Where Do You Want To Go With Your Music?

hmm - I feel the same sense of drifting downwards along your scale.

I started out 20 years ago. Played mostly for myself, and was quite happy with it.

10 years ago when I got my first kid, I started to play more. Still mostly at home, but occationally at parties / nachspiels and such.

3 years ago I started for real with electric and a small band. We did some small private gigs eventually.

The last 12 months - 2 gigs in Oslo

The last month - started writing / recording own songs. I've realised it is possible, fun and satisfactory

This week - established my Myspace page (see sig)

:shock:

Ok so if this continues - by the year 2376 I will probably be touring the entire universe, launching new records every second day :lol:

I'd like to vote 3,5 - but I settled for 4. Need to have some ambitions in life :)

lars

Ok so if this continues - by the year 2376 I will probably be touring the entire universe, launching new records every second day :lol:

And so you should. :D

Best of luck with your progress along the track. It really does sort of sneak up you doesn't it...

Cheers,

Chris

I'm a solid #6. I teach, perform, compose, whatever it takes.

I'd like to be a solid #6, but Investment Banking sucks you in and doesn't give you a lot of time to do much else and then there's a big salary drop between quitting the day job and the music starting to pay off.

Ah, well. I can dream......

A :-)

I'm a #3. I don't fantasize about being a megastar anymore - well, not often anyway. I do enjoy jamming with other people, but I also enjoy putting my own songs together. What I do need is some decent recording equipment - I want to be able to put a decent quality MP3 together with as many individual tracks as it takes.

I suppose at the moment I'm in a bit of a rut - treading water, so to speak. I do get out and jam every now and then, but like I said, I desperately need new recording equipment. And that costs money.....there's always a downside to everything!

I may come back to this thread at a later date when I've got a clearer idea of where my life is heading!

:D :D :D

Vic

Heh, you sound like me Chris. When I started (almost five years ago) I was determined to go all the way and I set myself no easy goal: within a few years I wanted to be able to play along with my REM cds. I only had seven or eight albums at the time (and none downloaded/copied yet) and all of them were REM. I was unaware of the concept of chords, picks, amps or anything, I just figured that if Peter Buck was such a big star with so many fans it had to be real tough to play, right.

So pretty soon I figurded out that picking open chords wasn't that hard and I started noticing that there were a lot of things in music that seemed standardized in some way. The next step was trying to write a song of my own, and once that happened (after long thinking and trying sessions I ended up with a wonderfull four-chord song, in june 2005 :D) I thought about writing a bunch of songs and make an album. I started playing the keybord I got when I was a kid and never learned to play, got a bass-guitar and such and started working. That was done december 2006 IIRC after which the next logical step was 'more of everything'. So I picked up some softsynths and samplers, bought some books on counterpoint and harmony, got some cds and a transcription of the entire Four Seasons symphony. Violin lessons were added to the piano lessons and that's where I am know. I've written nine more albums since the first one and with each one I notice (relatively) much improvement.

So now what? I've been known for making really stupid choices in my life so whatever I try will probably be the wrong thing in the end. So that's something I don't have to worry about too much. All I know is that music is practically the only thing I really care about, and the only thing I've consistently (and despite my friends and family's assumption I'd quit within a month!) spend time, energy and money on. To me that should mean I should try to spend as much time as I can working with music, and that won't work with a 40hour/week non-music related job. I'm 23 years old, somewhat young, and have some years to practice, improve and just learn a whole lot more. After that I'm confident I will be able to work atleast 20hours/week with music, be it composing, producing or teaching, or whatever really. As long as it's creative and there ain't too many people telling me what to do I'll be fine. I don't need to make it big or earn loads of money so I'm not asking for too much, right?

I'm a solid #2.
Wait, that didn't come out right . . . I mean . . .
nevermind. I'm going to get my coffee.

I plan to take my music to the very top, and then jump.
#1 and #2 (assuming i have friends)
so i guess i'm happy just playing for myself, and friends.

#3

When I started playing in my early teens we were going to Rock The World!

After a couple of cover bands things like school,work marriage,children,grandchildren,
life in general interrupted musical plans.

I still kept playing at home,campfires,church,open mics,whatnot,even had a short lived band
for a while.

Now I would like to have a small combo or duo that could gig on a semi-regular basis
locally doing originals and covers.

