Who are you?

[pendragon]

Hi, I wonder what\'s everyone doing with GS? are thou all professionals (full time musicians) and what style of music do you all make? and do you promote your own music yourself or by labels?

Just interested http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

[BluesMeister]

Hi Pendragon,

I\'m a mechanical design draftsman by profession.

My goal is to play GS backing tracks and record my electric guitar alongside. Then export all to WAV and burn to CD. So far zero success.:-(
GS LE+CakeWalk+Terratec EWX24/96=No Go.
Insufficient outputs. GS LE restricts me to two outputs, both of which GS is assigned to.

I was rather hoping that GSt32 would solve this little problem - but alas not. It would appear that GSt32 is the successor to GS LE. Crippled Inside...

Like my name suggest, I\'m a Blues man. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

------------------
BluesMeister

[Sapkiller]

Hi Pendragon
I\'m Computer Engineer of education, working
as a consultant, so Giga and music is just
a hobby. I have done some professional work
in the past though.

Bjk

[Sapkiller]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=\"1\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BluesMeister:
Insufficient outputs. GS LE restricts me to two outputs, both of which GS is assigned to.
Like my name suggest, I\'m a Blues man. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Blues.
I\'m not sure I get this right, but are you\'re
trying to run both GIGA with a GSIF driver and Cakewalk with a MME driver, outputs on
the 2 ch Terratec?
What version of GS are you running - it has
to be 1.60. ( 1.52 won\'t do with Terratec
I think )

Don\'t get the blues - after all I bet the
weather is far better in Perth than here
in Copenhagen ( rainy, +2 degress - sigh! )

Bjk

[pendragon]

To BluesMeister,

Blues, I run GS160 and Logic Audio both using the Asio drivers, GS160 uses output 1/2 and Logic Audio 3/4, I use a WaveTerminal dual client card from EgoSys so I can simultaneously play GS160, VSTi\'s and record all at the same time (with effects) For this 3 dedicated HD\'s are a must, so It\'s very possible to do what you want, however you need GigaWire technology to get the party started (and a digital mixing console) I use a Proteus 2000 module it\'s coaxial connection to wordclock the whole thing. This way you stay 100% digital with GS and VSTi\'s, only 1 analog converter is used.

Good luck,
PDG

[Haydn]

I\'m an IT support person working at Intel out here in sunny Chandler, Arizona. I\'m a serious hobbyist - music is what I do in my spare time. Used to be a professional musician for 15 years but found I could make more money working in the computer industry. Now I can afford to buy the toys I used to dream of having. I still play keyboards for the contemporary worship services at my church. Do occasional studio work at a friend\'s studio.

[jberton]

I am the case designer for a large Case Company (cases and bags for the music industry). I am a guitarist that performs live with backing tracks that I\'m trying to make with gigastudio. Have had luck with Gigastudio96 2.2.........the 2.5, win2k might work if Tascam had any tech support.

I should be called Bluesman #2.
Jim Berton
jberton@portup.com

[BluesMeister]

Hi Sapkiller,

What version of GS are you running - it has to be 1.60. ( 1.52 won\'t do with Terratec I think )

GigaSampler LE was bundled with my Terratec EWX24/96. It works fine - but GS LE is restricted to two outputs. :-( I\'m at work (yes I know I should be drafting) so I can\'t give you the release number.

And yes, it\'s a beautiful day in Perth :-)

Hi Pendragon,
I run GS160 and Logic Audio both using the Asio drivers, GS160 uses output 1/2 and Logic Audio 3/4,

I have the latest ASIO/GSIF for my card that allows multi-client mode - but that\'s of no advantage if I don\'t have the output ports available to me. Much sadness in the BluesMeister household. Well, in truth Mrs BluesMeister doesn\'t really have a clue what I\'m moaning about. She just knows it will cost money to upgrade - and that she can understand!

I can see a lot of saving ahead of me to afford the upgrade to GSt96.

Hi Jim Berton
I am a guitarist that performs live with backing tracks that I\'m trying to make with gigastudio.

I can do this with GS LE, however I want to record my guitar with overdubs and impress my friends (or more likely bore the living daylights out of them!)


------------------
BluesMeister

[jberton]

Hey Bluesmeister!
I can say I have made some great backing tracks with gigastudio 2.2, now i have changed my system to win2k and giga 2.5 is a pain. Never tried the overdubs. I play totally instrumental versions of cool tunes. Doing it instrumentally, i am not restricted to male or female tunes.
Have fun. I would like to hear some of your overdubs!

[Simon Ravn]

Really, I\'m an idiot.

[KingIdiot]

hehee then I guess i\'m a jackass http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif


------------------
Really...I am an Idiot

[Erik Nygaard]

Part time guitarist/keyboard player using mostly GS 160, Homestudio 2002 and Acid Pro
on a 1.7 GHz/256 MB PC with Audiphile 2496 recording my homegrown Norwegian pop-music.
Been a lurker on this forum since the early Gigasampler days and really appreciate all the tips and tricks gathered here.

[PeterRoos]

Hi dudes,

Yet another IT person. I work as independent software designer/engineer (or \"user interface designer\").

I am getting serious about switching one day to music (really... yet another idiot?), but not before I get my chops together, plus a good business plan.
I mean, I have a family (with 4 kids), so I really need the money that I can make in IT.

Maybe I can switch gradually to more multi-media oriented projects.

When I left school I hesitated between \"conservatorium\" (studying music) and University (I did experimental psychology/ergonomics). I wasn\'t disciplined enough for studying music then. If I\'d get another chance though, I\'d love to register again as a full-time (42 yr old) music student...

Cheers,



------------------
peter e. roos
personal site www.xs4all.nl/~deltaw (\"http://www.xs4all.nl/~deltaw\")
company site www.deltaworks.com (\"http://www.deltaworks.com\")

[jubal]

hello. computer engineer @ hewlett packard in sacramento, ca. That job and an understanding wife has turned a 15 year hobby into a small business. I do DVD authoring as well as compose music for multimedia. I am currently working on an idependent film. I like dogs, pizza, and roses are my favorite flowers.

I think myself quite clever, it\'s my wife that thinks I\'m a jackass and an idiot. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

[VladRox]

I am Czech origin retired musician presently working as golf club maintenance Three years ago I bought my first PC and shortly after I found my focus: Sequencing&recording my vocals. Searching some realy good sounding
GM set I suddenly apper here in Giga family.
Up to now just learning, seting up my home studio...nothing realy Big >just for fun. Right now tweaking PIII 733MHz, 384Mb RAM, 2xHD Soon I will set my first DAW:
MoBo.....GA-7DXR+ AMD 1.4~7GHz DDR256Mb
hope it\'s gonna work.
...I can\'t forget mention great support which my Very Best Half gives me !! Thanks!

Vlad

[ursatz]

Software guy currently working in Rancho Cordova CA (Hi jubal!). I got a degree in music but was lured away by the promise of a high-paying career in computers. I used to feel certain that leaving the music field - not listening to my heart - was a big mistake. I still think that\'s probably true, but I\'m no longer quite so certain it was a mistake.

[PeterMR]

Full-time television journalist and evening musician who occasionally scores news stories. I\'ve done a little freelance work and would like to do more. Mostly orchestral instrumentation. Thanks to affordable technology, I have the equipment. All I need now is the time.

[BluesMeister]

Hi PeterMR,
Thanks to affordable technology, I have the equipment. All I need now is the time.

