Everyone, you must listen to this...

[Savage]

I just happened to stumble onto this video on youtube and was absolutely blown away by this Adam guys talent on the piano and he has an awesome voice!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUfkp0h7XX0[/youtube]

Wow, and he can go forever too...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOGCDc34m-4[/youtube]

Intense, eh?

I have always wanted to learn the piano and percussions. I may decide to take some lessons... Hell, Why not?

Check 'em out, Adam Monroe

[DW_KarmaKat]

Ya can pull a lot of music out of a piano....well worth learning -any- kind of keyboard! This guys hands are made for playing, Savage! Look at his finger length and the spread between thumb and index fingers...awesome reach! I wouldn't have thought Tool would translate into the acoustic...but...I think I like it! :D

KKat

[Savage]

I see what you mean by his thumb and index spread, That is one heck of a reach. I always hang out with a bunch of guys in a band, we have been friends for a long time, and the bassist is always super jealous of my hands, never understood why until you mention that. I have huge hands. I always require a massive heavy mouse and I was always a sucker for the "if your hands are bigger than your head prank," because I would freak out because my hands are so huge. I certainly don't have that thumb reach though, that is probably the result of years of playing piano or maybe genetic? Anyway, it would still be nice just to learn an instrument. I had a Gibson Les Paul years ago and could play a few tunes and a few cords but it wasn't nothing special. I was too busy keeping the streets nice and warm instead of practicing like I should. It was awesome though, it was solid black with gold pickups, plate, and tuning knobs. I paid 1500 dollars for it and supposedly it is worth much more now. I never should have sold it but... O' well.

I just had to listen again. This guy is amazing!

[DW_KarmaKat]

Ahh....he was born with those hands...can't make your fingers grow longer just by playing...I wish! :D

I was tortured with two years of piano lessons when I was a kid...I loved learning the instrument...hated my teacher! LOL! It kinda put me off it for the longest time, but I did learn a lot of of good music fundementals. Helped that I've always loved music...still do too! I taught myself how to play guitar when I was in high school. Don't play too well anymore (wrist/hand injuries are no fun!), but I have a decent Epiphone (also made by Gibson!) acoustic that a friend gave my Mom some years ago and I inherited. I also know a few wind instruments (alto sax, flute, oboe, recorders)...so you see...one instrument leads to another! ;)

I find playing to be theraputic too, sitting out on the deck with the guitar or recorder and playing to relax...although I'm not sure how my neighbors feel about it! :sgiggle:

KKat

[Savage]

Ah, I didn't know Epiphone was Gibson, That's cool. I didn't know you had some musical talent. Do you still play once in a while or did you give it up altogether? I think I may take some kind of musical lessons of one type or another next summer just for something to do and I wouldn't mind learning something new. Percussions are for sure my favorite, maybe I'll do something like that but percussions are so expensive, eeek! I don't know, we'll see what the future brings I guess.

[DW_KarmaKat]

Yah...I guess you could call Epiphone a subsidiary brand of Gibson...not as expensive but still well made guitars. What I really want is a Taylor! http://www.taylorguitars.com/ Every time I visit the GuitarCenter...I HAVE to play with one of their guitars! The tone is fantastic...the action is smooth...and to top it off they're works of art!

And yeah, I still play the guitar and I manage to pick up the recorders and flutes every once in a while too. My alto sax needs an overhaul (and probably so does my playing technique...haven't touched this one in years).

Percussion instruments can indeed be pricey...have you thought about going electronic? You can have a much larger "kit" without the expense of owning each individual instrument.

KKat

[Savage]

OMG, I love Taylor. They are super pricey though, my goodness. An old friend of mine plays guitar and always wanted a Taylor made. He took me to the local music shop and showed me one once and played it for a while. it sounded beautiful. it was great! he played the guitar very very well and had an awesome voice too. he sounded just like Sound Garden one moment and Pearl Jam and could even manage to sound just like Layne Staley of Alice in Chains when needed. He covered a lot of songs very well if not perfectly. He was a ladies man because of it too. He was constantly surrounded by women. All of them beautiful too. Lucky guy but... not so lucky anymore. He was a great guy and had a wonderful personality. Cared about everyone. creative and good looking. Could play guitar and sing like no one I have ever heard, famous or otherwise. but now he has a bad drug habit and I told him to make the choice, he chose the drugs. Sad. Now, he has nobody. I walked away and never looked back. heck, I don't even know if he is still alive. I feel horrible but... I didn't know what else to do.

