Hello again everyone out there in prog land, i was wondering what song or band inspired you to take up music and what instrument you guys play and for how long you have been playing?

 I had a rather perculiar journey as far as music is concerned. Gryphon's 'Red Queen to Gryphon 3' was the record that inspired me to go into music. Because of Gryphon's medieval influences however, i was intent on learning Lute. Of course lutes cost over £600 and so i settled for mandolin. later i started listening to Hatfield and Caravan and that got me into Jazz. As we all know, mandolins have no place in jazz so brought a Bass Guitar tat i have played ever since. 

Crazy Diamond wrote: Hello again everyone out there in prog land, i was wondering what song or band inspired you to take up music and what instrument you guys play and for how long you have been playing?

Prog Band = Pink Floyd (influenced me to write music)

Rock band = Iron Maiden (Maiden influenced me to buy a guitar)

Album = Dark Side of the Moon (influenced me on concept work for my debut album)

I play bass, guitar, write, produce, edit and write lyrics.

Been playing on and off for 10 years, been writing on and off for 7 years. 

Take a listen  http://www.area39project.com/SelectTrack.htm - www.area39project.com/SelectTrack.htm   or http://www.myspace.com/area39 - www.myspace.com/area39

When I was 10 doing something in music was a school requirement. You had to either be in the wind band, in the orchestra, or in the choir. At that time clarinet seemed like the most attractive instrument from the options I had, and that's what I started playing (and I've been playing it ever since).

Guitar wasn't really anything special, when I was 13 there was this guy in my school who played guitar, and at a talent show he, along with a bassist and another guitarist, did a terrible cover of an already terrible song (though when I was 13 I thought it was good), Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I didn't particularly like the song and I didn't particularly admire the guy, but I started thinking, "hmmm... maybe I should try that," and since my dad's a guitarist who gets occasional jazz gigs he was able to teach me a few things to get me started, and I've been playing ever since.

I started playing tenor sax this summer, and again it wasn't so much "I heard this fantastic Coltrane solo and I knew from that day that I HAD to play sax," it was that in the past 2 years I've become more and more interested in performing music, and it was also the convenience of already having a top quality sax at my disposal, a Selmer Mark VII which my dad used to play but hasn't played in about 6 years, and also the fact that, given my ability to play clarinet, taking up sax would not be like starting all over again and instead would simply take one or two months to adjust rather than years to learn from scratch.

Flute, however, was the one that prog really drove me into playing. It's a very prominent instrument in prog, and I'm a very big Jethro Tull fan, and it's simply impossible to listen to Ian Anderson, not to mention Thijs van Leer, Peter Gabriel, Didier Malherbe, Mauro Pagani (PFM), Joe Farrell, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Anna Holmgren (Anglagard) without wanting to do that. Because the fingering is exactly the same as that of the sax I've been able to get used to it quickly and develop a lot faster than I thought I would be. I still need to make my tone better, but my technique is pretty good for someone who's been playing for a week! I can play Return to Forever's "What Games Shall We Play Today," Jobim's "The Girl from Ipanema," and the solos from Dream Theater's "Octavarium," Genesis's "Firth of Fifth," and The Moody Blues's "Nights in White Satin."

Played trumpet in High School. Loved playing, though I wasn't a prodigy by any stretch. I wanted to buy a fluegal horn like Chuck Mangione. I also took up flute playing. I was inspired by Moe Koffman and several other jazz flute players. Then I got a mild case of Bell's Palsy. For those that don't know, Bell's Palsy causes a paralysis of facial muscles. So... that was the end of trumpet playing. Flute playing was difficult.

Neil Young inspired me to pick up the guitar. I've been playing since Christ was a cowboy. On a good day, when the planets align properly and my fingers are loose and dexterous... I'm mediocre. Actually, I'm comfortable playing as good as I play. I won't be able to blow anyone away with my playing but that's ok. For prog, I've played Jethro Tull's "Wond'ring Aloud". Always wanted to play "Mother Goose" but I've never been able to for some reason.