And in my particular case, a little bit of talent would be quite useful too! http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif


------------------
BluesMeister

[Neal Keane]

Hi, my name\'s Neal and I\'m an alcoholic....


damn, wrong thread again!

[poolio1971]

hey people.......i am a full-time musician. i play keys for a country/pop singer, lee ann womack \"i hope you dance\". ive been using gigastudio LIVE with her going on two years now.
i must tell you though, this was not without incident at first. had a few \"crashes\" during a few shows. luckily, they crashed at just the right times. was able to \"hard\" reboot.
i have the problems resolved now. thanks to allen owens and his optimization tips. if u guys use your pc strictly for audio, i highly suggest checking out his tips at www.tascam.com. (\"http://www.tascam.com.\")
we played quite a few dusty rodeos. pretty amazing that a pc survives the elements and the \"crew\". (theyre not the most gentle creatures.)

if anyone else out there uses giga live, keep in contact with me and will share tips.

[Mark_Knecht]

Hi pendragon,
I\'m a home recording enthusist just having a lot of fun. I live in the SF Bay Area, record mostly on PTLE, and use GSt on a second computer as a sound module to help with modeling real instruments like pianos and strings, but also old synths that I don\'t own.

Mostly I\'m into World Beat stuff, but recently playing around with some progressive rock. I don\'t promote it at all. It\'s just for me and fun.

Cheers,
Mark

[dwdonehoo]

My site about sums it up for any interested. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif
--------
Doyle W. Donehoo
Radar Music
http://www.sierra-trails.com/radarmusic.html (\"http://www.sierra-trails.com/radarmusic.html\")

[pendragon]

Hi man, interesting site.. wow you are long in the biz http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif I started early 90\'s with a SY99/Powermac and Logic Audio, my style was then Symphonic Rock / Progressive but as time flew by the appreciation for sympho decreased and now the scene is dead.

Current youth is a bunch of non musical retards that swallows everything the big \"sony\" is serving them. Granted Anastacia is utterly good and I love her http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

So now it\'s a matter of finding the right blends of sounds to create the new next-gen non-mainstream music. Rip Yes/Elp/Genesis/Rush/Marillion etc.. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif sad but true.

Cheers mate,
PDG

[Cool7s_Dad]

I\'m the CTO of a medical claims processing firm in Dallas, Texas. I wrote my first piece for concert band when I was in the 7th grade. I started college as a music major and really admired the musicians I met there. One was a fantastic clarinet player who was about to graduate. In my second semester, I went to have lunch at a local hamburger joint. I was shocked when this wonderful clarinet player, who had just graduated with a music degree with many accolades, came up to me and asked: \"Would you like fries with that, Sir?\" I changed my major to math the next day and eventually took a Masters in Abstract Algebra with a heavy concentration in Computer Science.

Ever since then, I have dilligently worked my career in computers so I could afford these musical toys. Over the years I built up a studio at home, with the new sampling technology finally bringing home what I long dreamed about.

In 1998, I went to an autograph signing on a lark. Jon Anderson was at Grapevine Mills mall in Irving signing his new album _The More You Know_. Because of a scheduling snafu, he was there two days later than advertised (I found out about it quite by accident) so there were only a handful of people there. I got to talk to him for over half an hour and related to him the story I just related to all of you.

He asked if I had any of my music with me so I ran out to the car and got a very rough looking home-made CD and gave it to him. I never expected to hear back from him. That afternoon, my wife called me at work and told me to come home immediately because Jon Anderson was calling back in 30 minutes. I did, and he did, and we\'ve been in touch ever since.

In 1999 I was offered a record deal with Higher Octave records as a result of his efforts. The offer was $10,000 advance against royalty but there was a hitch. I had to go to LA for up to three months to make the album. That meant a three month leave from work. I could arrange that, but I couldn\'t arrange to make up the difference between the $10,000 and my salary for three months. Plus, I\'d have to pay most of my expenses in LA and with a young and growing family it was too much of a burden to place on them. The hardest thing I\'ve ever done is turn down that record deal. It would have meant a lot to be a professional musician, if only for a little while. But it means more to be a father, a husband, and a good provider. Far more.

I have no regrets. In the end, I realized that to become a professional musician would amount to turning music into the same thing as computer programming... having others tell you what music to write, how to write it, how long it needs to be, how loud it needs to be, what mood it needs to express, and all the things go with having someone else pay the bills.

No, I\'m very happy making music at home for friends and family and whoever else cares to listen. And to have a friendship with Jon Anderson is beyond my wildest dreams.

LONG LIVE YES!

Peace,
Tim
http://www.elithic.com (\"http://www.elithic.com\")
http://www.yesworld.com (\"http://www.yesworld.com\")
http://www.jonanderson.com (\"http://www.jonanderson.com\")

[pendragon]

Cool story, sounds like you found a proper excuse to not be completely ready http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif Hear it a lot, \"Yep no time... family business, work etc..\" So music becomes second/third etc.. place.

I don\'t agree however, if you are good and don\'t think of money before hitting a note then perhaps there\'s hope. Ofcourse you must be good enough and ready for creating music that\'s broadcasted globally.

Anyway say hi to Mr. Sunhillow http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif
http://www.disciplineglobalmobile.com/kingcrimson/ (\"http://www.disciplineglobalmobile.com/kingcrimson/\")

[gigaDiga]

great story cool7.... you get a thumbs up in my book... you made the right choice. Life is for living and it sounds like you\'re living it. Any job in the world can be made into a living hell through ambition and too much seriousness. I have certain small ambitions for my own music but above everything else my focus is upon a fruitful and rewarding life.

People say you shouldn\'t live a life filled with regrets. But isn\'t the biggest regret that felt by those who lived only for what they wanted to acheive or get... and never stopped to breathe the fresh air and enjoy the suns rays upon their face. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

[EnsoniqWiz]

Cool7 -- enjoyed reading your story...

I switched from Music to Physics part way through my undergrad years, mostly on fears of not being employable. (truth be told, not being able to afford \"toys\")

Anyway -- way back when, I heard the music of \"Synergy\" (Larry Fast) and decided, \"I want to do things like that.\" I enjoyed the hybrid of classical music, original compositions, and synthesizers. I\'ve been hooked ever since.

So here I am, years later, with a full-time director level position, family, kids, mortgage, etc...

Not much time to work on music these days. I have so many ideas, melodies, concepts, etc, running around in my head, but no time to realize them. It is all I can do to keep my piano playing skills from eroding to nothing.

Still, I keep my music gear nearby so it doesn\'t get \"out of sight, out of mind.\" I\'m still haunted by the thought that if I just had some quality time to myself, I could really come up with something decent...

GigaSampler is a new addition for me. I just bought it a few days ago, and am still plowing through the manual, learning new things, etc.

[Cool7s_Dad]

Hey guys:

Thanks for the kind words. They mean a lot.

But pendragon, you\'re right. I\'ll probably never be ready to pursue music as a profession. I really do like my life like it is (my mentor Jon Anderson wrecked his marriage and his relationship with his kids being on the road all the time... he\'s one of those guys who shouldn\'t get married... he should just find some woman he hates and buy her a house http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif ). I have a great family, make tons \'o cash and with GSt, I have sampling technology that is far beyond what was available to pros as short a time as three years ago. The only reason to care about money is as a means to an end. I\'m not really into accumulating wealth (and I have the bank account to prove it http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif ).

The decision to turn down the record deal was not the first time I made that type of decision for the same reasons. In 1991, I was offered a position with Microsoft Consulting Services here in Dallas.

