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why did you become a musician?
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Subject: why did you become a musician? From: Musicman Date: 06 Jan 00 - 12:00 AM I know we all have our reasons.... anyone relate to this one here? |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Musicman Date: 06 Jan 00 - 12:01 AM ok, i screwed it up.... try here |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: JenEllen Date: 06 Jan 00 - 12:08 AM I sure as hell didn't do it to meet women, but have met plenty of nice ones along the way anyhow. Elle |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: JamesJim Date: 06 Jan 00 - 12:10 AM I can relate! I don't even worry about how much I get paid for a gig. Just love to perform. Jim |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Roger in Baltimore Date: 06 Jan 00 - 06:18 AM I cannot remember a time when I didn't sing. I think the radio was always on in our house and in the car. I would learn the words and sing along and I would just sing for my own enjoyment. And it is good it was for me, because I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket in my formative years. When school had everyone try out for a band instrument, they assigned me to the drums. I had rhythm, but no tone sense. When the folk scare of the '60's came, I was impressed with the simplicity and relevancy of the music. Then my brother brought home a Gibson Les Paul model. I was immediately hooked. At the start, I think I played it more than he did. I begged Santa Claus for a guitar and my parents came through. Sure, part of why I play is to impress others (esp. girls in my adolescence). I do enjoy performing. I want to spread the music and share it with others. I have learned to carry a tune decently and the applause strokes my ego. And performing is a high wire act. Not as dangerous as sky diving or hang gliding, but there is danger (of social embarassment).
Psychologist William Glasser wrote a book about positive addictions. For an activity to be a positive addiction it must: There's a fifth item, but it is beyond my memory. It was only as I typed this post that I realized that music is a positive addiction. I just learned something! Roger in Baltimore |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: skipjack Date: 06 Jan 00 - 07:44 AM With apologies to harpgirl, to pull totty. It works, too! |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: kendall Date: 06 Jan 00 - 09:03 AM I make music for the same reason a rat chews..we have to. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: kendall Date: 06 Jan 00 - 09:08 AM I make music for the same reason a rat chews..we have to. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: InOBU Date: 06 Jan 00 - 09:39 AM Why did I become a musician? Well take last night for example... I have a broken rib, but I know that no one from the band is going to shift the PA system from my house down four flights and over to the pub where we are to play at 8 - so about 3 I start the process. At about 8 PM the musicians start to drift in, the process ending at about 9 when our vocalist comes in to tell me that she got lost on the subway coming to a neighborhood she has been coming to for about two years. I then have to coach her through a song we have been doing about 6 months. She proceeds to get up several times through the remaining time, kicking my fragile, $1,000 Uilleann pipe drones in the process, in the middle of a tune. In the audience is an old friend who works for a major museum and who we have done a song for, which she seems to enjoy. After the gig, I go over to say hello and be polite for a few minutes. I turn around and the band has fled, other than our female vocalist - to her credit, leaving me to break down and carry the gear back home and up four flights again... So why did I become a musician? I was born into a music family and you work with a better class of colleagues than you do as a lawyer. Larry |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: skipjack Date: 06 Jan 00 - 10:08 AM Sounds more like a blues, Larry! |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Clinton Hammond2 Date: 06 Jan 00 - 10:18 AM I'm no good at anything else... except maybe theatre... When I origina;;y moved to Windsor it was for school.. I was in the drama program at the University here... Well.. that school sucks, and not in the good way... soured my theatre milk for me maybe forever... while here I more or less stumbled on my music career... I spend every penny I make but I wouldn't change it for the world... Now if I can just get my head wrapped around this song-writing thing maybe I can get it on the road... Follow in Tamaracks snowshoe tracks or something... I just know I don't want to spend the rest of my life playing in bars... Pubs, o.k... but bars suck! Especially for folk music... |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Bert Date: 06 Jan 00 - 10:23 AM I'm still waiting for that auspicious moment to occur. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: InOBU Date: 06 Jan 00 - 11:24 AM Aye, Skipjack, if it had an air, ye could sing it... Larry |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Little Neophyte Date: 06 Jan 00 - 11:43 AM I decided I was either going to get a dog or learn to play the banjo. I compared the initial purchase costs, average montly cost and the amount of time required to spend with a dog compared to the amount of time needed to learn the banjo. When I totalled the figures, they both came out around the same. My final deciding factor was............ Dogs die, banjos don't. BB
