What Got You Into Music?

[drumguy4all]

I can remember trading a bunch of army men and other toys with a friend of mine for a snare drum he had and playing that thing to every song on the radio and every album I had just exploring all the sounds I could get out of that one drum. I feel drums choose me as I've always been drawn to them and I still get the same feeling playing today as I did when I was a child. I look forward to hearing everyone's story

[justsoulin]

The 60's

[john]

A bit of a mix, but mainly my mum. She was a soprano with the BBC and the Scottish National Orchestra, and she taught piano to bring in some extra money. My older sisters played, so did my grandfather. So I started learning from age 4. I guess even before that I used to sing with my sisters while either one of them or my mum played piano. On a reasonably regular basis I and my sisters would have to perform for and with my mum and her music friends at parties. They were all singers of one kind or another and many played other instruments. I started learning the violin age 6 or 7 after watching Yehudi Menuhin play on TV. That started me on learning another instrument (which became a bug) and a life long passion of how instruments work together, then arranging music and then writing songs.

I was creative in other ways too, from writing poetry to drawing and painting. I was very lucky to come from a family that encouraged art and music.

[tomcollins]

aahh tom ,hit it on the head !! tho I picked up a friends guitar and it sounded good at ripe ol age of 6 and went from there by 8 , I knew that the

girls loved it and I was sold !!! and the 60-70's was a great time to learn and play !!!

[TapperMike]

Yeah, It was a combination of wanting to meet girls (that worked much better then track where even win you win your throwing up crossing the finish line.)

 

And.... my best friends were a drummer and a singer who talked me into it. 

[Rudi]

It wasnt my choice. Music choose me.

 

But it wasnt easy to get started.

 

My dad refused to indulge any of my musical needs. I wasnt allowed a guitar.

I didnt even get a record player until I was 15. Even then a friend gave it to me.

 

The following year I bought my first guitar with my first months pay.

[MazingMaryRocks]

Hmm, I don't know if I dare answer this question...

For me it was a guy that pimped his leather jacket with bones from a chicken. He was so cool to me I just had to listen to the music he did. Death metal by the age of 15. My mom loved it! Not.

//MMR

[MazingMaryRocks]

That alright Mary....at least you worked your "mom" into the story. 

I think you're safe....I ran a Youtube search for "leather jacket, chicken bones, death metal" , but came up empty 

Thanks for checking! Would have been quite embarrassing if you found anything with a young version of me in that type of clothing 

[thefool]

I was sitting around listening to my favorite artist at the time and I was completely overwhelmed by the emotion he was able to exact from me. I was fascinated by how he could make somebody he never knew feel so damn real and flawed. 

 

So now I try to do the same to someone far away from me, distance or time.

[White Soul Black Heart]

I liked/was aware of music I really liked by the middle of junior high school but I didn't truly get into music until I was offered a guitar class in my high school. I adored the teacher, who was a brilliant musician and truly genuine, funny guy, and through his class I was introduced to so many of the great artists from the 60's (Cream, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and the group who would be one of my eternal favorites the Who) I absolutely fell in love with these artists' music, loved the guitar and eventually got my own.

 

After that I somehow discovered Post-punk (likely via She Wants Revenge) and truelier got into music, and finally discovered the power, the majesty, the ethereal suave of the bass guitar. 

 

Strangely enough I've been around r&b, soul, funk all my life but never got in to those until much, much later. And even than I can only take it in limited doses. How I came to like the sullen voiced, aching of post-punk, goth and their related genres is a mystery to me.

[MikeRobinson]

In the days when children's TV programs were self-produced by local stations, the purveyor of a local Hammond Organ studio played a tune every day. I was hooked.  I wanted to do that.  The keyboard fascinated me from the start:  all that music was right there.  There were no mysteries (or, so I thought at the time ...) how the music was being made.

[Green Bat]

Since I was about 6 years old I always liked hitting things and listening to the sounds. The first music tape I owned was the Ghostbusters II soundtrack. Many years and musical journeys later at 31 I now compose classitronics. Check my profile for more of my history.

[mississippidave]

Initially it was growing up in a musical family- Hearing my mom play piano especially stands out as far as childhood memories. I remember wanting to copy what she did, and messing around with the piano a lot. Then when I was 10 or 11 I went to my first rock show, and that was a major turning point! I wanted to BE them. I used to put on little concerts in my room using tennis rackets for guitars complete with flashlights taped to shelves and room decor set up to look like a stage. I'd make mix tapes of different bands I liked and do these crazy full length concerts. Wow- I haven't thought about that in years!  Then when I was 13 or so I finally convinced my family to get me one of those Toys R Us electric guitars with the little built in speaker. Ran off of a 9 volt battery...  3 years later I bought a Jimi Hendrix CD right before this road trip to Ohio with my family. I remember feeling like I had discovered some kind of rare secret that no one else knew about... Listened to that CD like 3 times straight! I just instantly connected to his music. I'd say that's when I really starting digging in and trying to learn guitar instead of plunking around.

[Rudi]

hey Dave

 

.. Listened to that CD like 3 times straight! I just instantly connected to his music.

 

what cd was it?

[mississippidave]

hey Dave

 

 

what cd was it?

The Ultimate Experience - The one that's kind of gold in the background with him standing there in red. 

[Rudi]

Right. I;m not familiar with that one. Probably know the tracks though. Sounds like compilation.

 

Always good to know what music gets to people like this.

[El Dubya]

A 2lb coffee can and a pair of chopsticks (poor kid living in the projects) -- My mom was a total jazz freak, I liked trying to play drums -- Her radio was always on KJAZ -- I went on to play bass and guitar when I grew up and could afford the instruments.....

[shelter]

I think it was beethoven's 5th symphony. Totaly blew my mind. After the First listening I asked my parents to take piano lessons.  But it was also important that my father was a semi pro choral singer and both my mother and my older brother were piano players.

[firestarter]

My mom.  She wanted me to be well rounded so she started me in music very early.  I do feel that it has helped me quite a bit.

[Ron Manning]

I'm new here and haven't posted before, but feel compelled to chime in...

 

Christmas 1964...  I was 14 years old.  My parents gave me my first two albums, "Meet the Beatles" and "12 by 5" by the Rolling Stones.  On that same Christmas, my Grandmother gave me an electric guitar.

 

How could I NOT get into music???