They offered me about $10k more than I was making and they offered to throw in 30,000 shares of Microsoft options. The hitch was that it involved 90% travel. There was no way I was going to let my 1 year old girl grow up without me around. So I turned them down too.

Since then those shares have split 4 times. So even with the downturn in tech stocks over the last year, those 30,000 shares of MS would now be worth $28,000,000!

If anyone ever asks you how much it\'s worth to hear your child say \"Dada\" for the first time, you can look \'em right in the eye and say: \"More than $28,000,000.\"

EnsoniqWiz: Your life will calm down eventually. The kids will grow up, your career will eat less free time. *Then* you\'ll have the time you want for music. Keep those ideas flowing. I\'d love to hear them some time. Anybody who knows a bozon from a quark has got to be good! (BTW, Synergy kicks *** !)

You hang in there too gigaDiga. I think you\'re absolutely right. Look at all the angst Nick Phoenix puts himself through. The guy is an amazing talent, but it seems to me sometimes that he finds no joy in what he does. I know that\'s not true, but it comes across that way sometimes.

Peace,
Tim

[thesoundsmith]

Day gigs! What would we do without \'em!

I started out as a full-time professional jazz and funk pianist. Left the piano flat for Hammond organ in 1965, when I realized: 1: Organ is WAY louder 2: the WORST B3 I ever had to play on was about as bad as the AVERAGE piano I had to play!

Played the East Coast chitlin\' circuit until I learned that my favorite musician of all time, Ali Akbar Khan, was teaching in San Francisco Bay Area. Quit playing \'western\' music and came out to SF, studied for 3 years but couldn\'t find a day gig I could stand (and I wasn\'t about to make a living as a sarodist!)

Went back to full-time organ, but discovered the synthesizer (the Moog and Buchlas at Mills College in Oakland, $2.50/hr for the Buchla with 2-track Scully deck, $5/hour for the Moog with a 4-track deck!) That got me into bending pitch on keyboards, and creating my own sounds. On to the electric piano and synth revolution...

Studied digital electronics and computers to learn how to make my Arp 2600 programmable, but then here come da DX7. I was totally hooked, but now started getting offers for good payingday gigs-here was the choice: live in LA or SF and play music as full-time as possible but have to put up with the \'big city\' vibe, or stay in beautiful Monterey and play as much as possible and get a day gig in computers (which by now I was a pretty good programmer, with moderate skills in hardware and tech support.)

I decided I wasn\'t cute enough to be a rock star, and the contacts I had made in the pop field pretty much convinced me I didn\'t want to deal with the LA vibe. The jazz format seemed to be broken into two camps, \"if it don\'t sound like 1930 it\'s garbage,\" and \"if it sounds like anything recognizable, it\'s garbage.\" I really loved to play funk, and \'fusion\' (the Mahavishnu Orchestra was my guiding light for that period) but I just wasn\'t having any luck finding compatible musicians (there are lots of good ones, but those that have an affinity for the music similar to yours are harder to come by...)

So I took the day gig. Over the years, I\'ve built up a small project studio (which I don\'t have enough time to play it!) But I play virtually every night, either at my regular duo gig (for which I\'m trying to get a working Giga laptop rig) or for various projects of mine and others at The Soundsmith, my studio.

My wife (forgot to mention that!) was happy I chose the road less traveled, although she totally supports the music (and the many dollars I have invested in equipment-the ultimate test of a marriage, \"Honey, I need to go into the bank account to buy a SECOND Hammond Organ!\" http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif ) but the mix of jobs has somewhat eroded my keyboard chops. (But I\'m retiring soon, and I\'ll be back to full-time music again!)

Frankly, if I had it to do over again, I probably would have done the same thing. Except this time, I\'d have chosen C++

Dasher

[gigaDiga]

thesoundsmith... I was also a jazz/funk pianist for a while.. and your post touched on a couple of points of interest for me.

I grew tired of the jazz scene for three reasons (though I still love `great` jazz recordings of the past)...

A) Too many people liked the sound of their instruments too much. Jazz has this terrible convention of sit down and keep quiet, stand up do your solo, sit back down again. This is like song structure for kindergarten kids. Funk, on the other hand, likes to keep a broth boiling. All hands should be on the deck keeping the groove alive. The simple trouble with this however is that very very few musicians can keep quiet for more than two bars without feeling they should be performing some function and giving their instrument a hoot. Personally, however, my emphasis has always been upon making the piece sound the best it possibly can and if that means I shut up for two minutes then that\'s what I\'ve gotta do. Unfortunately like minded people are very very rare and most muso\'s just cock it all up by degenerating the dynamics of the piece into yet another jolly knee\'s up.

B) Jazz people are among the most musically small minded people I\'ve ever met. As you say you\'ve got the traditionalists who turn their noses up at anything else. Or the ECM brigade who wont listen to anything but squeeks and blurts. Going further though you\'ve got the fusion-head who, for some inexplicable reason, turns their nose up at hip-hop or techno which was child of fusion, and actually succeeds on many counts to take the adventure forward into new and more complex territories. Then you\'ve got the general Jazz fan who likes everything jazz... but turns their nose up at any music which doesn\'t exhibit it\'s virtuosity on it\'s sleeve. In short I started to realise that the measure of a jazz fan was where they drew the line about turning their nose up. Very very few jazz fans embraced the new rhythms of hip hop, techno, and drum&bass... even though those rhythms were contemporary extensions of the Jazz of the past.
Once you leave the world of Jazz you are suddenly free to not turn your nose up at things... this is a great musical freedom.. and I can\'t but help looking back at the Jazz-heads in their sheep pen all moaning about the music world outside their pen.

Strangely they love their art blakey record with that magnificent drum solo on it.. but rap over that solo or put a slamming bassline over it and the old noseometer starts to turn up. Weird? it\'s the same drum solo isn\'t it?

C) Third and finally Jazz now performs the same task which was once donw by lift music. Every now and then a new form of music emerges which terrifies the living hell out of people. It\'s new, it\'s raw, we can\'t understand it but it\'s full of exciting energy. Often this music is some kind of rebellion, standing in defiance of what whent before, and agressively pushing the boat of music out into new invigorating territories. But every dog must have it\'s day and slowly people start to get their head around the new music and then the inevitable happens....
The new music gets jazzified. Once jazzified it is somehow tamed and the adventure is over. Jazzy Hip Hop, Jazzy Techno, Jazzy House, Jazzy Drum&Bass, even Acid Jazz... they\'re all pastiche, mindless generic jazzified stuff. Oddly though the jazz-heads find them a little more palatable. Yuk

(sorry for the essay... that\'s just how many words it took to say what I wanted to say http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif )

[pendragon]

Well Tim, it sounds like you are in heaven compared to my life wich sucks and is more empty then the gates of delirium. No really I\'m a no good flopped loner and consider suicide as a bliss these days.

All I do is play with my proggies, load sounds into GS and completely $uck up my life, I\'m beyond hope. I have no income, wife, welfare NOTHING!

So looking at the heaps of cash you make and happy familly life with the right choices etc.., I now completely consider myself as an unwanted retard on this temporary experience called life.

(you may start the soft violin music now)

I can\'t get out of my little isolated self and my room to start living, please tell me where to start to get alive, I\'m almost beyond being young.