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Rick Fielding Date: 06 Jan 00 - 11:52 AM Larry, you definitely need a new band! Rick (who has played mostly solo for 30 years) |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Bert Date: 06 Jan 00 - 11:57 AM BB, having HEARD a banjo, I would say that THAT's the reason to choose the DOG |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: peg Date: 06 Jan 00 - 12:07 PM Why? well, there was music in the house growing up. Mom had an old Hammond organ and loved to play lotsa oldies: Cole Porter, Henry Mancini, Rodgers and Hammerstein, you name it. When she switched it for a more electronic model in later years it wasn't quite the same; the older stuff sounded better on the mellow pipey organ. But anyway, I was playing various songs by ear at an early age. I also loved to sing along with old 8 tracks of Dean Martin and Love Italian Style and Engelbert Humperdinck and whatever was around... Sang in choir in school. Tried to learn viola, then violin, but never stayed with it. Am still not much of an instrumentalist, though I can read music well. Played guitar a bit and loved it; mostly by ear, again and would like to get better at it through lessons. These days, after many years singing various styles (music theatre, rock, folk) have grown to feel most at home singing tradiitonal Celtic music. Play the boudhran, too; not too shabbily for a gal. Why do I sing? Why it is purely magic. Witchcraft if you will. Shaping and molding a song to fit your own personality and spirit; there is no more profoundly magical act. And the exchange of energy with the listeners, whether ten or a thousand or tens of thousands: that is a powerful and healing occurrence for all parties. To be honest, I feel often when singing traditional songs that I tap into something ancient; the old story about lots of the old tunes coming from the realm of faery, well, this makes sense to me. Whether you call it Music of the Spheres or what have you, some songs are truly sublime, and spirituality and music are irrevocably linked in the human psyche. That we all feel resonance with the music of the Celtic lands indicates that our spiritual connection to this music is one which is embedded in a history of myth drawn from the land itself: sovereignty, battles, tree worship, heathen gods, you name it. Gives new meaning to the phrase "common ground"... anyway it is my way of saying, I think Celtic music lovers, whatever their spiritual bent, are linked with ancient traditions and locations and beliefs, and maybe that is why there is an indefinable and special connection we feel with each other. For as much as I love this music for my own pleasure, it is the shared pleasure it brings to so many that also makes it, for lack of a better word, addictive... peg |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Mbo Date: 06 Jan 00 - 12:49 PM Thanks for the kind words, peg. I am a Celtic singer myself, and an American, and some folks think that only natives can create true Celtic music. I definately agree with you--I think there are some actual Scottish & Irish natives whole care less about the music than I do. So by singing this music, I can attain the connection to the past, little of which is actually part of my heritage. The reason I became a musician is...I can't remember! I just thought that it would be cool to play a music instrument--I always felt envious of those who could play. So I asked my parents for a guitar for Christmas, and that's how it all started. I have a friend who had been a pop singer for many years, and after being retired, she went to college with me, learned the piano, and took music theory. She told me that it felt so amazing to be able to play an instrument--almost powerful, with the ability to affect peoples emotions and thoughts and actions with what you do. I heartily agree. But for all those that don't play music--I salute you too! You may listen to and understand music, and that is sometimes good enought! But don't think you can't ever play a instrument, as The New Radicals say: "Don't give up, you've got the music in you! You've got a reason to live--you only get what you give..." --Mbo |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: InOBU Date: 06 Jan 00 - 01:36 PM Well Bonie: Now that you have the banjo, why not get a dog and teach it to play said banjo, you can then sit back and rake in the dough, and retire to Florida when the dog dies... cradle to grave plan - gratis! All the best Larry |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: InOBU Date: 06 Jan 00 - 01:37 PM PS. I became a banjo player to get the dog bones and to have my ears scratched. Bonnies dog. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Little Neophyte Date: 06 Jan 00 - 03:07 PM You may have something there Larry. How about I duct tape a harmonic to my dog's nose and teach him to play along with me? BB |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: InOBU Date: 06 Jan 00 - 03:08 PM I think a slide whistle would do the trick... L.O. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: clare s Date: 06 Jan 00 - 03:11 PM Why did I become a musician? Two words: The Beatles Clare |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Magpie Date: 06 Jan 00 - 03:15 PM Because I had to. It's the only thing I've ever done that I can't imagine getting tired of, and that I can't imagine NOT doing. Magpie |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Willie-O Date: 06 Jan 00 - 03:58 PM I don't really know, it depends when I became one. My parents made me take piano lessons off and on which I mostly disliked, but i had this notion that guitar would be easier cause it only had six strings. (Duh) My brother had acquired a guitar which he never learned to play, and being kind of hard on stuff, broke the neck off from the body. I was fourteen and didn't know that fixing a guitar that's been badly damaged in such a way is a complex and delicate task, so I just glued it back together, and the second time I tried, added a couple of dowels. Damn if it didn't hold for several years. (May be holding still for all I know, it got stolen while I was hitchhiking, but thats another story) I even abused it further by putting steel strings on it. Then I started tryng to learn to play, and damn, if I was trying to be popular and cool, (I was, trying that is) I think my guitar-bashing had the opposite effect for about five years. To answer the