Anyways, Yes, I have considered electronic but I'm not sure where to find them. I wouldn't mind having an electronic drum set and keyboard setup attached to my computer actually. that would be great! Got any recommendations? I have tons of software for producing music. All open source of coarse but all very good. Audacity and LMS. I even got FL but only for emergency, I rarely use it. LMS is a very good music program with tons of goodies. I like it. Audacity is good for making unique sounds and then send it to LMS and create some different tones or what not. I would greatly appreciate any recommendations to setup or good brands for both electronic drum machine and/or keyboard. That would be awesome!

[DW_KarmaKat]

Wow...that's really sad, Savage...I just don't understand how anyone could waste themselves and their talents like that...must've been something powerfully bad he was trying to get away from...to choose that path.

::deep breath::

Well...let me see...I'm not a percussionist, but since I've had a fair bit of exposure to professional audio equipment and various entertainment types, I can tell you that Yamaha and Roland are probably two of the best companies...both for electronic drum kits and keyboards. I guess it really depends on how "pro" you want to go. You could start with a little Yamaha drum machine...probably for around $250. However, like anything electronic these days, the lower end priced stuff is not going to have a lot of nice features. If you have any friends in bands, I'd hit them up for some opinions on what's current. I also see that GuitarCenter has a store in your hometown! By all means, go there!! Not only do they have other stuff besides guitars...they encourage you to play them! :D Checkout their homepage for the sorts of things they have and the address for your local store: http://www.guitarcenter.com/ Go try some stuff out...find what you like...then shop for price! I'll try to scare up some of the other companies' websites for audio gear a bit later...sun is coming and I'm still awake! Egad! :)

KK

[Savage]

Cool, thanks! Yamaha, eh? I would have never guessed. They make so much stuff, it is crazy. I think I have heard of guitar center here. As a matter of fact, I think I remember them donating to the community and saving a lot of the old buildings in downtown Dayton's historic district and the Oregon strip and now they actually occupy one of those buildings they saved from demolition. For sure, I'll go check them out, they aren't far from me either. Walking distance in fact. I have a lot of friends in bands. they call themselves death metal, I don't much care for it but they are really good if you can get past the noise. Punk and grudge and even metal is very popular here. I'll see what they say next time I see them but I try to stay away as much as I can. They're not bad people but the rock and roll scene can be as we all know. Thanks again Karma, I appreciate it. I'm going to check out the website shortly.

As for my old friend, I don't know what happened to him, something did. I know he has a borderline personality disorder, that is a given, and he can be a bit over dramatic and become depressed suddenly, especially if he feels he isn't getting enough attention, but it is often rare for him. Although he seems to be happy almost always and he is so nice, he has tried to commit suicide on more than one occasion when he was much younger. He seems to have a good life, a good family, and support system. I don't know why he chose what he chose. I tried, really I did. I offered to help him and even drive him daily to whatever help he chose, He acted interested in going to a clinic and I gave him 100 bucks, 60 to pay for intake and an extra 40 for food, cigarettes, and what he claimed he owned for a cell phone bill to keep it turned on, but he kept stalling and finally I realized he spent the money and his phone was shut off. I was like, "you're going to rehab now or I'm gone!" Yeah, I don't know but something is obviously bothering him. Something he has obviously hidden well. I mean, he even has a daughter who's mom was on drugs previously and probably still is. Now that poor little girl has two parents that are junkies. That is the really saddening part of the story. That poor girl didn't have a choice and now what was one of the best fathers I have ever met is now a piece of garbage junkie. Sad.

[Savage]

Roland V drum

Motif XS

Karma, you would know of a cheaper pro quality keyboard would you? This one looks like what I want but it is nearly 3,000 dollars...