Thanks http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

PNG

[garypr]

Now that I\'ve read the previous posts, I feel somewhat obligated to chime in. I suppose it\'s no surprise that a lot of us have day gigs in the IT field. This is a forum for software after all. I\'m a guitarist who dabbles with just about any instrument I can get my hands on. I play in a couple of local LA tribute bands and depend on my day gig with as an \"IT Specialist\" with \"Big Blue\" to feed my G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) habit. For a long time, I\'d given up performing on any level but I\'m glad I got back into it a few years ago. Though I\'ll probably never make any money at it, there\'s nothing like performing live with other musicians. The latest project I\'m involved in has me playing more keys than guitar. I found I could replace weak keys sounds without buying hardware by using my laptop, B4, and Giga.

[pendragon]

Well that\'s nice Gary http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif
Thanks for completely skipping my post http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

[garypr]

Sorry, man, I was responding to your first post as others did. As for your last post, I\'m not really qualified to help you with such serious issues. I will say, though, that a few years back, when I was going through tough times, I found that getting involved in a band again after a few years away from performing helped me a lot. It gave me something else to focus on besides my problems. I\'ve used musician\'s classified to ads in local papers to meet a lot of people over the years on both coasts. Check out http://music.recycler.com (\"http://music.recycler.com\") . It takes effort and it\'s a crap shoot. I\'ve met some jerks but also talented people who have become good friends.

Lastly, and I don\'t mean to patronize you in any way, if you suffer from clinical depression, get profrssional help. It doesn\'t go away by itself, believe me I know (not through first hand experience but second hand).

[Z6]

Jeez, so many people here work in IT? I did my first degree in music many moons ago. Since then I\'ve worked in a number (too many - and a lot of firings) of jobs. Couldn\'t make ends meet in music.

I went back to university to get a master\'s in IT and after a lot of struggling found myself in a variety of jobs (but this time better paid; thank god). Worked as a journo (much fun; no money - it was in Mexico), currency strategist in London (great job; no life), editor (although you wouldn\'t know it from my bad English), freelance writer, freelance analyst, and finally (so far) into tech writing in Sunny N. California (too much traffic) where the boredom (job-wise) is happily inversely correlated to the salary and job security.

Bought a Ztar (\'cause I always wanted to play the joanna on my guitar, and the Ztar actually works) bought gstudio, and like many here am happy to have the sovs to purchase toys while still feeding my luverly wee son and receiving cuddles from my beautiful (really) wife. As Tim pointed out; family is everything.

Pendragon. Sorry to hear that life sucks so much. Believe me I\'ve been close to the edge when in that horrible dark tunnel that some of us can get sucked into. Keep fighting man. Just survive. Things can improve. They were truly horrible for me for very long periods of time, but you just have to keep on swinging. Get off yer arse and find a job - anything; suffer the pain for a while and things will change. You have to carve your own choices; I\'ve seen people dying of terminal diseases that extract the very juice of life from every second they have (used to work in place full of wonderful people in unfortunate circumstances).

Get a job; any job, take the pain - if you\'re not run over by a bus, it will bear fruit (outside of the financial rewards). You will appreciate time more when you have less of it. Take baby steps. Work yourself like a dog in even a mindless low-paid job and your attitude will change of itself (as will your fortune - unless that bus gets you).

Hope things work out for you. Suicide is an insult to the people who have no choice.

Remember, Tim\'s story was also about perhaps giving up many millions dollars and fame and fortune - he knows he made the right choices. The world is full of people less mature that might want to top themselves for \'missing out\'. As long as you are alive and healthy you also have choices.

Good luck.

[EnsoniqWiz]

Pendragon,

God, I know that feeling all too well. I\'ve been fighting it for a long time now. Some days are good, some are bad... My post may not have let on to it (I\'m a good actor when I need to be).

The person who responded recommending talking to a professional is right! I used to think, \"oh, that\'s all BS... what can they do?\" Well, I was wrong. They really CAN help, and it is no shame to get help when you need it.

In the mean time, consider these words (they help when I\'m at a low point):

**Suicide is a permanent answer to a temporary problem.**

I\'m not a pro, and should never be a replacement for one. However, if you want to chat, my ICQ# is 152043114. I\'m not on all the time, but I\'d be glad to chat with you (or anyone on this forum, for that matter).

[quirk]

Hi, my name is jason, otherwise known as DJ QUIRK. I\'m a cabinet builder by trade and a full time student pursuing a degree in recording(or whatever will allow me to quit woodworking and make beats for a living) I currently preside over a motley assortment of noise toys and generally turn out jungle and hip hop. I use giga with logic silver w/ a delta 66, and some roland synths. I occasionally spin a various venues around the atlanta area.

[Archangel]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=\"1\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pendragon:
Hi, I wonder what\'s everyone doing with GS? are thou all professionals (full time musicians) and what style of music do you all make? and do you promote your own music yourself or by labels?

Just interested http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi,

well, I use Gigastudio 160 alongside with Sound blaster Audigy in Win98SE . I\'m not a fullt-ime composer, my real job is a web programmer. But I have some commercial work I do on week-ends and free time and I get paid for it (you know, the copyrights) ...I also use GS to make background music to some people who don\'t have a band and sing. This is not comparable to big-time film composing, but oh well, it\'S pretty interesting..that\'s why I don\'t have that much libraries and most of my Giga stuff is custom-recorded and edited by a friend of mine, who helps me in my pretty small studio (a computer with GS , Cakewalk Sonar , a mixer and one mic).I mostly compose symponic music , when not making demos of pop music.

Archangel

[pendragon]

Thanks garypr, EnsoniqWiz, Z6 and others.

I\'m convinced now that professional help will help, more told me that. I need to open up since I\'m a loner (real loner)... I need a job and see scoring muzak as a hobby not a as a pro since I\'m not good enough.. I now that now.

I started this topic to see what people did and most of you are true professionals and have a good and organized life http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif wich is great and satisfying to read.

Thanks again, I guess you are what you do and if you do nothing, nothing happens and you start to think all day. Everything starts to become grey and negative..

I need a wife, child, job, cat(s) and MIDI/GS http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

Thanks all very much for even considering to give a **** about my problems http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif I really feel honored.

Thanks,
PDG

ps: perhaps when I get out of the drain sometime I can write music again http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

[EnsoniqWiz]

Pendragon,

It is good to hear that you\'re going to take the first step. I wish you well.

Don\'t ever, EVER give up on your music! Sure, you may have to let it take a back seat for a while, but don\'t let the fire burn out. If nothing else, your music can provide you with a catharsis during tough times -- and that is really quite valuable, in the grand scheme of things.

And don\'t be too quick to write yourself off as \"not good enough!\" http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

[garypr]

>>ps: perhaps when I get out of the drain sometime I can write music again


Strangely enough, I\'ve always found it a bit easier to write when I\'m full of negative emotions. It\'s like something inside that\'s GOTTA come out.

[ninriggs]

Pendragon,


Its a shame your so low at the moment. I bet you have great talent in music...just untapped at the moment. Its nice to have money to buy the best gear, but its not always the solution to the problem...a lot of sound i have used in projects have come from household items and cheap mic\'s. You would be amazed at what sounds you can make.

I really hope things work out better in your musical life (and personal one) As for you thinking your not very good... well, listen to some of the tracks in the charts at the moment......(need i say more?)


If you are at a low point try looking at it from a different point of view. As is in if its so low surely everything else in the future is going to be better.

Why dont you post some music here? Im sure we can all give you some good feedback on it?


At the end of the day, dont give up. You have a gift of musical thought. You may be an amazing composer and you dont yet realise it.

I dont know about anyone here but i personally would feel honoured to hear some of your music.


See you around

------------------
-=Riggs=-

[This message has been edited by ninriggs (edited 03-03-2002).]