original question which of course was now how but why, I usually say girls, but I gotta wonder, now I don't even know. It's just something I've always done. I have a lot less fire and passion about it now than when I was younger--say, before the "personal computer revolution." I spend a lot more time yacking here, and secondarily, organizing musical events, than I do actually playing. Willie-O |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: stupidbodhranplayerwhodoesn'tknowanybetter Date: 06 Jan 00 - 05:24 PM I learned to play the bodhran because of the millions, OK make that thousands, no make that hundreds, well OK tens of $$ to be made in traditional music. Also so that even banjo players would have someone to pick on. (OK actually it's fun!) Slan, Rich |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Caitrin Date: 06 Jan 00 - 05:26 PM I continue to aspire to being a musician, though I'm not sure I would call myself one now. I try, though. I've always loved to sing, ever since I was little, and my father has always played and sung, so I just kind of got immersed in music. Right now all I can really do is sing, but I'm working on guitar. (I know abut three songs. Just learned Nanci Griffith's "It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go"!) I don't know how anyone could not love music. Just a different mindset, I guess. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Wesley S Date: 06 Jan 00 - 05:35 PM I thought Peter Paul and Mary were SO cool. Still do. That they { or anyone } could make music by them selves without electricity. The whole "low tech" aspect of still appeals to me. Who cares if there is a power falure - I've still got my Martin. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Pixie Date: 06 Jan 00 - 08:07 PM |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Pixie Date: 06 Jan 00 - 08:08 PM regrettably, I'm not.....just a wannabe! |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: _gargoyle Date: 06 Jan 00 - 09:16 PM It was never a decision -
..................... not any more
..............than..................breathing, writing, or snoring. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: lloyd61 Date: 06 Jan 00 - 09:30 PM I have a grandson who sits at my feet and watches me play. His mother says when I'm not around he holds a small guitar in his lap for hours, listening to the sound of the strings. His mother says "He has the fever". He's only 3 years old. I purchased my first guitar at 8 years old, Sears, Harmony. Before that I made instruments out of wood cigar boxes. I guess I "had the fever".
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Barry Finn Date: 06 Jan 00 - 10:12 PM No one in my family was musical, so I wanted to drive them all crazy. Barry |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: ddw Date: 06 Jan 00 - 11:00 PM probably because it's sorta spiritual mastrubation; it just FELT GOOD! My parents had an old crank Victrola with 78-rpm records, some a quarter of an inch thick and only printed on one side. I used to run them nuts when I was about three by climbing on a chair, cranking it as tight as I could and playing Wreck of the Old 97, The Prisoner's Song and Strawberry Roan (I don't remember the artists) over and over and singing along with them. I knew Old 97 by heart and would sing it for anybody who would listen and even for some who wouldn't. At that age I certainly didn't have girls in mind yet, so that's out as a reason — tho' it certainly didn't hurt later — and the only thing I can remember of it is how good it felt to sing. david |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Lenny Date: 06 Jan 00 - 11:09 PM Years ago John Denver put out an album called "Poems Prayers and Promises" and I absolutely fell in love with it. I know he's pretty korny at times and became really middle of the road, but that album was the biggest eye opener for me. I bought a Guild guitar and practiced for weeks until I could play Country Roads. I wasn't very good, but i was VERY happy. Len Evans |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Susan A-R Date: 06 Jan 00 - 11:16 PM I find myself geing less and less of one, and finding that that is not a good thing. Guess that means that I have to tuck it back into my life because it belongs there, kinda like food. Susan 9who cooks for a living) |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Danlbear Date: 07 Jan 00 - 10:44 AM I grew up in a musical family, but I played folk music to escape, pretty much for the same reason an alchololic drinks, and a user does drugs, but it came naturally. Never wanted to do anything else...Dan |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Duane D. Date: 07 Jan 00 - 07:02 PM Playing music was fun from the start. I enjoy sharing it with others. |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Matt Date: 08 Jan 00 - 01:44 PM Even though I have played guitar for 30 years, I keep asking myself, "When will I become a musician?" |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: Terry Allan Hall Date: 08 Jan 00 - 06:07 PM Heehee...Love it! for me there was never anything else that I wanted to do...so 25 years ago I did! 2 wives later, I can pass on this advice: If you can find a wife/husband/soul-mate who wants you to follow your dreams, and is supportive of such, cherish them as a rare jewel! 3 1/2 years ago I found my Lovely Georgia! |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: julie u.k. Date: 08 Jan 00 - 07:38 PM I have always loved singing, and when my other half decided to learn the mandolin, I took up the penny whistle. After nineteen years, I can 'get a tune' out of my instrument,(singular), While he has progressed to bodhran, tenor banjo, and most of the mandolin family! At least Jon can now wave two fingers at the teacher who passed him off as 'tone deaf.' |
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Subject: RE: why did you become a musician? From: MARIESMUSICK Date: 08 Jan 00 - 09:46 PM |
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