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Who picked up a new instrument because of prog?

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tbktbk View Drop Down
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    Posted: August 27 2024 at 21:58
Hi all,

I used to play guitar for about 13 years but put it down about 12 years ago.  Out of the blue 2 months back, I decided to pick up the flute and learn it.   I've been taking flute courses and have practiced every day.  Although I'm very "so so", I am now able to start playing some songs by ear and have been learning some of my favorite art rock pieces.

Flute interested me because it's a very small instrument that's easy to carry around and I always loved the pastoral tones.

Some of my favorites that I am not able to play (and others can recognize)

Colour my World
Alusa Fallax - pieces from their album
Blood Sweat and Tears - Variations on a theme
Camel - Landscapes, Air Borne
Delirium - Dolce Acqua
Moody Blues - Visions of Paradise
etc...

I'm not even close to good enough to start to even thinking about flutter tonguing (ala Jethro Tull) but it has been fun to be able to play some of those passages above.

Did anyone else pick up an instrument and learn it because of some progressive songs that you wanted to be able to play?

As per flute, if you can think of some other pastoral songs to learn on flute, please send them my way.

thanks in advance



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 27 2024 at 22:55
I've played guitar and bass for, oh, 55 years or so.  I can't say exactly that I was inspired to play those instruments because of prog alone, but early prog (Uriah Heep etc.) was a consideration.  

However, more recently, I bought a number of innovations inspired by prog:

a) Fernandes electric guitar with sustainer circuit - Both Robert Fripp and Steve Hackett play similar instruments (Les Paul copies by Burny, made in Japan).  A very, very fine instrument!!  See photo.  

b) Mellotron iPad app - I saw King Crimson use these in concert, and was blown away.  Great fun, and much less hassle than a real Mellotron!!  (they use actual Mellotron tape samples). 

c)  Allsorts - I have many recently purchased guitar sound processing toys that I am only now getting around to learning how to use.  Sadly, I am not a full-time musician, so life keeps interfering.  




Edited by cstack3 - August 27 2024 at 22:57
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Hrychu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 00:08
Guess prog (namely KC and VDGG) is the reason I picked up the alto sax.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote octopus-4 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 03:18
Originally posted by tbktbk tbktbk wrote:

Hi all,

I used to play guitar for about 13 years but put it down about 12 years ago.  Out of the blue 2 months back, I decided to pick up the flute and learn it.   I've been taking flute courses and have practiced every day.  Although I'm very "so so", I am now able to start playing some songs by ear and have been learning some of my favorite art rock pieces.

Flute interested me because it's a very small instrument that's easy to carry around and I always loved the pastoral tones.

Some of my favorites that I am not able to play (and others can recognize)

Colour my World
Alusa Fallax - pieces from their album
Blood Sweat and Tears - Variations on a theme
Camel - Landscapes, Air Borne
Delirium - Dolce Acqua
Moody Blues - Visions of Paradise
etc...

I'm not even close to good enough to start to even thinking about flutter tonguing (ala Jethro Tull) but it has been fun to be able to play some of those passages above.

Did anyone else pick up an instrument and learn it because of some progressive songs that you wanted to be able to play?

As per flute, if you can think of some other pastoral songs to learn on flute, please send them my way.

thanks in advance



I have tried flute, but without lessons I don't think I'll ever learn it. Well, I can do Rhayader that's easy enough, but very few more. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Easy Money Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 05:19
At age 17, listening to Jon Lord inspired me to start playing keyboards. At age 35 I started making my living in music and continue to do so to this day.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote presdoug Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 05:43
Musical instruments are, unfortunately, not my thing. I developed marked familial tremors in both hands at age 11, and have them for life. Worst in my writing hand, I cannot do regular things like drinking from a cup, I just spill everything.
         Actually, before getting into prog, I dabbled in playing the bass guitar, but it did not really go anywhere. Oh, well.
          Luckily, typing on one of those old style computer keyboards with the fat digits works, or I wouldn't be here...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Manuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 05:47
I picked the mandolin and the laud, due to some world music influenced prog. Nice alternative to guitar/bass that I've played all my life, since I was 8 years old.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 10:03
Hi,

I'm one of those that could never get a reasonable/good instruction to anything. Have 2 basses, but rarely touch them these days, and then I tried a keyboard ... with poor results ... the Midi keyboard was nice and I enjoyed fooling around with the Arturia stuff, but the real issue was being able to record it, and then add something on top of it. I was never able to get a DAW to help ... meaning I could listen to what was there and whatever else I was adding to it ... and it got frustrating, as being able to get help for it was getting strange and weird ... all of it was centered on a beat, and my starts were almost all on some keyboard sound ... which I could not exactly add anything to ... frustrating to say the least ... 

