Most liked posts in thread: Talented Bantams

I'm the other way around, I learnt classical guitar from age 7 and kept it up all the way through school doing all the nerdy grades and getting a job teaching for a music school so I was totally immersed in the theory side of things and reproducing exactly what was written on the sheet music in front of me. I then heard Smells Like Teen Spirit and went to Uni where I blew my grant on an electric guitar and amp and realised that the way I'd learnt music left me totally unprepared for playing in a band and writing music so I had to "unlearn" what I knew and teach myself how to play by ear, read tab and follow the drummer.

 

May your basement remain dry! I shudder to think of the damage if I had had my gear downstairs when my basement flooded last October...

I have a foot in both camps. I started with formal piano lessons and all the theory that entailed, through Grade 7 in the Royal Conservatory's system. One more grade and I could have then taught piano, but I had had enough -- Classical piano just wasn't for me. But, piano had got me started. Synths, and that first band soon followed. No tabs in those days, so everything was learnt by ear. A lot easier nowadays with all the tabs available!

Nothing like playing in a band though, when you get a moment when you're all on the same wavelength and feeling like you could go on forever, even if it's just some silly riff you're repeating. But indeed, make sure you have a good drummer and follow him/her. For all the jokes we make about drummers, they are vital.

RCB

 

So now you have the best of both worlds, which I wish I did. I'm sure it's so much easier to learn all the theory when you're a kid than when you're 65!

 

It's very unlikely to flood where I live - it would have to be be a flash flood from an extreme downpour because we're well above river level. When the Aire flooded Esholt in 2016 it came nowhere near us. I have had some water ingress from below in the past but it now has floorboards raised on 3x2 bearers and lots of damproof membrane underneath. I also have very good house insurance which would cover me if the worst happened.

Certainly no tabs or YouTube instructional videos when I started learning. Bert Weedon's Play in a Day was about all there was for guitar learning in the early 70s. I'd be a massively better player if I'd had today's resources when I was 16.

Yes, playing in a band is magical, when it all comes together. I've been in a covers band - The Reverbs - for the past 22 years. We don't play many gigs, because the band members live all over the country, but we all love it.

A drummer walks into a library.

Drummer (in very loud voice): "Excuse me. I'd like to buy some drumsticks please!"

Librarian (in annoyed, whispered tones): "Can't you see, this is a library!"

Drummer: "Oh sorry".

Drummer (whispers): "Excuse me, I'd like to buy some drumsticks please".

 

Did clarinet lessons for 3 years at school mainly to avoid Latin lessons. The last 18 months on the insistence of the teacher I agreed not to take my clarinet. I can view your skills with wonder and wish...

 

If it was easy, everyone would be a musician and then we wouldn't be the cool ones!

With regard to the formal music education and then switching disciplines (so to speak) I wouldn't say it's the best of both worlds, it's just a different approach not better or worse, just different.

 

Sure. I wasn't saying that either approach is better than the other. But if you can do both that's got to be a bonus, hasn't it? Surely having a good theory grounding must help in working stuff out on the fly.
For example, I can improvise by ear over basic chord structures (1 4 5 etc) using major or minor pentatonics and stick in a few blue notes etc to fancy it up. But once the chords get more complex, eg in swing or jazzy stuff, I get lost because I don't have a good enough knowledge of scales, modes etc to keep switching scales with the chord changes.

 

That describes perfectly the relationship between myself and singing...except any teacher would have made that request much much sooner! I regret it, but I am incapable even of some kind of endearing Mark E. Smith-ish warbling. Alas.

RCB

 

The quickest way to get a band to split up is for the drummer to announce that he’s written a song.

 

Anyone using Cubase? I have a problem assigning Midi, PM me if you can help

 

Nope, Ableton. Just general stuff which you're probably already doing e.g. make sure drivers are up to date, check your leads and make sure that you've got your in's/out's/thru's in order and if you're using DIN leads not USB then make sure you're not losing information by trying to do something like pass a 7 pin output through a 5 pin lead.

Good luck, it's always a pain in the arse when that stuff doesn't work.

 

I use Cubase. But never done any midi stuff I'm afraid.
All my stuff is done with proper instruments

 

I usually record audio only with no problems but decided to play around with midi sounds, The problem am having is that when I assign a sound to a track it goes to all the tracks instead of the one designated to, I know am making a simple mistake somewhere but is driving me mad.

 

Have you looked in the Help menu to see if you can find instructions for the correct process?
Failing that, try Googling something like 'Cubase - midi assigning to all tracks instead of just one'. You can be certain that someone will have had the same problem/made the same error and there'll likely be a forum that answers your question.

 

Thanks, Yes will give your suggestions a try,

 

Cheers! Yes, the lyrics are vital to this project, so it is a real pity they don't come through. We had no control over that, didn't even know it was being recorded from that height and angle. I just remember one of the church people recording from the floor, but she hasn't posted anything yet. That might sound better. It was the usual charity do -- a lot of enthusiastic amateurs and a very friendly uncritical audience; a nice way to try out some of our songs live. It's nice to have a record of a very early stage in the project.

We're based in Hamilton, Ontario, though I live some 25 miles away in one direction, and the guitarist about the same in the other! Right now we're bashing the 14 songs in this project into shape for recording in the autumn -- a lot of re-arranging, cutting, and so on. It'll be a concept album based on Norse mythology: Ragnarok, and the death and rebirth of the god Baldur. Sounds like Nordic death-metal territory, but in our hands it will be Joy Division meets musical theatre. We haven't contracted with a studio yet, though we have several options. We're all analog types, who also appreciate digital, so I don't know yet which way we'll go.

We aren't really playing out at the moment; real life gets in the way, and we do want to get the recording started. Other problems live are that all the songs have keyboards, and I've got at least 2 guitar lines going on in the songs, not to mention the occasional solo. Live we need more players. We're hoping the one backing vocalist (BK) will be able to take on the keyboard parts live -- it'll give him something more to do!

I liked your video. I've got the Rockpalast show playing as I type this -- I'm enjoying it. I suppose you're on it? That must have been a nice experience.

RCB

 

and

Go on tell us which is you and what era was it .

 

Not getting at anything @Ozbantam it very much reminded me of bands around in the late 60s early 70s IMO the golden era of music.