Lately, I haven't had time to play guitar too much. I have a job where I'm occasionally the only one alone in a large building (great acoustics!). This gives me lots of time to relearn flute. I guess my face has rehabilitated over the years that allow me to play flute again. For inspiration, I'm listening to a lot of prog that features flute; Tull, Genesis, even Tangerine Dream, although they don't feature flute in their music.

I've been playing violin since age 8... I stopped in my 20's for a while and have been back into it for about 8 years.  I had been classical only until I was asked to join an Irish rock band!  It was FUN! 

Then, I started looking for alternative styles to play...

I was in a 'kirtan' rock band for a while, then started playing spacerock.  That was IT for me!!!  I started making friends with spacerock bands, such as Gong and Spaceseed.  Before I knew it I was on tour with Spaceseed with Nik Turner!  One thing led to another and I began recording tracks for Systems Theory and then got the VIPER.  I went on tour with Spaceseed again this year, this time they were hosting Harvey Bainbridge..

After getting the electric violin, things really accelerated for me.  I have recorded a full-length Viper CD, which made it into the Top 100 CDs of 2005 on the Gagliarchives and have played live on the radio 3 times with Philly spacerock band Scattered Planets within a year, and once on WPRB doing a solo set. 

Lots more stuff coming up too, including session work and another Viper CD...I have soundfiles at my CD Baby and Soundclick sites and would welcome feedback...  

Cyndee

I always fooled around with guitar when I was young (since my dad plays), but never really PLAYED until I was in 8th grade (about 3 years ago). I'm completely self-taught and I kinda suck. I've jammed with a bunch of people and play in a few bands. Hopefully I'll have some samples of my main band in the coming months to share with you folks!

It's hard to pinpoint one major influence, but back when I really started to pick up guitar I was focused on playing Iced Earth riffs. That helped develop my rhythm technique and really molded my overall style. As far as lead playing, I greatly admire the beautiful work of Marillion's Steve Rothery, and the virtuosity of Steve Howe.

No band or artist really inspired me to start playing, but regardless i started learning guitar probably about 8 or 9 years ago, gave up after a year or two because i was getting so bored with what i was being taught and making little progress. Took it back up about 6 years ago and got some PROPPER lessons and haven't looked back.

Like i said i wasn't really inspired by any artists at first, it was just something i wanted to do. Then Metallica came along and inspired me, then a whole host of metal bands, and nowadays i'm mostly inspired by nature and life in general, but when music does inspire it's often just a song or even part of a song, and it could be any artist, no matter how well i know them.

stan the man wrote: a lot of floyd zeppelin got me into guitar.  hearing echoes made me want to learn guitar.  unfortunatly i cant play now cause my left wrist is broken

Ouch! I feel for you man!

Well i sing, play the drums and a bit of  guitar since age 10 (im 23 now). I also write songs. My peak was when i was a senior college student back at med school. I had a band named Prog-O-Matic, playing Dream Theater and Rush covers. We had our own stuffs too mainly influenced by those 2. The band only lasted for 3 years. It was shortlived but those 3 years were one of the most memorable experiences i had. I still play when i have my days off at work, but not as much as i used to!

Majestic_Mayhem wrote: stan the man wrote: a lot of floyd zeppelin got me into guitar.  hearing echoes made me want to learn guitar.  unfortunatly i cant play now cause my left wrist is broken Ouch! I feel for you man! Well i sing, play the drums and a bit of  guitar since age 10 (im 23 now). I also write songs. My peak was when i was a senior college student back at med school. I had a band named Prog-O-Matic, playing Dream Theater and Rush covers. We had our own stuffs too mainly influenced by those 2. The band only lasted for 3 years. It was shortlived but those 3 years were one of the most memorable experiences i had. I still play when i have my days off at work, but not as much as i used to!

