O/T Who helped you become a musician?

[Psycho Ward]

Who opened your eyes, took you under their wing and helped you start playing music? I assume everyone for one reason or another decided to play music at some point or you wouldn’t be here. But what I’m talking about is the person who took enough interest in you to show you something, helped you or encouraged you to really play.

For me it was a high school band director named Mr. Frazier. I took up an instrument because my Dad told me all Wards play something. Of course he was thinking the guitar, banjo or fiddle; he was very disappointed that I chose the clarinet. I switched to sax because “Boots Randolph” played songs my Dad liked and I became “Slippers Randolph”. I learned every fiddle tune and my Dad and I played square dances, cake walks and just about every gig you could find in the mountains of Virginia for years.

But I wanted to play jazz and blues too. Then came Mr. Frazier. He had played his way thru college and was a hell of a sax player. He could improvise, I could only copy. He took me under his wing and worked with me every day at his home. He taught me the Blues scale, harmony and stretched my ears to hear things and understand things that I would have never done on my own. I progressed rapidly with his coaching. I really owe my music career to that man. My Dad too, but Mr. Frazier made me into a musician.

I hadn’t seen nor heard from him since 1973 but last week I was thinking about him so I Googled him. I found him right away and he has had an incredible career and now is Dr. Frazier and teaching again, this time at Western Carolina. We’ve been emailing each other almost everyday.

Music at Western Carolina University

Who helped you?

 

[bassmonkey]

I'll tell you when I become a musician.

Unfortunately, I have never had a mentor. I guess all the great records I have listened to over the years have performed that role. The stuff you are talking about, I have gained from watching people play, reading interviews and nowadays that new fangled interweb thingy. I guess that's the reason I still suck.

I wish the internet had been around 25 years ago when I first picked up a bass. It is such a fantastic resource. The young musicians coming up nowadays are incredibly lucky to be able to benefit from all this new technology.

 

[ashiin]

At the age of 4 my mom made me play piano (Like every other asian boy of course). I grew up playing it pretty decently (Now i mainly play chopin pieces, waltz etcetc.) But when i got into middle school, i wanted to get even more into music, so i picked up the trombone. Throughout that school year, i added an alto sax to my arsenal, which i used to play jazz.

The teacher that led me through that middle school was a great guy called Mr. Rogal, him being a tenor saxophonist and a clarinet player, he taught me basics on how to play a trombone, and later on asked me to change to play tuba as there wasn't any in our school at that moment. I now still continue playing the tuba, under our high school conductor Mr. Gavlik. He is a much tougher teacher and him being a tuba player too puts a lot of pressure on me and the other tuba players.

Other kinds of influence include movies and animes such as The Pianist (Which is a god awesome movie, makes me want to play the piano everytime i watch it), and Beck which another member mentioned a while ago (I started playing bass when i was in 8th grade, i stopped playing because i wasn't interested, but that anime inspired me in a way and was also my inspiration to get a stingray!)

 

[bassmonkey]

Oh, and about technology. It isn't just the internet. It's also about downloadable music, boxes the size of a cigarette pack that have drum machines, tuners, amps, effects, recorders that can loop passages etc, programs which allow you to slow down stuff but keep pitch, drum loopers/machines, recording studio technology on the PC/Mac which wasn't around 30 years ago even for the Pros, and 20years ago was too costly, MySpace and loads of other things. The tools out there to help aspiring musicians are incredible.

 

[asianjeff]

To follow up with ashiin... my mom forced me to pick up an instrument at an early age... and like a good asian boy... I went with violin and later on started piano also... As much as I loved violin... after about 8 years of it I got pretty burned out... and decided to pick up a new instrument... and I kinda randomly picked up bass... I wish I have some sort of a mentor on bass... but I haven't found one yet... been doing the self-taught thing for the last 4 years... Finding EBMM really gave me a whole new inspiration to become a much better muscian... so thanks to BP and the Co.

 

[tkarter]

Grew up playing everything from spoons to harmonica. Baritone in high school. Wife had a guitar when we got married. I picked that up and started playing. Then the family would get together. Ya know them hoedown things? Needed a bass player. I got a bass having the time of my life and Carol Kaye has taught me most of what I know about how to play the bass.

Know for sure I will be a bass player till I die.

tk

 

[Adwex]

My elemenary school band teacher (Arthur Van Helden).

In 3rd grade, I couldn't wait to start playing trumpet. In 4th grade, he asked me if I would switch to baritone horn, since nobody else wanted to play it. It's the same valve fingerings as trumpet, so the transition was easy. I played baritone up 'til H.S. graduation.

My college roomate freshman year was a great guitarist, I spent alot of time just listening to him play, he was quite talented at 18 years old. He probably had the biggest influence in my guitar playing, as I picked it up about 2 years later.

