How many musicians, artists, etc. ??

Aside from writing, I play guitar and keyboards/organ. I've never been in a band or earned money from music, however. Just not at that skill level yet.

For someone who owns three guitars (one acoustic, one electric, one resonator), you'd think I played better than I do. But I have fun, and I'm better than I once thought I'd be. I sing, but only to the kids. They're charitable.

I started playing guitar about six years ago and I love it. I don't know at what point I get to call myself a "musician." I have four guitars and can play a lot of things (most recently nailed down Rush's Xanadu) but I still feel like that word doesn't apply to me.

I often say gardening is my art, especially when I'm not writing much. I grew up among musicians and so took it for granted and didn't do much with the training I got, after I left home.

I worked as a graphic production artist for several years, back before computers were used for much and we did most of it by hand. Now, I take a lot of pictures with my beginner's digital camera, and use them on my blogs to illustrate what I post there.

I sometimes draw. I have this Theda Bara drawing I started and have yet to finish. One of these days I'll get around to it, and finishing my writing projects.

musicians and artists

I was in a choir group when I was in highschool. I played the piano for about 5 years. I can play by ear a song. I love art that is filled with geometry and color. Thanks for asking!

I've been playing guitar badly since 1973

Drummer here! I even managed to make a living doing it once...for four months, lol.

Good things are happening, though. Almost finished mixing a prog album that's getting label interest now. Will probably get a distribution deal on it. Very much niche stuff, but still exciting!

Publius said:

I also oil paint

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Took two classes in college in it. Neat medium. But messy. Rather expensive too. How much does a tube of paint go for these days? Would be afraid to know. As of now, I draw. Pen and ink. B&W. Enjoy it. Cool means of expression. (Like you, when time allows.) Neat others on this site are into art/music. Keep at it everyone !

Publius said:

I'd say six years and Xanadu qualify you as a musician Devil Ledbetter.

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Now I know how the cowardly lion felt when the Wizard of Oz gave him a medal of courage.

I draw and am making a game.

I do piano and bass, mostly. To a lesser extent, I do drums and percussion and guitar. I also tune pianos on the side, not licensed, but I have a few friends whose pianos I fix up. Was in a few bands in my life, but there was always so much drama, now I just record myself and sequence what I can't play. Gotta love Pro Tools!

Publius, I'm not afraid to admit that I doctor the hell out of a track in Pro-Tools. People tell me it's cheating, and I tell them that using a sewing machine instead of a needle and thread is also cheating, as is using a word processor instead of a pen and paper. I don't have an orchestra at my disposal nor do I have time for formal training anymore, and it's silly to think that such circumstances should disallow us from making the music we want, especially when we have the means at our disposal.

Keep it real (fake)!

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Trained for opera, sang in choirs, sang folksongs for pay. Lost singing voice to acid reflux.

BA in fine art with emphasis on acrylics and colorpencil. My forte is still composition and color sense...which translate well to writing. But haven't done art in years.

Also did embroidery without a set pattern as an artform. Haven't done that for awhile either.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

I've been a guitar player for more than 35 years. Played in several bands over the years, none of them any damn good. It sure was fun though.

My band stories are in my latest book, linked in my sig, along with my YouTube channel where you can actually see and hear why I never made it as a singer/guitarist.

I learned how to play the piano at 8 but was never very good at it. Then I started learning the trumpet and played that all the way through my entire three months of college.

williemeikle said:

I've been playing guitar badly since 1973

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I don't have as much experience on guitar, but I, too, play guitar badly since about 1994. I still have the guitar. It's developed a weird habit, as playing the B string on the eleventh fret grounds out against other frets ahead of it and makes a disappointed sound. It won't do it on any other fret or any other string. I really ought to take it into a place that knows what the crap they're doing.

The only other thing that I'm remotely good at (supposing here that I think I'm remotely good at writing, which is a dangerous assumption in and of itself) is photography. When I met my wife, she was taking a photography class, and I sort of taught myself while playing around with her little Pentax 35mm SLR. Now I shoot with a Canon T3i and salivate uncontrollably whenever I get near a 70D.

I play ukulele like a madman. I've progressed farther on it than I ever did on other instruments. It's a lot of fun. I took it to a government agency - think DMV - with a big waiting room. Sat there and picked it. When I was called, the agent reached across the desk and asked to play it. Spread some aloha, broke through the bureaucracy.

I took guitar lessons for about 4-5 years when I was a kid. Graduated to electric, learned everything. Then forgot every single thing as a result of my PTSD, I believe. Can't really pinpoint why I lost every note, chord, thingamajig ever associated with the guitar. So, not a musician.

Used to paint/draw in oils, acrylics, watercolors, charcoal, pencil, ink, mixed, etc. I used to actually work on commission for a while. Now, I probably couldn't draw an uncrooked stick figure. I lost most of it. I gave up art in about 1999ish???

Writing will be next to go. Please stand by...