[gigaDiga]

Despite all that\'s been said between us.. I wish you a cheerful and speedy return to happy days Mr Dragon. Life is a struggle, I think we can all agree on that, and even though some peoples lives look better on paper than others... there\'s still stresses and worries. You may see yourself as a desolate loner and the married man as contented and whole... whereas the married man may see you as wild and free and himself chained to the sensible middle road. It\'s all horses for courses as they say in Britain.

But just as we cannot deny the difficulty of life we also cannot deny the incredible beauty of the world and the gifts which it gives us. Amongst those gifts is music and the gorgeous world of sound which is its mother. Who can deny that their heart hasn\'t been strengthened at some point by the sound of a bird singing, the waves crashing, or a child laughing... perhaps even just the quiet wash of the wind across the landscape. Music is a joy in life, the piano is my confident and my friend, I cannot bring myself to put such a dear friend to work... lest it looses its beauty through the tire of daily toil. It is in times of lowness, such as you have expressed, that my piano comes to my aid. Through gentle notes and subtle harmonies there may be no Beethoven\'s 5th... but there is friendship, sharing, understanding, expression, and a certain solace. Let music deeper into your heart and you shall return to joy with a deeper palette and a deeper connection with it.

I wish you well http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

[pendragon]

Wow, fantastically said and I\'m speechless. All I can say is thanks! http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif It would be a honour to post a track here one of these days. People wich such insights in life and music must be utterly capable of giving some well formed critisism http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

Indeed when looking at the current charts there\'s \'music\' in it that reaches the boundaries of sickness, but I\'m careful with such comments since fact of the matter is they are getting a ****load of money for their tracks.

Main problem with music these days is (unless you are a jazz/classical or whatever style player that has a firm established basis) what\'s the right direction these days.... I guess that\'s part of exploring the vast directions music has to offer.

I always tried to make symphonic rock (yes, crimson, brand-x, rush, saga, marillion) but somehow when time went on I noticed most lost their interest in progressive rock.
Music should be for the people as well I guess, if the people start seeing Yes, Floyd etc... as grey suite music well it needs a certain spin in it\'s reputation as well as manner of composing...
Trying to find that new \'spin\' for about 10 years now.... let\'s keep searching what can be the next \"close to the edge\" or \"merlin the magician\"

Again thanks all for your great insights http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

PDG



[This message has been edited by pendragon (edited 03-04-2002).]

[thesoundsmith]

Pendude:

Cheer up, bud! Everybody goes thru dry spells and rough life experiences. You WILL come out the other side, if you can find something to believe in. Start with yourself. If you can\'t do that yet, try believing on the power of music. If that\'s too much, hell try transcendental medication... There is SOMETHING that is bigger than you that can set you free to create. You just need to discover it (hint-it probably already lives inside you somewhere.) Good luck, bro\'. We love you (in the abstract) just because you are struggling to create.) That\'s the major part of the craft, and the art. Don\'t fear it, USE it!

Second, for PDG:

Sorry for usurping your post. The original question left LOTS of room, and we\'ve apparently taken it! (Shows we\'re interested...)

Third-response to Gigadiga (Sporry for the delay, I\'ve been elsewhere this weekend)

You said
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=\"1\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">quote:</font><HR>
C) Third and finally Jazz now performs the same task which was once donw by lift music. Every now and then a new form of music emerges which terrifies the living hell out of people. It\'s new, it\'s raw, we can\'t understand it but it\'s full of exciting energy. Often this music is some kind of rebellion, standing in defiance of what whent before, and agressively pushing the boat of music out into new invigorating territories. But every dog must have it\'s day and slowly people start to get their head around the new music and then the inevitable happens....
The new music gets jazzified. Once jazzified it is somehow tamed and the adventure is over. Jazzy Hip Hop, Jazzy Techno, Jazzy House, Jazzy Drum&Bass, even Acid Jazz... they\'re all pastiche, mindless generic jazzified stuff. Oddly though the jazz-heads find them a little more palatable. Yuk
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry, I don;t understand \'lift music\' unless you mean what we call \'elevator music\', and then I still don\'t get it-it\'s just the opposite of raw and, is only terrifying in its banality-one of the best jazz/funk sax players I know makes a lot of money arranging and conducting Musak sessions, and he just laughs when you ask him about it.

Yeah, new music always scares people, but there are (in my very opinionated opinion) two types of music-good and bad. There is also a mid-ground, but I don\'t generally \'recognise\' it. These generic categories fall into several vertical slots.

Good music is performed by people who are at least competent on their instruments. Bad music is music played by those who have not mastered the basics of the language and are performing in public. Mid-ground falls into the area where the performer is learning the difference, or is playing just for his/her own enjoyment (Kumbayya around the campfire.)

Bad music denigrates others (hate rap, white supremecy garbage and gangsta rap comes to mind.) Good music alters the listener\'s mood \'appropriately\' (causing me to want to kill blacks or police just because they\'re blacks or cops is NOT appropriate. Causing me to want to hunt down racists or oppressive government agents COULD be!)

Music that breaks new ground is usually raw and exciting (but what about the beginnings of \'New Age\'-It\'s been vilified and laughed at (I still call a lot of it \'Old Age\') but there is a tremendous amount of spirituality in the \'real\' New Age (as opposed to \'pleasant\') music.

And yes, it can be socially significant-the scream of the avant-garde sax player like Shepp and Albert Ayler is really difficult to hear at first, but live in the ghetto for a few years, and you can see why it evolved.

Rap started out as social protest, but has, in my opinion, degenerated into hate music. There is no target other than \'everybody who isn\'t me.\' Women, officials, other gangs, people who wear the wrong clothes-sorry, Charlie! That\'s not exciting (although I suppose dodging the bullets could be viewed that way, as long as they missed...)

I think hip-hop is the genre that best illustrates your point, though. (But I\'ll make a case for tenny-bopper/grunge, too.)

Hiphop upset a lot of jazz and R&B guys and a lot of rockers. I don\'t knopw why the rockers were POed except perhaps for shelf space at the shops, but jazz guys saw it as another mindless replacement for jazz, and soul guys saw soul music degenerating to whiny, non-musical cheesy rappers with turntables.

As it became more marketable (and thus market-driven) the various schools of hip-hop became replacements for swing rhythms, and a bunch of old jazz guys got gigs soloing over HH tracks. Guys like DJ Logic became legit, and the few artists like Herbie Hancock who embraced the format and looked to expand it were either vilified in the press and by the straight-ahead crowd as sell-outs (again!) or lauded as the greatest \'new thing\' since sliced samples!

My feeling is, having watched it happen quite a few times, that it\'s similar to the punk/alternative/grunge (or is it ounk/grunge/alternative) evolution:

Wanna-be musician Kurt has a lot of charisma, and a lot of talent, but not a lot of chops. He puts together a band of like-minded kids with more enthusiasm than knowledge, and because it\'s unskilled, it\'s raw and energetic and exciting. Kids like it, they go to the concerts, Kurt becomes a \'star\', and because the labels have to distinguish him from last year\'s raw kids without chops, a new genre is identified.

Kurt prospers, the band plays many gigs, and in the process, gains experience and chops.

The second and subsequent albums reflcet the band\'s growth, but a funny thing happens. As they learn how to play, they lose some of their audience, who feel they\'ve \'sold out\' because the raw edge has been replaced with polish. Others in the fan base like it better, because as they have aged their tastes have become more sophisticated also. So Kurt loses half his audience and pick up an older crowd (16-year olds.)

