Your musical background

[xaimus]

I've been playing my violin for about ten years.  I've been playing with crappy MIDI sequencers for as long as I can remember, and started tracking with IT back in 2000.  I "upgraded" to MPT later.

[reno373]

I have played drums since i was 8 yrs old. Self taught. Followed through in high school marching, concert and stage band. Played in my brothers band in FLA. Now, I can't play at all because my present job of 20 years has ruined my hands. I discovered MPT back in 1999 as I was searching for a midi sequencer, fell in love with it and discovered I could still play drums with out using my hands. MPT music is my hobby, I don't put much out there that I write because I am still learning and like I said, it is a hobby and not something I want to compete with other people.
I have tried other trackers and still find MPT easier and better.

[LPChip]

I don't put much out there that I write because I am still learning and like I said, it is a hobby and not something I want to compete with other people.

I'd like to make a comment on the previous assumption. People that upload their music, do not do it to be better than others. They upload their music so that alot of people (especially those with musical knowledge themself) can listen to it, and give you feedback in how to improve your music.

Before I entered this scene, I had been tracking for about 8 years. In the year after that, I have grown in skills about 60% of that what I did in those 8 years. That means that its more than 400% improvement. Why? Because the people here, do know what they talk about, and its alot easier if someone else points out how to improve than to critizise your own music and find out by yourself. Why do I say this? Friends who usually listen to your music, only say: I like it, and usually also when they don't like it that much. They are friends and don't want to hurt your feelings.

In the community, we are also friends (atleast thats how I see it) but since the feedback from others is so much appreciated (even if they're a bit harsh) it's being seen as a good act, instead of a bad act.

There's no way we compete with eachother. There are other communities in the trackers scene where you get a ranking etc, and yes, there is a competetive mood, but not here.

[Squirrel Havoc]

There's no way we compete with eachother.

Especially since MPC doesnt have the ModPlug OHC anymore

[LPChip]

There's no way we compete with eachother.

Especially since MPC doesnt have the ModPlug OHC anymore

You've got a point there. There are events in which we measure our skills, but uploading your song doesn't put it in one of these events. If this ever may occour, then it must be because your song is good enough, which is a compliment in the first place

I do miss the OHC's too, but I don't have the time anymore.

[Waxhead]

Code Select Expand

Before I entered this scene, I had been tracking for about 8 years. In the year after that, I have grown in skills about 60% of that what I did in those 8 years. That means that its more than 400% improvement. Why? Because the people here, do know what they talk about, and its alot easier if someone else points out how to improve than to critizise your own music and find out by yourself. Why do I say this? Friends who usually listen to your music, only say: I like it, and usually also when they don't like it that much. They are friends and don't want to hurt your feelings.

I just felt like pointing out that gaining what people call skills often imply your abillity to immitate others. Often (but not always) this can restrict your own musical nature. Music is after all a way of sharing feelings. Imagine someone learned you how you should feel about a certain thing surpressing your own ideas - this may be more common than many of you realize (maybe I'm doing it now). Please don't get me wrong and don't take this as criticism but bare in mind that earning skills is not the same as gaining popularity. One can easily be to focused on making music in a certain style just to "become popular". But sure feedback from others is always welcome and very valuable to most of us. But please remember that it's often the most "original" who get's first price

[Sam_Zen]

Some nice points have been made here about imitation, integrity and following one's own mind.

A story : 30 years ago I was a member of a trio with various kinds of analog electronic equipment. We once would play a concert and one of us had trouble with his soundsystem, so we couldn't start. This took quite some time, some 20 minutes, and during this the other two players were tuning their synths, testing setups, etc., so produced sounds.
After that concert I heard people say : wow, great, I've never heard anything like this ! Other people : Dreadful !
This shocked me then, because apparently with electronic things it showed possible to fool people, so they think they are listening to some deliberate composition, just because they hear something.

The same once happened to Ravi Shankar. He got an applause after he was ready tuning his sitar. .

[DavidN]

That's fantastic =D

When I was still in school I learned the piano, violin and (the staple of all UK schools) the recorder. I was competent but not particularly good at any of them - it did get me interested in music, though.

I had been writing my own music at a basic level for a while, with notes drawn out onto manuscript paper for the piano, and later using an appalling MIDI sequencer that came with my sound card.

Oddly enough I didn't get into actually listening to music until my last year of school - I hadn't heard anything that I actually liked, but by chance I then discovered Iron Maiden and other bands that wrote music primarily based on melody and harmony.

I discovered Modplug while looking for programs to make music for Megazeux, a game creation system that used MODs. At the time I didn't think I would use it to make songs in their own right, but six "albums" later, I think I was wrong.

[Matt Hartman]

I began my journey into music when I was 7, picking up the violin complete with slap my hand with her bow when I made a mistake violin instructor (back in the early 80's that was still PC)...bitch.

About 2 years into the violin and humiliating schoolyard remarks about being a sissy for playing it, I began to get more interested in percussion. Afteral, all the cool kids were doing it in the school band. Additionally, the bounce and movement really captured my senses at the time. For my 10'th birthday I was rewarded with my own five piece drum set. A Black entry-level CB-700. I still can remember the smell of the wooden shells and oil of the hit hat. The squeak of the bass drum pedal.

In about another 2 years I became more interested in music composition itself. (somehow I find drumming lends itself to that) We had a family piano and organ and I simply sat down and tinkered away. Tinkering led to playing little self made tunes and melodies. The bass pedals of the organ taught me about the importance of laying down a root note.

I stayed with the piano/keyboard for quite awhile, ultimately creating rhythmic piano compositions much like Tori Amos. I got on offer to play with a touring band, but I got cold feet and turned it down, afraid I wouldn't be able to handle it.  what a dumb ass

It wasn't long after that I met a good friend who played the electric guitar. When I heard him playing a very warm blues lead, I wanted to harness that for myself.

Good lord, I think it was Jimi H. that really propelled me to buy my first guitar. A Black Fender Squire Strat. I bought it without knowing too much about how to actually play it. But, it wasn't soon after I started to once again, tinker that I was starting to play those smooth blues leads better than my friend.

It was during this time I was introduced to the Amiga 500 (then later 1200). I got myself a free copy of OctaMed Studio (which oddly resembled MPT) and I thought at that time I died and gone to heaven. Here was a tool that would allow me to record my guitar, violin, piano and keyboard (I sold my drum set) and arrange it all into compositions of my liking. And that's exactly what I did. Even then I was making custom 8 bit samples. Those little Amiga's were amazing.

With the guitar and a tracker to help me make more sense of orchestration, I was naturally lead into joining countless garage bands, purchasing rather large amps, and tearing up perfectly good pairs of jeans. Afterall, grunge was just starting to hit the radio waves and I wanted everything to to with it.

Ahoy, but even bar chord heaven turned into bar chord bore in time. Sure the music was fun, bouncy and I was 101% rebel come what may, I didn't give a f*c*! But it quickly became somewhat of a bore and I found myself advancing musically, this style and musical outlook had its limitations for me.

I put the tracker away for quite some time.

This prompted me to discover other styles. Alternative, Jazz, Folk, Funk all became a further invested interest. I felt like these styles had a lot of expression and freedom. I tinkered. Had a few bands, did some gigs.

I even joined the all black Sunday Gospel band in which I stood out like a soar thumb. But we rocked and the people tided.

After this point I began to somewhat get burned out. Mainly because it was hard to find other musicians who shared my insane enthusiasm for music or drummers that didn't constantly flake out of practice.

Also, by this time I had two children. Enough said.

About 6 years ago I did a internet search on tracking, to see if was even still around. Much to my surprise, not only was it around, it was alive and huge. Definitely bigger than the beginning days of tracking. I was once again hooked like a sucker fish.

I did a little stint on TiS known as UU, later Modplug Central, even my own Tracker site called Projekt Fokus, a site to feature some of the best trackers known to date, some of you out there were actually members.  :wink:

Due to a lot of complications in my private life aside from music, my presence in the tracking community has been sporadic. I still track like the dickens, sometimes for professional contracts. But I seriously lack the motivation I once had to share my music. As a composer, I'm finding music had become a very personal and crossroads experience.

I no longer crave the attention I once assured myself my music would gain. Instead, I write because it's simply a part of who I am. It's my language, my roots, my drive in life. It's both my escape and my crowd.

Currently, I'm taking up the Indian Flute. I would love to get my hands on a sitar and santoor. I'm getting into the exotic sounds of traditional Indian music. Very expressive and passionate.

[Matt Hartman]

Some nice points have been made here about imitation, integrity and following one's own mind.

A story : 30 years ago I was a member of a trio with various kinds of analog electronic equipment. We once would play a concert and one of us had trouble with his soundsystem, so we couldn't start. This took quite some time, some 20 minutes, and during this the other two players were tuning their synths, testing setups, etc., so produced sounds.
After that concert I heard people say : wow, great, I've never heard anything like this ! Other people : Dreadful !
This shocked me then, because apparently with electronic things it showed possible to fool people, so they think they are listening to some deliberate composition, just because they hear something.

The same once happened to Ravi Shankar. He got an applause after he was ready tuning his sitar. .

Hehehehehe you gotta love it.

With Ravi Shankar, he does a lot of traditional bends, which to the unkonwning listener can sound very simular to tunning.

Hehehe but it still cracks me up.  

[Sam_Zen]

The division of twelve tones within an octave is just a choice.

[Gaspy Conana]

I discovered real music (Prog, Krautrock, Jazz Fusion) about 3 years ago and was inspired. Started from there. I used to use MPT to make music for games, now I'm doing some serious projects.

[Relabsoluness]

...real music...

Could you give the definition for that?

[Waxhead]

I usualy claims that The Crystal Method - Vegas (album) is perfect music and should be used as a reference for all other kinds of music However I would like to know if it's real or false music  

[Squirrel Havoc]

You like the Vegas album? I'm more of a Legion of Boom guy