have to in order to get it right. Once you've done that to a few songs it gets easier and easier. Before you know it you hear a song once and know how to play the basics of it before you even touch your bass.
I've been playing guitar since '89. When I'm jamming on my own I mostly play the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Prong, Chimaira, Arch Enemy, etc. I just joined a band, however, and with them I play Motley Crue, Poison, Firehouse, AC/DC, Scorpions, etc.
Aside from guitar, I can also play bass. Which, you will find, isn't all that uncommon for guitarists. I have played Alice in Chains, Tool, Anthrax and Metallica on bass, for example (mostly to show bassists how to play specific songs).
I would venture a guess that you don't practice on your own because you probably don't feel very satisfied with your playing and, more than likely, it's frustrating to you... and/or you don't know any/many songs and thus have no sense of direction.
Question, do you know anyone personally who plays bass already? One very easy, and quick, way to learn how to pick things up by ear is to have that person play a note while you sit/stand so that you can't see them. And you, using just what you heard, try and find that same note on your bass. You can do this for hours and hours non-stop. While watching a dvd, if the other person needs a distraction. You're the one focusing on what's being played.
As you do this you will start to get a feel for what string is being played, what fret he's pushing the string down on, whether he's plucking the string with a pick, thumping it with his thumb, popping it with his other fingers, etc. The whole exercise basically fine tunes how you hear a base. Just like learning a language you need to learn how to figure out the individual words in a sentence and train your brain to hear the individual sounds, and not a blurred mess.
I garauntee once you get past that you will be picking up songs accidentally. Next thing you know you ARE a bass player and you will have a hard time putting it down, instead of a hard time picking it up.
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Gowerlypuff
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I despair at the lack of classical people on here.
I sing. Not bands, but choirs, both mixed and male voice. I prefer bass, but I can do baritone if needed. I really enjoy it and it's a great way to relax and unwind.
I can also play the piano, violin and guitar, and I know how to use a recorder.
I sing. Not bands, but choirs, both mixed and male voice. I prefer bass, but I can do baritone if needed. I really enjoy it and it's a great way to relax and unwind.
I can also play the piano, violin and guitar, and I know how to use a recorder.
Sloth: Am I a year behind already?
February was some lyrics or quotes month or something. I don't even remember what year all this was.
February was some lyrics or quotes month or something. I don't even remember what year all this was.
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NotQuiteDead
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