FOR THE MUSICIANS AMONG US

[Islander canuck]

I have a Yamaha guitar that I bought on whim in September of 2011 and still a beginer I know a few chords but can't play any songs beyond Do Rey Me and the melody of Ode To Joy. I was taught to play recorder in grade four and still have the recorder and themusic book. I also ownaharmonica and a pair of bongos neither of which Iknow how to play.

[rick endres]

Hmmmm...these are all the musicians here? Gotta be more than this...

[DJ]

I've played piano by ear since I was probably 5 or so. I learned to read music in high school band and played clarinet but I still do better on piano I 'd like to be able to write music any tips on how to get started doing that? I have lots of words in my head but.......Oh and I sang for awhile when I was in my late teens early twenties, then I got my nose fixed and it changed my voice!! My friends tell me I should be a music critic I've always been blessed to be able to say yep that's a hit or not.....

[bluefeather]

My friends tell me I should be a music critic I've always been blessed to be able to say yep that's a hit or not.....

cool DJ!

[rick endres]

I've played piano by ear since I was probably 5 or so. I learned to read music in high school band and played clarinet but I still do better on piano I 'd like to be able to write music any tips on how to get started doing that? I have lots of words in my head but.......Oh and I sang for awhile when I was in my late teens early twenties, then I got my nose fixed and it changed my voice!! My friends tell me I should be a music critic I've always been blessed to be able to say yep that's a hit or not.....

Thanks, DJ. As far as writing music goes, everyone has a different method. The best way to start if you're an absolute beginner is to put down whatever comes into your head. Write it down. Sounds like you're a "word person." If you can get a rhythm going with it and make it sound like a poem, you should be able to put music to it. Try to come up with chord patterns that are a little different. Start with basic block chords then work up to more advanced chords - slash chords (D/F#) and more exotic chords like Fmaj9th. For me, sometimes the music comes first; sometimes the words come first. The best ones happen when everything comes at once and the song takes as long to write as it does to sing.

Like Glenn said in HOTE - "Elbow grease." You jump in and do it, again and again and again. At first they might be bad - but they'll get better.

[SoaringRockyMountainWay]

Joe Walsh inspired me to learn to play guitar. I've only been playing for 3 months and I suck at it really bad. I wouldn't be considered a musician by any means but I'm trying.

[tjh532]

Ok, I'll add my two cents worth

NAME (OR USERNAME IF YOU WANT TO BE INCOGNITO): Tracey (tjh532)

MAIN INSTRUMENT(S): Voice

WHAT’S YOUR SKILL LEVEL – BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED: Advanced

HOW LONG HAVE PLAYING? 36 years

DO YOU PLAY OUT LIVE, OR JUST AROUND THE HOUSE? These days it's just at church,around the house and in the car I've had over ten years of vocal training, both classical and belt. I've done musical theater, I've been a soloist for a few different productions of Handel's Messiah,I attended college on a vocal scholarship, and was a member of a 40 voice a capella choir. I've been in a couple of bands (country/rock).

HAVE YOU EVER RECORDED (OR BEEN RECORDED)? Yes, just stuff for personal use.

FAVORITE ARTISTS/BANDS: Eagles, Zac Brown Band,and Bruno Mars are a few of my current favorites. My favorite female vocalists are Linda Ronstadt, Trisha Yearwood, Ella Fitzgerald, and Eva Cassidy. I really like all types of music, except maybe for rap or heavy metal (although I do like old school rap like Beastie Boys and Run DMC) Country is probably my favorite genre.

FAVORITE TYPE OF GIG: The most fun I had was singing with my band. Even though it was a lot of bar gigs, there was a great energy and it was a lot of fun. I loved my days in college singing in the a capella choir. I was highly demanding, but probably my best musical experience.

ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I love music. I have been singing since I was little. I can't ever see a day when music won't be an important part of my life.

[rick endres]

Joe Walsh inspired me to learn to play guitar. I've only been playing for 3 months and I suck at it really bad. I wouldn't be considered a musician by any means but I'm trying.

Yes - you ARE a musician. Believe it or not, at one point in his life, Joe was right where YOU are - just starting out. Keep at it. You picked a great inspiration.

[rick endres]

Ok, I'll add my two cents worth

NAME (OR USERNAME IF YOU WANT TO BE INCOGNITO): Tracey (tjh532)

MAIN INSTRUMENT(S): Voice

WHAT’S YOUR SKILL LEVEL – BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED: Advanced

HOW LONG HAVE PLAYING? 36 years

DO YOU PLAY OUT LIVE, OR JUST AROUND THE HOUSE? These days it's just at church,around the house and in the car I've had over ten years of vocal training, both classical and belt. I've done musical theater, I've been a soloist for a few different productions of Handel's Messiah,I attended college on a vocal scholarship, and was a member of a 40 voice a capella choir. I've been in a couple of bands (country/rock).

HAVE YOU EVER RECORDED (OR BEEN RECORDED)? Yes, just stuff for personal use.

FAVORITE ARTISTS/BANDS: Eagles, Zac Brown Band,and Bruno Mars are a few of my current favorites. My favorite female vocalists are Linda Ronstadt, Trisha Yearwood, Ella Fitzgerald, and Eva Cassidy. I really like all types of music, except maybe for rap or heavy metal (although I do like old school rap like Beastie Boys and Run DMC) Country is probably my favorite genre.

FAVORITE TYPE OF GIG: The most fun I had was singing with my band. Even though it was a lot of bar gigs, there was a great energy and it was a lot of fun. I loved my days in college singing in the a capella choir. I was highly demanding, but probably my best musical experience.

ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I love music. I have been singing since I was little. I can't ever see a day when music won't be an important part of my life.

Wow. Some serious credentials, Tracey. I'd like to hear you sing.

[sodascouts]

I can read music thanks to piano lessons I took as a kid. Every Good Boy Does Fine; Great Big Dreams For America! lol.

I learned the notes and names of guitar chords not to play guitar, but to use a guitar songbook to play songs on the piano. Why? Well, the guitar songbook was the only songbook we had with popular music - it was bought by mistake, as no one in the family played guitar, when Dad purchased the family a keyboard. Oops! The only other "songbooks" we had were hymnals. Using the guitar songbook to play piano led to me knowing what chords like A7 and D7 consist of in terms of where to put my fingers on a keyboard, not on a guitar neck.

I also played violin for several years in middle school and high school. When I was a teen, I got up to first chair first violin in the Southeast Texas Youth Orchestra - my musical crowning achievement.

That's it, folks. I haven't played violin in years and to call me a "musician" would be a joke. I do enjoy reading about the real deal, though!