Meanwhile, a new crop of 13-year olds has emerged from the 10-year olds who felt Kurt was too abrasive, when tey were 10, but now he\'s too old, so they fall for the Spice Mice, a new, raw, enthusiastic bunch of 14-year olds who have created a new sound, called (insert your market lable here.)

The process may vary, and the genre names always do, but the concept applies-as we get better, we reach different people. The more technical artist reachs the more technical listener, the more emotive artist reaches the more emotional listener.

My needs as an artist are usually at conflict with the needs of the marketer/label. My needs as a human being (food, shelter, recognition) determine the balance between the creative artistic and the marketable performer. If I\'m really lucky, what I love to do maps into what a significant number of people like to listen to, and I can achieve both goals.

(At least in theory-my milage ALWAYS varies. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif )
Dasher

[Haydn]

Pendragon,

Don\'t give up on making symphonic/progressive rock. It appears to be getting bigger with the help of the internet. Have you checked out some of the latest bands like The Flower Kings, Spock\'s Beard, Transatlantic, Isildurs Bane, Echolyn, etc. Some of these bands are doing quite well doing it themselves instead looking for big record contracts. I was suprised at how many copies of their CD\'s some of these bands sell after talking to Greg Walker of Syn-Phonic Music.

I remember going through a depressed state a little over 15 years ago after my dad passed and away and my first wife left me for another man. (Sounds like a country song!) Anyways, I took up Tae Kwon Do through a Korean Grand Master. The mental discipline(and physical) was excellent and gave me a new outlook on life. I still use the meditation techniques to this day.

[thesoundsmith]

Pendragon-one more thing,

I just saw your thing seems to be geared toward prog rock.

I don\'t really listen to it much, but had I been 5 or 10 years younger, I\'m sure that\'s where I would have gone, too. I understand how it can move you deeply.

Music is communication, and communication requires two entities-the sender and the receiver, if you will, or the musician and the audience, etc. So yeah, it\'s good to have somebody else out there to share the vision.

But the music stands on its own. Every composition, every solo, every note you play that is captured by an ear or by a microphone is an eternal, living thing. Yet it is transient, existing only for the performance moment. When you play a track into a recorder, or to an audience, you hear what goes IN. When you listen back to the track you just recorded, you do NOT hear what went in, you hear what came OUT, which frequently is quite different.

Don\'t worry about an audience, or whether they like what you are doing. Play for yourself, play to satisfy your own inner, and the audience will find you, when you are ready.

It may only be two people. So what? The music exists because it is there to be played. When you are learning to play, you are the player, and the instrument is the instrument. When you have learned the music, YOU are the instrument, and you play the listener.

Don\'t be like that punk rocker who whined:

Life is empty, life is grey,
Life at best is just OK.
But I\'m happy to report
Life is also very short!

Life IS short, so don\'t waste the opportunity to learn how to express the music within you. The fact is, if you didn\'t have a LOT of music in you, YOU WOULDN\'T CARE! You are a creator. Take responsibility for your talent and exploit it.

We\'re listening. And even if we are not, YOU are. Screw THEM. Play for YOU. Fame, fortune and nubile blondes will follow. Or not.

Either way, YOU got to create MUSIC, and there\'s only one higher calling than that. (And men can\'t have babies!)

Or go drive a truck, if that\'s what you prefer... I once played in an avant-garde jazz group with a guy who owned a bass. A quiet, shy, introvert, he could NOT play, or groove, etc. AT ALL. He was in the band ONLY because nobody else would work with us-we were doing Ornette Coleman tunes when NOBODY was doing Ornette tunes-a typical \'song might begin with someone saying \"Bb to D. In five.\" And those were NOTES, not chords.

We played coffee houses, sometimes for $5/nite for the whole band! We basically lived at White Castle...

One rainy night, with only three customers, in a little roadhouse outside of Hartford, during the last tune of the night, the bass player took a solo, and by some miracle, he found the music. For five incredible minutes he soared, played achingly beautiful, poignant melodies one after another. Then he looked up, and saw the audience (and the band) staring open-mouthed. He choked up again, and stumbled his way through the rest of the tune.

The next day, he got a gig selling paint at Sears. To the best of my knowledge, he never touched a bass again. The truth of the music was more than he could acknowledge.

Don\'t do that to yourself, PDG. There\'s too much music in your soul. Let it out.

And apologies for the sermon.

Dasher

[BluesMeister]

Pendragon,

Mate, we all have our crosses to bear. Tragedy is all around us, sometimes part of our inner family, as in my case.

Despair is an evil ba**ard. Don\'t let him drag you down. Stand tall, Pendragon. Show despair who\'s really in control.

Sometimes we need a guiding hand, a shoulder to cry on. It doesn\'t make you less of a man. It makes you better.

And when you emerge from that place of darkness, the light is just so good.

------------------
BluesMeister

[gigaDiga]

Hey soundsmith... I hear your point about Hip Hops roots in social protest being far more exciting than the current labouring in hate rap. I came of age (woke up to music) back in 89 and I found social protest occuring throughout most of the musical genres... Hip Hop, Rave, Acid, Indie... they were all standing up and confronting the legacy of the 80\'s. It was a very awake time in British music. Within a few years however the whole thing had descended into `Club` music. Everything which was innovative, brutal, thought provoking.. was now just thumpy bass lines, and adidas trainers.

Some of the techno and drum&bass made before this time just overwhelms me... it\'s so incredible. It\'s definitely up there with some of the greatest Jazz recordings for melodic, harmonic and rhythmical innovation. But the `cluby` techno or the `cluby` drum&bass which came after it is bloody awful. Most of it is the worst which music can be. Lowest common denominator music.
I can make do without talented `musicians` playing instruments as long as the composer has a strong sense of song structure, sound smithing http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif , and a total understanding of the dance. But most club music is simply appalling... it lacks any dynamics whatsoever, it\'s song structure has completely lost the understanding which was originally there in the early 90\'s of how to make a crowd go crazy, and it\'s sound smithing almost invariably revolves around a lowpass filter and a severe lack of treble. Most club music today makes dancing hard work... and hard house has got to be one of the worst... it\'s so bloody boring I find it hard to actually keep standing!!

Drug music in the past used the heightened experience to tap into your psyche and play with you, opening doors through musical manipulation. Drug music today is music which in the light of day is crap and you actually need to take drugs to deceive yourself into dancing to it.

I often sit and play my friends records from the early 90\'s and they almost invariably leap up and say `what the f#*k is this!!!`... this music stands head and shoulders over whats around today.

But this is the point... when all that early innovation was going on most muso\'s were turning their noses up at it. They actually missed out on some truly incredible music. But now they hear so much cluby techno and drum&bass... they brandish it all with the same brush... `bad music`.

Can you imagine if everyone thought Funk music was `Johnny Mathis` or progressive rock music was `Chicago`?! I guess all of us are making the music which we love... I guess we\'re also all attempting to make it to a high degree of `musicianship` (if that word is appropriate these days)... it is therefore pretty unhelpful to adopt snobbish attitudes towards the styles we adopt just because we\'ve only ever heard the crap which that style has produced.

(ooops another big ramble from me http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif )

[thesoundsmith]

Yo Giga,

I hear you. My concern for today is just to make the music that is truest to myself, my sensibilities, my personal groove.

