The Musicians Lounge

elohiym

elohiym

Well-known member
Welcome to The (unofficial) Musicians Lounge on TOL.

Grab a beverage, pull up a chair and let's discuss our passion (assuming playing or singing is your passion).

What instrument do you play?

I've been playing the doumbek, a hand drum from the Middle East, for over three years. Here's what my instrument looks like:

Doumbek1.gif
 
Buzzword

Buzzword

New member
I'm a classically trained baritone, I've played piano for twenty years (...ugh), I've played trombone for sixteen (...also ugh), and I've been messing around with guitar for about a year now.

Needless to say, my family encouraged me in musical pursuits.

I also married a classically trained mezzo-soprano, so the train just keeps a-rolling.

Probably the most amazing thing about our marriage are the thousands of little moments when one or both of us breaks into song and we harmonize perfectly.
To say nothing of the thousands of moments in the car when we sing with the radio and argue about who has to sing melody (loser gets that boring job).
 
F

fzappa13

Well-known member
Oh, BTW, retired Guitar and Bass Guitar with a minor in Baritone and Flute (thank you Ian Anderson for making it an acceptable endeavor for males)
 
F

fzappa13

Well-known member
elohiym said:
Welcome to The (unofficial) Musicians Lounge on TOL.

Grab a beverage, pull up a chair and let's discuss our passion (assuming playing or singing is your passion).

What instrument do you play?

I've been playing the doumbek, a hand drum from the Middle East, for over three years. Here's what my instrument looks like:

Doumbek1.gif
Click to expand...

Mmmmmmmm ... how do I put this nicely? There is some controversy as to whether or not drummers are musicians ...
 
elohiym

elohiym

Well-known member
Buzzword said:
I'm a classically trained baritone, I've played piano for twenty years (...ugh), I've played trombone for sixteen (...also ugh), and I've been messing around with guitar for about a year now.
Click to expand...

Why "ugh?"

So you're interested in guitar. Nice. I have a beautiful, maple Les Paul custom; but I've neglected her since I fell in love with the drums. I still noodle around on the guitar now and then but my practice time goes mainly to the drum. Lately I've been trying to incorporate some guitar into my drum compositions.

Buzzword said:
I also married a classically trained mezzo-soprano, so the train just keeps a-rolling.
Click to expand...

Do either of you perform professionally?
 
elohiym

elohiym

Well-known member
fzappa13 said:
Oh, BTW, retired Guitar and Bass Guitar with a minor in Baritone and Flute (thank you Ian Anderson for making it an acceptable endeavor for males)
Click to expand...

Tull reminds me of the summers of my youth.

Did you play professionally? You said retired.

The drums have sparked in me an interest for the bass, but I've yet to pursue that. I'm struggling to increase my drum practice time.
 
F

fzappa13

Well-known member
elohiym said:
Tull reminds me of the summers of my youth.

Did you play professionally? You said retired.

The drums have sparked in me an interest for the bass, but I've yet to pursue that. I'm struggling to increase my drum practice time.
Click to expand...

Yes, I played professionally for a couple of decades. BTW, the truth about drummers is you can always tell who the good bands are by their drummer. There aren't many good ones so they get their pick of bands. Refer to your chart.

:chuckle:
 
elohiym

elohiym

Well-known member
fzappa13 said:
There is some controversy as to whether or not drummers are musicians ...
Click to expand...

I couldn't walk up to, say, Bill Bruford and say, "Hey, Bill, you're not a musician." Could you? I'm sure we can at least agree that some musicians are drummers, like Bill.

What does it mean to be a musician anyway? Is there a skill set and a level of accomplishment that must be attained before one can call himself a musician? I wonder about that.

Calling myself a musician is something I've only thought to do in recent years because in that time I have developed a passion for playing rhythm instruments and I'm at the point where I'm thinking about playing with other musicians, perhaps even professionally.
 
F

fzappa13

Well-known member
elohiym said:
Tull reminds me of the summers of my youth.

Did you play professionally? You said retired.

The drums have sparked in me an interest for the bass, but I've yet to pursue that. I'm struggling to increase my drum practice time.
Click to expand...

Oh, and the bass is sort of the natural translator between the drummer and the rest of the band so their relationship (or lack thereof) often determines the success (or lack thereof) of any given band.
 
elohiym

elohiym

Well-known member
fzappa13 said:
Yes, I played professionally for a couple of decades.
Click to expand...

What style did you play?

fzappa13 said:
BTW, the truth about drummers is you can always tell who the good bands are by their drummer. There aren't many good ones so they get their pick of bands. Refer to your chart.

:chuckle:
Click to expand...

True, true. There are a lot of okay drummers. Now, I'm an okay drummer; but I have the potential to be much better and then have my pick of belly dancers. :chuckle:
 
elohiym

elohiym

Well-known member
fzappa13 said:
Oh, and the bass is sort of the natural translator between the drummer and the rest of the band so their relationship (or lack thereof) often determines the success (or lack thereof) of any given band.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I sensed that connection, which is what sparked my interest in bass.
 
F

fzappa13

Well-known member
elohiym said:
I couldn't walk up to, say, Bill Bruford and say, "Hey, Bill, you're not a musician." Could you? I'm sure we can at least agree that some musicians are drummers, like Bill.

What does it mean to be a musician anyway? Is there a skill set and a level of accomplishment that must be attained before one can call himself a musician? I wonder about that.

Calling myself a musician is something I've only thought to do in recent years because in that time I have developed a passion for playing rhythm instruments and I'm at the point where I'm thinking about playing with other musicians, perhaps even professionally.
Click to expand...

Ummmmmm ... no. Bill did quite a bit of writing. Some would say his stuff was on the ugly side but few could argue his technical proficiency. My favorite snare sound of all time. He mastered the art of catching a little bit of the rim and the head at the same time.

Concerning advice for those considering pursuing music for a career I have long said that if you can avoid it you should ... if not, by all means, do go on.
 
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fzappa13

Well-known member
elohiym said:
What style did you play?
Click to expand...

More by accident than design I wound up digesting styles one at a time ... sort of like phases I went through. I think the only stuff I didn't have a go at was rap (and we all know that's not music anyway) and hair metal. "Purple Haze " got me going but I still think Beethoven's 5th is the penultimate musical accomplishment of mankind to date.
 
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