Music, Producer, sometimes Musician

 

A quick thing I played & recorded on a Sunday afternoon

Over the years I came to understand that there is a rather large difference in the thinking between a musician, ( I am a "Guitarist", or I am a "Keyboard Player") and someone interested in producing music, that plays instruments. 

I am very much the later. Making a piece of music, usually with various parts, to play over a stereo is the goal. A recorded, mixed and produced work is the purpose. To play again and again, or put on a video. I started recording and making recorded sound pieces before I had any instruments to learn how to play. 

The only photos I have of me growing up is a very small album with captions my mother put together a few short years ago in 2019. One picture is of me at 3 years old with the caption "I loved this guitar".   I have no memory of ever having a ukulele, but the memory of wanting to play that type of instrument stayed with me. 

Oh, I wanted to learn to play the guitar as a fairly young kid in junior High School, but my mother was "why would anyone want to waste all that time to do that?".   Instead, what they sent me too was soccer, which wasn't what I wanted to spend my weekends doing. 

I took a different path. I fell in love with records and good stereo systems to play them early on. Music, among other things, is a drug for my mood. I had upgraded my stereo system several times before I ever bought a musical instrument. 

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First guitar I bought was after I finished High School, and just before starting first year university for a BE Elec Eng. I wanted to design audio electronics. And the guitar I got was a sunburst Strat copy, as that is what Richie Blackmore played.

Musicians on the other hand, are about the craft of playing, and the instruments themselves. The majority seems to be more about performing and "playing live". The ones I know started when they were young with lessons their parents paid for.

I know a few like that. Played for decades, with large instrument collections, and have been in bands. Playing covers a big thing. Playing others songs they love., or one of the parts to them  In very recent times they may have started home recording, even recorded a few songs, but it hasn't been their life long focus. 

I saw a video piece with Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about how he much preferred a CD to a live performance. I am like that.  Have been to live shows, concerts, pubs, but I much prefer the sound quality and "my own pace" for listening to music at home. Hearing it more than once is also so important. I always preferred the studio version CD to a live performance too.  

DEEP PURPLE MADE IN JAPAN is still touted as one of the best live albums, but even there,  I prefer the studio recordings.  The MACHINE HEAD remastered Anniversary 2CD Edition in particular, with alternate takes is extra special.

I tend to think loving "live" is as much to do with being a "I like going out" (most likely an extravert, or tend to extravert) person as much as anything.  If you are introverted, staying more home is preferred.

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