How did you learn to play?

[Alistair]

How did you learn to play your instrument/s? Did you have lessons, learn from other musicians, woke up one morning with a divine gift?

I play the guitar and have never had a formal lesson, though I wish I had applied myself more to studying the instrument so I could vary my technique.

Mostly I have picked stuff up from other players, books and spending hours experimenting on the instrument itself. Only fairly late in the day have I tried playing along to songs on the CD player.

How many of you are self-taught?

[Steve]

Me! I spent hours and hours in my room with a chord book just learning the basic chords. When I joined my first band, I never even knew the difference between a major and a minor scale! And I joined as lead guitarist! I wishh I had taken lessons, and for any budding guitar players out there, GET SOME LESSONS! It'll save you a lot of hard work.

[phantomengineer]

Well, back when I was 12, [last week. Ed.] My musical taste was questionable at best. Basically, it was the bad pop music my generation has been subjected to. So, my dad got two cheap acoustic guitars (one for me, one for him) and said "look here, we're gonna learn to play together" . This essentially meant that we were going to learn all the old country songs he liked, which i didn't. Through learning them, I gained an appreciation for them, however, and they are now some of my favorite songs.

Anyways, so we both took a few lessons, but learned more from chord books (The Beatles book taught me a lot) and just playing off each other, figuring out what sounded right.

Tom

[FinnArild]

I consider myself mostly self-taught, but I had 4 years of classical guitar training and a couple of'em organ courses (Old long syne) as a youngster.

I also had some piano, choir and music classes on my first attempt at Music College ("Gymnas" as we called it). I quit that and started working on the railways to earn money for equipment. I finished college and took some courses for a computer degree later (pretty self-taught there too).

So: I guess I'm mostly self-taught, but with some good ballast to learn from.

[tgrover]

most people say that i haven't as yet

[Alistair]

Well, compared to me you are Joe Satriani - so how did you learn?

[phantomengineer]

Well, back when I was 12, [last week. Ed.]

Tom

Hahaha. Very funny

Edited April 25, 2005 by phantomengineer

[Alistair]

Hahaha. Very funny 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fair cop. It was me. Abuse of power!

When you are 44, you'll take that as a compliment!

[ATom2]

Hmmmm, let's see.

Basically my sister taught me some piano stuff when I was about 4. I then took piano lessons from ages 7-12. These didn't really give me any technical knowlage as my teacher basically let me learn what I wanted to learn. That's not all bad as it kept me interested. She then told me she couldn't teach me any higher level so I switched teachers. That lasted just one year because the new teacher was way to much into classical. NOT my bag.

Most all I do now is my own style. You know, things I have taught myself.

Tom

[Alistair]

I played the clarinet between aged 8 - 18.

I wasn't interested in the theory of music then either, although i could read music on a single stave.

I lost interest because it's not a great solo instrument and well, it's just not ROCK 'N' ROLL.

I got fed up of playing stuff I didn't like. I should have switched to Sax although that's tricky to sing along with too!

[Steve]

On the same note (as it were...) Does anybody come from a musical background? I know Bongstuff does, and I assume this has an effect on the individual. My Dad was tone deaf and didn't really like music of any kind that much. As far as I know, none of my imediate ancestors has ever picked up a musical instrument, and likewise, none of my offspring have ever showed any real interest in learning to play!

[phantomengineer]

my family is fairly musical. My father plays acoustic guitar, my stepmother plays the piano, and my mother is pretty lyrical - she writes some poetry. I have an uncle who is a great mandolin player, and another uncle who plays the banjo fairly well. I have a cousin who sings like an angel. The only female singer I've heard that's better is Emmylou Harris. pretty fair company to be in. I have another cousin that plays the piano, and another cousin that plays the guitar and trombone. So, yup, we're pretty musical people

[FinnArild]

Most of the members of my family are musical too, but noone has tried to make a living out of it before myself (although my grandmother played guitar in the Salvation Army),

[Alistair]

My sister sings in amateur shows, my dad plays the violin (he's rather rusty) and both sisters play piano.

I'm the only one who is any good.

( )

[hariossa]

before I played any instrument I stole my older sister's harmony and theory copybooks, so I learned all the rules before knowing how to play anything, so then when I took my sister's guitar I began to build chords without any guitar book (you know, C major is made of C E G?), then i discovered the minor pentatonic, and that was like the keys of heaven... an when by mistake I hitted the flat 5th that was like paradise!!.

then I took some guitar lessons, like 8 guitar lessons, my teacher was kiuge hayashida, a very creative guy and the one thing that I learned from him was that music is about feelings, he showed me how to create, be myself and express my emotions through the music. I will never forget him because of that.

then I went to university an learned classical guitar, a bit of piano (never liked it) and more harmony, I had an incredible harmony teacher: yuri pronin, he studied with dmitri shostakovich in moscow and he was able to write down on paper whatever sound you showed him, and knew how to improvise on any style at the piano.

so after that I studied some electric guitar but not for long because I was always composing my music and sequencing it with the atari 1040, and also I began to loose that "I want to be a guitar hero" feeling...

now THAT'S something that nobody ever teached me: how to record music using computers...

my older sister studied violin, guitar and trombone, my other sister studied cello, my brother also trombone and my little sister basoon and doublebass.

is funny because I failed the "aptitude test" to enter the music school where my brothers were studing, and now I'm the only one that has something to do with music!

my mom also sings and plays a couple of songs on the guitar, she had a female group on the 60's and played dylan, mamas and the papas, and that kinda stuff.

my grandma also played guitar and singed boleros.

so that's my musical "pedigree"

[Steve]

Just me then... Sat in my room, all alone, no inspiration from my family. Just my dad ranting on about 'Bloody Jungle music'

[Hope4Peace]

I tought myself!!! guitar and keyboard, but took a few years of trumpet lessons!

with guitar and keyboard thou, it was al mostly by ear, either id figure it out on my own, or id get the music offline.

[Rudi]

Self taught. I picked up a couple of text books years later, just to find out what to call things.

I was devestated when I learned that some of my `discoveries' were well known.

[Rudi]

Well. I didn't. I'm STILL a half-ass BLOODY SINGER!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dont put yourself down aitch, youre a Full-Assed singer man!

[Steve]

You played in bands for a long time without reading music H. Why can't you do that again? I can't read music either! Looks like tadpoles to me. But that wouldn't stop me playing given half a chance!