Two of the REAL advantages to getting older (I\'ll be 60 in March, good God!) are - 1: Ya calls it as ya sees it, no worrying about \"Will the producers or labels like it?\" and 2: You know what you can and can\'t do technically, so you can tailor your style(s) to your chops. I don\'t have to play 64th notes at 480 BPM to \"prove\" I\'m a jazz musician, nor do I have to be concerned that what I\'m playing is LAST year\'s chart topper.

I play what I want, how I want and when I want. Screw the industry-this is MUSIC. I make a living at it, but I\'m no \'star.\' I stay open to new ideas and new concepts, while continuing to expand on the grooves I liked 20 years ago (I still love the Mahavishnu Orchestra concept, and classical Hinduthani ragas are my favorite music in the world) while still being innovative. I\' just beginning to develop a completely unique groove rig for live and studio performance that nobody has ever tried before, if I like it, I think it will market really well. And if it doesn\'t market well, and I like it, I DON\"T CARE! It\'s still good music (by my definition, and after 55 years of playing music, I think I\'m qualified to make the call...)

Music is not just for dancing, or for listening, or for 30-year old social climbers. There\'s something for everyone. The only mistake, IMO, is to try and play \'something that will please everyone.\'

Play YOU. And play it REAL. The rest is just marketing hype and who you know.
(You listening, PDG? http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif )

Dasher

[gigaDiga]

soundsmith... reading your post is like hearing a distant echo coming across the net. I\'m completely with you on what you say. I also wanted to make this point to PDG, but now you\'ve said it that\'s great.

I\'m sure there was a time when young guitarists were laughed at for taking that fad `rock&roll` seriously. Or a time when silly young saxophonists were spending too much time playing foolish young `jazz` music rather than playing proper music. And so I am a musician investing serious energy and compositional enthusiasm into that silly fad known as `techno`.

It might look to the Jazzers, or the Rock&Rollers, or even the Classical musicians, that I am wasting my time and only making this sort of music to try and gain mass appeal. But one day in the future I\'ll still be sat there making techno except I\'ll have a big beer belly and a white beard. Techno, in its essence, does not demand a lack of virtuosity or skill... it is just a new envelope within to fit music. If serious musicianship is actually invested in it... there is no reason why it shouldn\'t become a musical tour de force.

As you can tell by my heart strong words... I make techno because I love it... it comes from within me... not because I\'m some sell out young kid trying to make a few bucks by copying and pasting a few old loops.

[pendragon]

Hi,

These words of soundsmith and you gigadigga and others where amazingly inspiring, therefor I got a possible idea that would be cool http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif I\'ve set up a board:
http://www.symph.com/openbb/index.php (\"http://www.symph.com/openbb/index.php\")

At wich you are all more then welcome http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif please forgive some errors since it\'s my first attempt to a community board.

You can all be moderators and suggestions / idea\'s are more then welcome, please have a look and see if my initial idea can be used to help eachother out and share valuable knowledge.

Ftp access for those who like to up their productions and have it listened by trained ears and hell who knows perhaps in time we can make a very special production all together. Allargando!

Thanks for a new view at things http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

PDG

[Z6]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=\"1\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pendragon:
Hi,

These words of soundsmith and you gigadigga and others where amazingly inspiring, therefor I got a possible idea that would be cool http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif I\'ve set up a board:
http://www.symph.com/openbb/index.php (\"http://www.symph.com/openbb/index.php\")

At wich you are all more then welcome http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif please forgive some errors since it\'s my first attempt to a community board.

You can all be moderators and suggestions / idea\'s are more then welcome, please have a look and see if my initial idea can be used to help eachother out and share valuable knowledge.

Ftp access for those who like to up their productions and have it listened by trained ears and hell who knows perhaps in time we can make a very special production all together. Allargando!

Thanks for a new view at things http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

PDG<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just registered. Nice job man. I\'ll certainly do a bit of lurking over there.

(Hey, are we allowed to \'swear\' over there? half my vocabulary goes missing here - of course, I\'ll only say nice things like: \"phuckin great job\" etc.)

Maybe when I\'m getting the back of my hand smacked with a ruler over here I can drop in on your place for a rant?

[EnsoniqWiz]

Nice job, Pendragon. I registered too and made an introductory post to help get things started.

Kudos!

[thesoundsmith]

Pen, nice setup. I\'ll be checking back there from time to time.

Gigadiga
[quote]
I make techno because I love it... it comes from within me...
[\\quote]

That\'s what it\'s about, dude. Be real, get the feel, watch \'em squeal.

Prog rock is a perfect example. Arguably the most \'noble\' of rock concepts, the kind of thing Mozart, were he alive today, might do. Used to be a big deal. Very small audience these days, but they\'re VERY loyal.

When it\'s real to you, that\'s what you do, and the rest is just hang time...

You don\'t know the difference till you know the difference.

Dasher

[Damon]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=\"1\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pendragon:
I can\'t get out of my little isolated self and my room to start living, please tell me where to start to get alive, I\'m almost beyond being young.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


PNG,
Email me if you wanna talk dude. I may be of some help. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif
damonbbradley@aol.com

[richardo]

Very interesting and inspiring to hear about all the different lifestyles of the rich and famous (alright, at least we\'re all rich in the sharing of this cool program called Giga, and real musicians don\'t need fame, right?)

I really liked the post from Cool7sdad. I have a similar (although maybe not as inspiring) story to his. I worked for years in LA working in different projects trying to get my music heard. I finally got with a band that scored a record contract, and we were just finishing with the album when my wife became pregnant with our second son. She developed some very serious complications with the pregnancy right when the band was ready to hit the road - also at the same time our album was being released. I was faced with the decision of going on the road with them and being a part of everything I had wanted to achieve for so long - and being with my new family who really needed me there. To make a long story short, I stuck with my family, and our baby (born 2 months premature) made it through ok, although it was a very difficult time. Looking back in hindsight, I have NEVER had any regrets about the decision I made. My family means more to me than anything, and always will.

It was cool enough for me to be able to walk into a record store and buy a copy of our CD that I was a part of. Of course, that experience could never equal what it\'s like to have my healthy and happy son say Da Da. If you haven\'t been there, you just can\'t have a clue as to how awesome that feeling is.

I have since moved out of LA, and have turned what was my day gig into a successful career in top mgmt at an aerospace firm. Music is now more of a hobby than a profession to me, but that\'s just fine with me. Using computers and Gigastudio has allowed me to compose the music I am more interested in anyways (which incidentally is a cross between classical, jazz, and new age), which is more fulfilling to me than playig alternative rock ever was.

I\'m much happier now than I ever was trying to play the music biz game, and like some of the other posts I\'ve read here, I have no regrets leaving behind the music business - which, by the way, is driven by nothing but corporate greed. I would really caution anyone wanting to pursue it on a pro level to talk with someone who has been there, to know what it\'s really like to bang your head trying to \"make it\". I know of so many unbelievably talented musicians who never made it, simply because their style of music was no longer the in thing, and their timing wasn\'t right.

Like of many you here, I am still a \"musician\" and I always will be. I\'m just doing it at a different level. Someday I\'ll be able to retire, and then I can be a full time musician bum again. I just won\'t have to live on top ramen anymore. Til then, I\'m going to keep on playin........

Cheers!

[richardo]

Apparently my posting to this thread was somewhat belated, and the topic had changed.

Pendragon, I wanted to see how things were going for ya, so I checked out your web site.

I sincerely hope that \"Bye Bye\" doesn\'t mean the extremely bad implication that it could mean.

If it\'s a joke, it sure as hell aint funny either.

Bro, you\'re not the only one who\'s gone through the tough times, we all have.