 

[SharonG]

My mom, to start - from playing albums of everything from African tribal drums, to cool jazz, to opera along with dancing in the family room and dance lessons, to endless hours of listening to me create my own songs on my dad's unused 1/4 size guitar (from about 3 years of age), to teaching me how to hear and sing harmonies.

After that, my high school choral and band directors - endless hours of direction, music theory, and four years of bass lessons. Most of all, just making it fun!

My friends in jazz bands in high school and college - everything I know about improvising came from them.

 

[Kirby]

My Aunt was the first to believe in me. She helped me buy my first bass when I was 15.

From there on it was various teachers. My current instructor, Jim Stinnett, of Berklee has been the most inspirational to me. I feel very lucky to have the chance to continue my studies with him.

 

[robobass13]

a friend of mine when we were 13 years old, he was a guitar player and an amazing one at that. he encouraged me to play bass so he would have a bass player, he didn't play bass but musically he just got it. I was really into the early Iron Maiden stuff and he was able to listen to a song and then show me how to play the bass line, he was a very talented individual and unfortunately he died about 10 years ago, what a waste.

 

[Caca de Kick]

Well my mom's family is huge, and many in the family were musicians as well as their cousins. All her brothers and sisters are younger than her, and I'm the oldest grandchild. So always having being watched by them in the 70's to early 80's, maxxed out stereos blaring different genres of music was a major everyday thing for me. But as a little kid didn't think of actually playing an instrument.
Then in the 3rd grade, my school teacher (who played sax) musta saw somekind of potential in me and said I should think about playing the sax and get into music. She started teaching me how to read some simple music, then in 4th grade I took up the sax and music has been my life since.

So I have my 3rd grade teacher to thank for that.

 

[eddybomb]

For me, it was my 9th grade biology teacher, Mr. Nave. He saw something in me and helped me to develop it. That was 31 years ago. The bass guitar is my instrument of choice, and I too will be a bass player for life...God willing.

 

[Eggman]

In 7th grade my music appreciation teacher recognized that I had some prior music education (piano and trumpet) and suggested that I join her orchestra. I went in to check it out and she said I would be great on the violin. I asked what that big thing was in the back and she said it was a bass. I said I'll play that. A couple years later the new band director (who used to play trombone in Woody Herman's band) put together a jazz band and asked me to play. After a few months of playing an upright bass in a 20 piece band, he went out and bought me a small amp and a F**der Mustang and taught me blues scales. Both those experiences started it all. Joined a jazz rock group in 9th grade - the leader of that group taught me a lot about music. He is now a jazz studies professor at Cal State LA. My high school jazz band director taught me a ton about performing.

There you have it - my four main musical influences.

 

[Psycho Ward]

*This is what I'm talk'n 'bout!*

 

[timmy5strings]

My brother got me started playing guitar around 12 or so, learning Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Stones and Cream songs. I still have the guitar. I think it's an Ibanez, black with chrome, 6 flip switches and 3 rusted white pearloid topped pickups, with a whammy bar and a Kingston amp. Those were the days

 

[NorM]

This is a way cool thread that I think is not off topic.
Music (and Arts in general) Education is an opportunity that I wish more children (me included) could have more of. It absolutely helped define some of my good qualities in life.
With that in mind I wish to give a special shout out to my Jr. High School band director.

Thank You Mr. Van Dyke!! ​

 

[strummer]

The Sweet!

 

[StevieStingray]

My very first guitar instructor was a talented guy, named Nereo Biscaro. I took lessons from him for many, many years. I learned all the rudimentary stuff, then blues, rock, ear training, and classicial guitar. now that i think about it, in the long run he taught me to be ecclectic.

Many years later, after becoming serious about music, I decided to study it at university - mainly music theory. One of my main profs, Dr. Douglas Webb, was a musical genius. Every once in a while you come across musicians who, from the moment you hear them, you just know they have "it" (Hendrix, Van Halen, ...) Hearing "it" come from a classical slant was a bit odd at first, but he just oozed music effortlessly

Unfortunately, he died at a young age. He knew he was dying too, and became very reflective during his lectures.

One of the most important lessons he taught didn't have to do with music at all: "Never live with regret." Thank you Dr. Webb.

 

[SteveB]

Well, playing guitar (by ear) runs in the family on my mother's side for at least 5 generations now.

So, my earliest memories are of my grandfather playing his guitar and singing, which he always did until old age and infirmity took that from him.

I also had an amazing music theory teacher named Dr. David Berlin when I was in high school. He opened my mind.

 

[TheStiffness]

James Taylor (via walk-man)

I heard Mr. Taylor's music... dug up, out of my parents closet, a 1970's era hand-me-down, nylon string guitar and starting learning chords... then I just listened and started trying to play along... Nothing too special...just a desire to play....