And then the crap hit ... got a small synth ... but there weren't W10 drivers for it ... and the dang $600 dollars just sits there ... unused ... totally new! Worse yet, using the USB to connect it to W10Pro on my machine never happened ... and it hurt ... I have not tried since and checked out a couple of places on how to improve this ... NOTHING!

MY great love in music, you could say is "keyboards" ... and how they can bring up images so easily ... as opposed to a beat, or instruments that go by numbers as I call it! The bass and guitar have little color in a lot of music, specially "progrock" ... in my book.

Sadly, I think I got caught in "between" the stuff not being quite compatible with computers ... and the sellers and various companies not willing to help ... as far as I can tell ... originally I started with Abelton (came with the midi keyboard) ... and I think that thing was too intense and intimidated me, and I could never find help.

Music, for me, is my dream and vision ... and will continue that way I think ... not sure I will ever get good enough to play something although I can create some nifty bits and pieces here and there, but have not been able to figure out how to add to them!


Edited by moshkito - August 28 2024 at 10:05
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote verslibre Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 10:15
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

a) Fernandes electric guitar with sustainer circuit - Both Robert Fripp and Steve Hackett play similar instruments (Les Paul copies by Burny, made in Japan).  A very, very fine instrument!!  See photo.


That sure is pretty, Stack!

New instrument alert!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 11:56
Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

a) Fernandes electric guitar with sustainer circuit - Both Robert Fripp and Steve Hackett play similar instruments (Les Paul copies by Burny, made in Japan).  A very, very fine instrument!!  See photo.


That sure is pretty, Stack!
 

Thank you!!  I quite love it!!  I put the tremolo on myself!! Smile

It is the practical equivalent of my Les Paul (mine is 1973), but with sustainer circuit, I can hold a note until the internal 9 volt battery dies!!

I play stuff like this all day long!!  I especially like to pair the Fernandes with a volume-pedal, to get Fripp-like violin tones.  


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 12:18
^ Who need Hackett when we have you. :) (not saying we don't want or need Hackett, really) Love to hear some of you playing your guitars.

Edited by Logan - August 28 2024 at 12:19
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote verslibre Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 12:50
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

It is the practical equivalent of my Les Paul (mine is 1973), but with sustainer circuit, I can hold a note until the internal 9 volt battery dies!!


Good thing the Labor Day Weekend Sale over at you-know-where is on!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote octopus-4 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 13:10
Forgot to say previously: I have bought my first bass to play the solo on the live version of Renaissance's Ashes Are Burning. 
I started playing guitar at 10, mainly because I actually had only a radio and after a song was finished, if I liked it there was no way to relisten to it. So not necessarily prog, but that was the main reason. Few years after it was also "girls", but usually the one who played was left with the guitar while the rest of the company was "in action". So I stopped playing around the fires on the beach and similar.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 14:38
Originally posted by Hrychu Hrychu wrote:

Guess prog (namely KC and VDGG) is the reason I picked up the alto sax.

Great reason!!  Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 14:39
Originally posted by octopus-4 octopus-4 wrote:

Forgot to say previously: I have bought my first bass to play the solo on the live version of Renaissance's Ashes Are Burning. 
I started playing guitar at 10, mainly because I actually had only a radio and after a song was finished, if I liked it there was no way to relisten to it. So not necessarily prog, but that was the main reason. Few years after it was also "girls", but usually the one who played was left with the guitar while the rest of the company was "in action". So I stopped playing around the fires on the beach and similar.

You should have kept it up!!  You just never know.....RF and sis Patricia just after Christmas. 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2024 at 14:41
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

^ Who need Hackett when we have you. :) (not saying we don't want or need Hackett, really) Love to hear some of you playing your guitars.

I'm so busy with work and life that I haven't recorded in a while, and my old stuff needs to be digitized from tape.  Someday, I promise!!  Thanks for the vote of confidence! 
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