There have been some damn inspiring posts made here, and that should show you by now that there are many fellow musicians that view us all as a brotherhood, and that we do care about each other.

Even though we don\'t know each other personally, remember that we\'re all here to support each other. We\'re all part of something awesome, which is the pursuit of artistic greatness in making music. Maybe I\'m not there yet, and maybe you\'re not either, but I know that we all can be if we believe in ourselves that we can, and pursue it to the very best of our abilities.

Wishing you all the best......

[Mark_Knecht]

pendragon,
Just went back to your site and found this message. I\'m bummed. Please check in with us soon, OK?

I\'ve stay pretty quiet on this thread recently. I opened the San Jose paper last week only to find the face of one of my close friends on the cover with a story about how he took his life. I\'ve been emotionally down for 10 days now. I really enjoy this forum and the people who\'ve helped me, including you pendragon. I hope you\'ll check back in to give us some more.

Cheers,
Mark

[ed hamilton]

Gentlemen,
This is a beautiful thread. I am glad to have stumbled onto it.

Its nice to be in a music forum with a group of people far more functional than myself.
I am fortunate enough to make a living as a musician and have since the ripe old age of 18 (currently 35).
I own a recording studio that is always too booked for me to do my work in, but never actually makes a profit. Does not lose money but seldom puts any in my pocket. GOOD PROBLEM
I have 4 solo recordings out there (jazzish)
I have been signed to a great label and treated like ****.
I have been signed to a stinky label and been treated like ****.
Still a GOOD PROBLEM
I have made a living playing in Bway pits (nyc).
Its amazing to have 27 incredible musicians playing lame music but again GOOD PROBLEM.
I watched (9/11) live in real time on the streets of lower manhattan.
The music business slowed tremendously in the months after.
And I am now shedding 12 hour per day, and enjoying music for the first time in years!!!!
Had to get off the tread mill, so to speak.

To anyone who looks down on those with a day gig....
They have it better than those of us who have to play compromised music for a living! And probably enjoy music more than we do.
It took a few months of unemployment for me to realize how much \"life\" had been sucked out of me by the music for a buck cycle.

In this forum I have found much inpiration. There are some incredible composers getting so much music out of giga. I was using it as a big *** piano pretty much. In the last few weeks I have downloaded every mp3 posted in here.
INCREDIBLE STUFF!

I am glad to meet all of you. Please feel free to do a web seach on me and my music. I am working on my next record and I can assure you that it will blow away my previous body of work.
No A&R guys allowed in the studio this time!!!!
And thanks to the giga inspiration found in here my orchestrations are going to kick *** .

Now I have to shed some more/buy some more libraries and figure out what to tell the wife about the mysterious charge on the visa for Gary Garriton!! (honest honey, I have no idea who that is!?!?)

thanks

ed

[ed hamilton]

Pendragon,

There is a book that you should read.
\"the tipping point\".
It is not a self help book nor is it either spiritual or a music business book.

It is basically about how all succesfull things become successfull. TV show, Bands, Shoes, anything.

It is a different slant on how to create opportunities.
The implications of this book are enormous. I have yet to really apply any of them but even the small efforts that I have made due to the book have borne fruit.

To have a chance in the music industry you need a few breaks (I am sure you have the talent).
Your social skills and geographic location have more to do with this then your abilities.
I have had some seriously dark times. The difference between the dark times and the successfull periods have all been about good people reaching out to me in the right way at the right time.
Your chances will come. But you can make it come sooner and bigger by putting your music out into the world, yourself out into the music world and let the good vibes start to pay dividends.
Sounds \'new agey\' but its true.

Email me at edhamilton@mindspring.com
If you cant afford the book I will send you a copy. (dont be proud, I have hit the bottom a few times so I know better than to judge those down for the count!)
The guys in this forum have reached out to you. I am now as well. Use our energy. Let it in.
You are only one phone call away from being in the Biz.
The first call is the hardest to get but it WILL COME.
Look forward to hearing from you.
ed

[ursatz]

It\'s been some time since that \"bye bye\" page appeared. Now there\'s just an always-empty chat board up there.

I fervently hope that Pendragon is reading this thread and will let us know that he\'s ok.

[pendragon]

Thanks very much for the attention http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif I wish to remain part of this earthly connection for a long time to come but sometimes when placing everything in contrast it seems like living the most empty excistance imaginable.

It\'s \"get from ur butt\" time I guess, when doing nothing, nothing happens besides seeing urself getting older in the mirror. Hell I have no talent to compose a piece of music longer then 30 seconds... I always start with the melody or climax for some strange reason, I better accept this.

Thanks all for helping and caring about moi.
I also care for all of thie http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif Like said I\'m not the only one with personality problems and not finding the way.

We just keep rolling I guess.

Best,
PDG

[thesoundsmith]

Hey, Pendude:

The rumor (unsubstantiated) was that Mozart was able to set it down first time out of the box just the way he heard it. But the rest of us have to go at very much the way you\'re talking about-a bit at a time.

So you come up with a climax-cool. Use that as the basis for \'backtracking\' your way to the beginning of the piece. (If that\'s what you end with, how did you get there???)

Most orchestral music contains relatively few thematic bits. Expand the original idea with standard compositional concepts (throw it around the sections, change key, scale, rhythm, etc.) and then write the counter-parts, you\'re done.

Too much? Do like I do, write for small combo. Not as fat, but just as much fun...

Dasher

[Z6]

Glad to see you\'re still with us. I doubt there is a single person alive without \'personality problems\'; it\'s all a matter of degree - as Dasher alluded to.

It\'s also worth bearing in mind that most artists have personality problems in spades. There is hardly a name worth mentioning that didn\'t use art as an outlet for some kind of inner turmoil.

A lot of manic depressives choose not to achieve balance with medication because they don\'t want to lose the \'manic\' part of the condition (the trick is finding a way through the rough times).

Remember that also that no matter how long the piece of music, it\'s usually certain \'bits\' (ousually less than thirty seconds, and often only a few moments) that define the music and stay with us. If you can produce thirty seconds, that\'s more than most people ever get to experience.

Dasher\'s spot on. I watched Cinema Paradiso again for the gazillionth time at the weekend; I love the film and it\'s my favorite film music. But Morricone used only a few short themes throughout the film. And I\'m glad he did; I get to listen to the music I fell in love with over and over and over. He varies the orchestration and voicings, but it\'s basically repetitive.

If Morricone had said \"****, these are nice tunes, but I really should fill up the film with some other stuff; I can\'t keep using the same tunes all the way through?\", then the film, and my enjoyment, may have been diminished.

You may have more going for you than seems obvious.

[gigaDiga]

And what about Gallasso\'s score for `In The Mood For Love`!!! That was devine.... hauntingly beautiful.

I find music is like poetry. You come up with a punchy line and then it\'s all about how the next line plays off it. You don\'t want every line to be punchy or else the whole thing gets lost to punch. But you can extract themes from the lines that hold the piece together and place them within different surroundings. All the time try to be honest about how you `feel` about the piece of music. If you feel it\'s too long that doesn\'t mean it is... it just means that it\'s beginning to become tedious and you need to inject some excitement. If you feel the crescendo isn\'t as powerful as it could be that doesn\'t mean you mark another two f`s next to it. Look instead at what has come before it and what comes after.

Create those moments you are driven to pen
Extrapolate themes from them and try out different contexts.
Sculpt the dynamics of the piece into the most powerful working form.

that\'s how I go about it anyway... chin up eh http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif