03-12-2024, 07:42 AM
My uncle taught me how to play the clarinet. He played in bands (worked with Gene Pitney at one point). I passed The UK Royal Society of Music's practical exams (Grade 5 at 10 years old and Grade 6 at 11 years old which I passed with merit). I also had an ear for music. I remember playing Stranger on the Shore after listening to it once which stunned my parents. Unfortunately the clarinet was stolen from school. I left it overnight locked in the music room like a lot of kids did. My miserly father would not replace it. I never took it up again as an adult. Looking back I have no idea why. I played acoustic guitar as a kid as well (self-taught).
Fast forward 45 years. I bought a midi keyboard at the advice of the team who manage my illness. I am housebound and they told me to find a hobby that wasn't too taxing. I set up a digital audio workstation (DAW) on my desktop computer. There are many instruments in the DAW which you play via your keyboard. The quality of the pianos, strings, brass' and woodwinds are amazing and so many synthesisers to play. I am currently learning to play keys with an amazing sounding grand piano. I have only created some simple melodies so far as there is a steep learning curve with the DAW and my cognitive abilities are 100 % (part illness and part medication). The main thing is I enjoy it and it provides a brief escape.
Fast forward 45 years. I bought a midi keyboard at the advice of the team who manage my illness. I am housebound and they told me to find a hobby that wasn't too taxing. I set up a digital audio workstation (DAW) on my desktop computer. There are many instruments in the DAW which you play via your keyboard. The quality of the pianos, strings, brass' and woodwinds are amazing and so many synthesisers to play. I am currently learning to play keys with an amazing sounding grand piano. I have only created some simple melodies so far as there is a steep learning curve with the DAW and my cognitive abilities are 100 % (part illness and part medication). The main thing is I enjoy it and it provides a brief escape.
.. an upbeat cynic
In the heart of darkness, shadows have their own secrets.
Where silence screams and the dead still dream...
You’re never alone when the night is alive.
In the heart of darkness, shadows have their own secrets.
Where silence screams and the dead still dream...
You’re never alone when the night is alive.