What was the best thing you did for your musical experience?

[dmatthews]

So...
Like the sign says, what is it that was the best thing that either kicked off, or furthered you along in your musical experience?
What is it that made the biggest impact?

For me it was joining a band.
This forced me to get things right (well as right as my modicum of talent allows). It helped me get over some stage fright.
It introduced me to the joy we can give to a great audience.
It gets me out of the house at least once a week.

How about you?

 

[veinbuster]

Jumping at the chance to play anything with anybody.

The first thing that jumped out at me was that being able to keep a rigid beat isn’t everything, sometimes you have to be able to ebb and flow to let the right feels out. Being able to synch up with another player and work with their flow can be magic.

Sitting in with players who have a much bigger vocabulary than you can open up your eyes to how much music there is. There are so many incredibly talented people out there.

Playing different kinds of music gives you more ways to say what you have to say.

 

[Mike J.]

Learning guitar. I started with bass in '68, got into my first band in '70 and played pretty much full time until '82. Guitar didn't come into the picture until '98. It's was a very slow learning experience because I was working very long hours for years, but I slowly made progress learning bits here and there. But when I did have time I really enjoyed just seeing what I could come up with. That really helped when I got laid off from January of 2009 until March of 2010. Wrote and recorded many songs while I was at home during that time. Not saying they were great but I was surprised how many songs came out of me.

Bottom line is if I never learned guitar I never would have come up with those songs.

I play guitar at church and last year they hired a new musical director. He's a wonderful guitar player (much better than me) and he has really had a positive effect on me to be a more knowledgeable player.

 

[Warmart]

Probably dumb to say here but it's true - buying my 1st PRS (CU24) did more for me and got me over the hump I'd been flailing at for decades.

 

[dmatthews]

Jumping at the chance to play anything with anybody.

The first thing that jumped out at me was that being able to keep a rigid beat isn’t everything, sometimes you have to be able to ebb and flow to let the right feels out. Being able to synch up with another player and work with their flow can be magic.

Sitting in with players who have a much bigger vocabulary than you can open up your eyes to how much music there is. There are so many incredibly talented people out there.

Playing different kinds of music gives you more ways to say what you have to say.

Yes, playing with others was the key for me too.
One thing I still suck at is improv. I find it hard to follow things that just magically start. If there's a repeatable structure I can find it, but if it's any kind of random I tend to just sit down and watch/listen.

 

[dmatthews]

Learning guitar. I started with bass in '68, got into my first band in '70 and played pretty much full time until '82. Guitar didn't come into the picture until '98. It's was a very slow learning experience because I was working very long hours for years, but I slowly made progress learning bits here and there. But when I did have time I really enjoyed just seeing what I could come up with. That really helped when I got laid off from January of 2009 until March of 2010. Wrote and recorded many songs while I was at home during that time. Not saying they were great but I was surprised how many songs came out of me.

Bottom line is if I never learned guitar I never would have come up with those songs.

I play guitar at church and last year they hired a new musical director. He's a wonderful guitar player (much better than me) and he has really had a positive effect on me to be a more knowledgeable player.

Yeah I started by learning guitar, but in my first band I was the drummer (percussion in high school).
I always had a guitar lying around but my current band was started with me being asked to bring sticks and drum at a jam.
30 minutes later another drummer showed up and I was instantly glad I'd brought a guitar and amp as well.
Been at it since.

 

[dmatthews]

Probably dumb to say here but it's true - buying my 1st PRS (CU24) did more for me and got me over the hump I'd been flailing at for decades.

That is the exact opposite of dumb!
When I started in my band I was using a POS Yammy. Getting into some PRS guitars allowed me to play more easily, and therefore better!

 

[CandidPicker]

Playing as a guest rhythm and lead player with an open-mic house band. The ear training alone was worth the price of a beer and a meal every Thursday evening for 5 or so years.

 

[docteurseb]

I stopped playing.

 

[dmatthews]

Playing as a guest rhythm and lead player with an open-mic house band. The ear training alone was worth the price of a beer and a meal every Thursday evening for 5 or so years.

Yup, that's gotta work.

 

[dmatthews]

I stopped playing.

 

[gush]

I had been playing for maybe 8 years and my GF video taped one of my gigs.

I was shocked to realize that we were playing EVERYTHING way too fast. I really hadn't noticed it and it was embarrassing to watch.

I carry that experience with me to this day and the guys in my last band thought I was crazy when I kept complaining about our tempo.

I finally recorded a couple of shows and handed out copies. Our drummer was embarrassed as he was the most vocal about how wrong I was or wasn't!

Not really sure why this happens but it is pretty common.

 

[11top]

I bought a 45rpm record in the 6th grade. It was game-on.

 

[Mike J.]

Yes, playing with others was the key for me too.
One thing I still suck at is improv. I find it hard to follow things that just magically start. If there's a repeatable structure I can find it, but if it's any kind of random I tend to just sit down and watch/listen.

Improvising is also my weakness. One thing that is really helping me to find my way around the fretboard is one chord backing tracks on YouTube. I started off real easy. Lets say the track is in C. I would start easy and just try to find the root, the 3rd and the 5th in different positions all over the neck. Once I'm somewhat comfortable with those triads I'll start adding the other notes within the scale. I'll admit that my attempts may not be very musical sounding per say, it's more of an attempt at cementing certain positions within a particular key. I'm no master at this. I'm a "decent" player, just not a very knowledgeable player in terms of knowing where those notes and positions are.

For me it's very challenging but I found this to be a good starting point and I can tell it is helping me. Got miles and years to go.

 

[Moondog Wily]

Best thing that ever happened to me musically was the school music instructor asking me if I wanted to stay after school each day to learn more about music when I was in 1st grade! This was my first year playing clarinet (it was my only choice because my Mom used to play and had one in the closet) and after the first month or so, the teacher made me that offer for after school instruction, free of any charges or fees!! I accepted and she proceeded over the next two years to teach me piano, xylophone, harp, autoharp and other instruments (I can't remember them all)!!! Unfortunately, at the end of my 3rd grade, she left the school and the new musical instructor did not have the same enthusiasm for me come 4th grade, so that all ended (but not without incredible growth in those previous years). I continued on with the clarinet through 7th grade with waning enthusiasm, winning lots of awards and competitions, but then abandoned any real participation in music creation for decades other than coming up with songs in my head and writing down the lyrics if there were any ;~(( 2021 was awesome as I played more (and sang more) than I probably did in any year of my life, including 1-3 grades, and it was a F'in BLAST!!!! Hoping this year I play even more!!!!!

 

[AP515]

The thing that most "furthered [me] along in [my] musical experience?" Getting a divorce.

It may be funny but it's also true. I got my 1st PRS a month before my 1st wife moved out. it's a long story but we took 3 years to make it final. I had insomnia through that long period because of the emotional toll it took. While I couldn't sleep, I practiced. The combination of a really good guitar and a lot more time to practice, made me a much better player. It also soothed my emotional nerves. When I was angry I played hard rock. When I was feeling bad I played the blues. When I didn't know what I was feeling I played Country...

 

[dmatthews]

I had been playing for maybe 8 years and my GF video taped one of my gigs.

I was shocked to realize that we were playing EVERYTHING way too fast. I really hadn't noticed it and it was embarrassing to watch.

I carry that experience with me to this day and the guys in my last band thought I was crazy when I kept complaining about our tempo.

I finally recorded a couple of shows and handed out copies. Our drummer was embarrassed as he was the most vocal about how wrong I was or wasn't!

Not really sure why this happens but it is pretty common.

I hear that!
We're a cover band and I have the original tempo of every song in an app called Bandhelper. Drummer uses LiveBPM to keep an eye on himself and us. Works fairly well.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

Learning guitar and playing with other musicians is, of course, right up there, but the biggest thing for me was probably buying a second-hand Tascam cassette Portastudio in 1986 or so. It took me from being a hack guitar player to the hack guitarist/songwriter/producer/engineer I am today.....
Seriously, trying to emulate the cool sounds and recording techniques I heard on records really made me branch out and try to improve all aspects of my musicianship.
I still love the process of starting with a riff or progression and just seeing where it leads as I record different parts.

 

[dmatthews]

The thing that most "furthered [me] along in [my] musical experience?" Getting a divorce.

It may be funny but it's also true. I got my 1st PRS a month before my 1st wife moved out. it's a long story but we took 3 years to make it final. I had insomnia through that long period because of the emotional toll it took. While I couldn't sleep, I practiced. The combination of a really good guitar and a lot more time to practice, made me a much better player. It also soothed my emotional nerves. When I was angry I played hard rock. When I was feeling bad I played the blues. When I didn't know what I was feeling I played Country...

Wow Joseph! Amazing. Good for you for putting all those emotions into creating a positive.
Awesome!

 

[dmatthews]

Learning guitar and playing with other musicians is, of course, right up there, but the biggest thing for me was probably buying a second-hand Tascam cassette Portastudio in 1986 or so. It took me from being a hack guitar player to the hack guitarist/songwriter/producer/engineer I am today.....
Seriously, trying to emulate the cool sounds and recording techniques I heard on records really made me branch out and try to improve all aspects of my musicianship.
I still love the process of starting with a riff or progression and just seeing where it leads as I record different parts.

I've been sadly lacking in recording. Yikes.