thanks man

jamming with people is the best.  jyou get exposed to so many other styles.  i unfortunatly am not that great because i havnt been playing long but o well.

hey Guys! ill join your band! I am a drum and bass guitar teacher from surrey, England. Black sabbath got me into playing.... my first propper metal album was DEHUMINIZER by DIO fronted sabbath... that made me wanna play drums! those beats are awsome, and I still play them to this day.

anyway, Im in a mod prog outfit called 7th floor.... we're female fronted (wich is weird) but im pretty sure we'll be to the taste of the guys here on this wonderful forum! the best song to check out would be 'the somnambulist' our 9 min epic. its got lyrics in another language! how prog is that! you can hear it at http://www.myspace.com/7thfloorband - www.myspace.com/7thfloorband or http://www.7thfloorband.com - www.7thfloorband.com

if you like it, please drop me a line at mailto:[email protected] - [email protected] . thanks for listening!

PS. if your serious about doing a web band, thatd be great! I know some guys on the SA forums managed it... why cant we!?

Froth wrote:  I had a rather perculiar journey as far as music is concerned. Gryphon's 'Red Queen to Gryphon 3' was the record that inspired me to go into music. Because of Gryphon's medieval influences however, i was intent on learning Lute. Of course lutes cost over £600 and so i settled for mandolin. later i started listening to Hatfield and Caravan and that got me into Jazz. As we all know, mandolins have no place in jazz so brought a Bass Guitar tat i have played ever since.

Oh man, don't give up on that mandolin. That's one of my favorite instruments. Check out the David Grisman Quintet. They've got some jazzier mandolin sounds in there. Their first album is particularly righteous. Sometimes jazzy, lots of bluegrass sounds, all around great. I'd love to play the mandolin and I actually picked up a cheap one about a year ago, but the thing is SO DAMN SMALL!!! I can hardly get my fingers squeezed onto that fretboard. What amazes me is when 250lb. 6 foot 7 dudes pick the things up and start wailing on them.

Myself though, I've had a guitar for about 12 years and picked up a bit of stuff. I didn't start getting formal training until about a year and a half ago. Some of the idols who really influenced me are Leo Kottke (the Armadillo Album is classic) and Pat Donohue. Both are absolute guitar GIANTS. Strangely enough most of the prog guitarists don't really jump out as that amazing to me, Hackett, Howe, Fripp, Maclaughlin for example.

Biggles wrote: Flute, however, was the one that prog really drove me into playing. It's a very prominent instrument in prog, and I'm a very big Jethro Tull fan, and it's simply impossible to listen to Ian Anderson, not to mention Thijs van Leer, Peter Gabriel, Didier Malherbe, Mauro Pagani (PFM), Joe Farrell, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Anna Holmgren (Anglagard) without wanting to do that. Because the fingering is exactly the same as that of the sax I've been able to get used to it quickly and develop a lot faster than I thought I would be. I still need to make my tone better, but my technique is pretty good for someone who's been playing for a week! I can play Return to Forever's "What Games Shall We Play Today," Jobim's "The Girl from Ipanema," and the solos from Dream Theater's "Octavarium," Genesis's "Firth of Fifth," and The Moody Blues's "Nights in White Satin."

Where did you find the music? Or did you work them out yourself?

I started with Pink Floyd, Camel and Genesis. With those artist I began playing guitar at the age of 8 years old. Then I heard Metallica and other metal groups and start to getting into drums.

Now i can play guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.

This Los Angeles Califonian guitarist of Switzerland's prog rock band FLAME DREAM(6 LPs Vertigo Phonogram AG Produced/Mix by John Acock(Steve Hackett/Adrian Legg/Rick Wakeman).Been playing since 8;about 37 years now.When I moved to London,Mr.Peter Gabriel (who I met in bath England whilst playing in a local band.);helped this Los Angeles guitarist a lot as a youth.Dale Hauskins http://www.myspace.com/dalehauskins - http://www.myspace.com/dalehauskins