"traditional" musician vs computer whiz

M

Mr. Future

New member
Alright, you know the great debate, bear vs. whatever animal it was (I think a gorilla....yea a GO-rilla), but anyway, Are you, or do you consider yourself to be a traditional musician in the sense that you have a musical background, Or You play instruments now, or are you more so on the level of some next technology ish. I have to let the music flow and know what a 1/16 count or a 1/32 count is or just knowing the bpm by the sound of the instumentals, song, samle, etc.

Which one works for you, just curious...:D
 
I say both. For days when theres only a piano, organ, bass, drums etc, my CPU background is not worth much. Then you have days when there is a controller and a program; but you still have to eat.
 
id consider myself more of a musician..i can play any instrument that i pick up if i get a little time to practice but im fluent at piano and viola (yes, viola) but i consider my "computer" or mpc just another instrument
 
Yeah, i gotta say both.

I play guitar, piano, trumpet, trombone... well all brass, i'm pretty weak on the tuba though. Played in brass bands for years. I dable on the violin :)

But I can fix nightynine percent of computer problems. I worked with a computer network company for a year or so
I'm Well versed in computer audio hardware and software. Have designed and commissioned a few computer based studios in schools.
(hooking up 4 computers running cubase sl, into a schools network so kids can save their work to server is an absolute nightmare!!)

Computers are really just another tool at our disposal

it's kind of weird sometimes. Swapping from computer music speak to musician speak depending on present company.

Things like, calling a Perfect 5th - +7.
Or saying C3 instead of middle C.

I have fond memories of doing my first live gig in a year or so. Asking for the track list so I new what we were playing. I got lots of funny looks
 
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mpiazza89 said:
id consider myself more of a musician..i can play any instrument that i pick up if i get a little time to practice but im fluent at piano and viola (yes, viola) but i consider my "computer" or mpc just another instrument
Click to expand...

Yo I'll barter with you for a viola loop. I know you prolly get down on that joint.
 
If you do both then it goes without saying that you will have the edge over the next dude who only knows one.

Of course I am talking about the recording/production industry as opposed to live.

I am a musician first, only because I started drums at 4 and piano at 5, then technology kicked in for me when I was about 12..
 
Primarily a musician(bass, some guitar & a lil keys), trying to get equally proficient with technology. My sound designing is fairly weak, and my programming is somewhere in between.
 
I play drums, piano and keys, a bit of acoustic guitar, and my son plays guitar quite well. Sometimes the computer just serves as a recording tool, sometimes it's gonna provide some sounds that I need, but then I still try to play it in via keyboard, maybe with a bit of tweaking afterwards, just to get that feel.

Considering I have no room for drums at the moment, I use a trigger finger and battery for drums. Just programming them always make the beat sound a bit mechanic, I haven't found that special way to make them feel alive. On my wish list are e-drums, but I cannot provide the 2 square meters to put them on right now :(
 
Even though I started out not knowing a damn thing about music, I quickly developed a good ear and eventually purchased a cheap keyboard for practicing, laying out chords, etc and am now taking some music classes in college. A good ear helps, but for me having the theory there as well gives me more breathing space for my musical ideas. I know which "flavor" of chord (minor/major/augmented/diminished) will give me a certain sound that I am going for, and I can punch that into FL or hammer it out on the keyboard. It makes working with music much quicker for me, though there are some very prominent musicians who have gotten very far with little or no theory (Vangelis refused to learn theory in his younger years, and has made some awesome pieces) I consider myself both tech savvy and music savvy.
 
I'm workin backwards at the mo! Technology first, instruments 2nd. I can play the keyboard, just getting my music theory down... Music theory books are my best friends! haha. I guess i've been pretty lucky in the sense that i have a good ear. I know what worked without knowing what chords etc i was playing. I just played what felt and sounded right to me when i first making music.

I would love to learn how to play the Cello & Violin. I have a guitar and i'm trying to learn that but its not easy being at uni with a million assignments :(
 
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personally i'd say im more of a programmer than a musician...although i do play keys, what "speaks" to me is composition more so than craftsmanship with a particular instrument.

that being said, however, i think we're being a bit foolish to try to separate them...when you think about it, we are all just musicians who interact with an interface (be it an instument, screen, etc) in order to create sound. more interfaces= more choices. its as simple as that, really.

-Lodger
 
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