If I could manage to sell an original or two that would be icing on the cake.

John

The goal was just to have fun at first then to play with the praise team at church. When our bass player went to university I was asked to step in and that goal was accomplished.

Right now I have the sound of guitar, organ, drum trio in my head. So that is the new goal. Along with teaching some of the young'uns so they can step up and relieve me should I move or be called away from the home church.

#4 will do very nicely

I'm a little too lazy with my learning regime to expect any kind of greatness....sure I picked up the guitar 18 months ago with expectations of grandeur 8) .....only to be humbled into submission....I now just sort of let things happen naturally with regards to learning....I can sing a little and have penned a few songs along the way,but I know that to be 'great' I need dedication and at my time of life (early 40's) it is lacking....

so the journey into musicianship will lead to wherever it wants to and I'll just tag along for the ride!!!!!

Well, I started out at 18 wanting to be a rock star!
Started a power trio with a mixed sound of early 70's hard rock (James Gang/Free), Neo-70's Punk (Pistols!), and Chicago Blues on my end (Guitar/singing)....
While the drummer/bass player were heavy into Zep.

Our Levi's were faded and ragged, full of holes.
Our leather Nikes were rotting and toeless/soleless and we never wore socks.
We had long hair and large collections of flannel shirts.
We all wore thrift store O.D. Army field jackets in the winter.
Not exactly the look you want coming out of the Reagan 80's, and we had to defend our look on more than one occassion.

My sound was lots of distortion and feedback, and I wanted to start smashing Japanese Fenders on stage!

My bandmates informed me that the audience would feel that I was ripping Pete Townsend off....
I told them that I was sure that this sound mixed with guitar destruction was exactly what Rock & Roll needed!
(HairMetal ruled at that time :roll: )

A couple years later - Our look with my sound and stage antics would save R&R.... A little Power Trio called Nirvana would beat us to the punch though.

The band would go thru many changes.... And eventually, the three of us became the backing band for a singer/songwriter/lead guitarist.
We ended up playing gigs, recording originals in a studio, having picture shoots, and getting some limited local airplay.
And then drifted apart.

I pretty much stopped playing after I turned 23.

Picked up an acoustic in my late twenties.... and did little more than open chord campfire strummy type playing.

After years of that.... Became very unhappy with it and stopped playing again.

By my early 30's I was working with an 18 year old who was passionate about starting to play the guitar.
His passion got me to once again open the case on my Strat.

I worked up both my playing and singing shortly there after and even improved my lead playing quite a bit.
So much so that Uncle Bobby told me that I needed to start a band immediately and be the singer/lead guitarist.
Quite a compliment.

Then I got into a new career that took all my time/energy and have really let my playing/singing go for the last few years.

Right now, I'm not that interested in playing so much as I am songwriting and producing.
I have about an album full of songs that I have in my head that NEED to be done.
So, these days, I play mainly because I NEED TO!
I have to get these songs out of my head and my heart and my soul.

I have no interest in being in a band, or in fame.

If I thought that the best way to get one of my songs done was to get a bunch of musicians together with me NOT being one of them, than that's what I would do.

And my music has changed dramatically.
Very layered and textured.
Simple clean lines. No Flash.
Clean woody tone.
And from screaming to whispering.

From looking forward into a world that enraged me at 18, and trying to take on that world head on,
to looking back into the world that I lived thru with bittersweetness and sadness at 38, trying to let go of all my mistakes.

I have no interest in teaching.
The closest I come to that is with my posts here on GN.
Unfortunately what I have to offer is not the mathematical precision of music....
More of the elusive subjective realm of tone/songwriting/and producing.

So; Thankx everyone for putting up with me so far! :wink:

Ken

Put me down for a 3 ..... would have been a 1 not too long ago but I'm getting the bug to play in front of people. I haven't done that too awful much and it has been a long time since I have done it at all.

solid three here. I have always wanted to perform. I do whenever I get the chance.
being a visual artist is my main career. lately, music has taken front seat.
my paintings bring in the money however.
I don't paint everyday, but I sure do play one of my instruments every day.

later this year my best friend and I will be forming a band. our plan is to gig at least twice a month.

and when I move into the country side later this year and start looking for work, I probably will think about teaching to earn something for gas in the truck.