how music has changed you

[sr800bkBassist]

it's done a lot to me over time. i've been playing for almost 4 years now (in less than 2 months, it'll be four years) and i'll walk you through my changes.

8th grade:
just before my 14th birthday in september, i got my first bass. as it is with 99.9999999% of us upon starting, rockstar mindset kicked in. i wanted to play bass non-stop, and be famous for it. i was in a crappy joke around band, and i knew it wouldn't go far but i was trying to lean us in a more serious direction (not easy to try to take a leading position in a band when you've hardly been playing for a couple months hahahahaha) but obviously it fell apart.

Freshman Year:
i was in a metal band. i hated the style, but it was still fun. i was still in rockstar mode in the beginning. i couldn't see myself doing anything else. then as time went by, i learned about session musicians. i suddenly decided that my rockstar dreams were kind of up in the clouds, and i decided i wanted to be the BEST. i wanted to be the best virtuoso ever, i wanted to solo for hours and make my mark, and make big $$$ as a session bassist.

Sophomore Year:
metal band disintegrated, i was not sad. i bought my first guitar (6 string electric guitar) and it changed me. suddenly i had the ability to write more aspects of music, and be able to work better with melodies. i realized that, personally, trying to be a virtuoso brought me no satisfaction. the idea just seemed like it would bring me no happiness. i also wanted nothing to do with being a session bassist. i realized that what i valued so much about music was the freedom and innocence of it, the fact that it was a free art to me, not something that should be brought into a proffessional setting, working all business-like playing basslines for money. i wanted music to be everything BUT proffessional and official. during the second half of the year, i started a band with the intention of finally being able to write my own music in multiple aspects. we got a great singer, she was a female vocalist with an amazing voice, and a great other bassist/guitarist who was also a great songwriter (me and him switched guitar/bass) and an average drummer. after we recorded our first stuff and....

(fade into Junior Year) played our first shows, we suddenly became extremely loved among a rather large group of people. our drummer was holding us back, so we got a better one. suddenly we were just flying through everything. shjow after show and new fan after new fan. i wanted to do that forever. it was the best thing ever. we also recorded our first CD, and worked for 3 months in the studio on it. great experience recording that, i loved it.

but then, as we were just getting ready to plan a summer tour, we couldn't even work together that well anymore, and we ended up splitting! i was so mad. i wanted to be in that band forever, as my career.

a couple months pass, and here i am now. just over a month away from turning 18 years old, getting ready to start senior year of highschool. after this school year's over, i plan on moving out and making it on my own.
i've had a bunch of ideas for my future trashed. everything i ever planned on.
yet now, i'm more sure than ever what i want to do.
i want to keep music as a big focus of my life, of course, but i'm gonna go to an Art School. i'm gonna study design and just get whatever job i can find that will support me enough to pay for a cheap studio apartment and food as well. i'm just gonna work whatever jobs i find that support me, and spend most of my time taking greyhound buses and amtrak trains all over the country.

i've decided that living a simple life like that, without the stress of being a "business" man and having a whole bunch of money and such, would be the most enjoyable thing ever. sure, i'd have to put in long hours, but being that i hardly plan on owning anything more than what i need (food, tiny CD player, 1 guitar, no TV or anything extra like that), i think i'll easily have enough to survive.

without music, i would have never discovered those things about life. i'd probably plan on working in an office or something typical like that, in some suburban neighborhood.


what are your stories? how has music affected you? big changes in your ambitions? let's hear it!

[mastrrbasser]

Music has made my life a lot more full. I started bass when i was about 12 and went through all the phases you mentioned. i wanted to be a rockstar, and i wanted to be a virtuoso. But now i jsut want to get together with people and write some music. I think session work would be awesome, becuause i can forsee myself getting bored in one setting. I'm a very open minded person and tend to get inspired by anything musical. Session work would open a lot of doors for me because i would have time to jam with a bunch of great musicians, meet a lot of new people, have a fun time, and make as much music as i can. I also want to teach bass, becasue i've always wanted to put kids in the right direction and give them some confidence.

Playing music is the only thing that i want to do with my life(i've seriously wanted to be a musician since i was about 8 years old, but i wanted to drum and my parents didn't want me to have drums.), whether i'm in a band, doing session work, teaching, working at a radio station, writing scores, and whatnot. It's effected me in nothing but a positive way.

During highschool i was your typical "read a lot, and hate everybody" type of person. I was really angry, worked a **** job 30 hours a week, plus school which i hated, devoted A LOT of time to the school band program (psychotic band director, she may be bipolar) which i regret. On top of that i was in a steady relationship (still am, and my girlfriend is great, but it does take a lot of time and devotion), had to keep my friends close, and i had what people would generally call a hectic stressful life. I barely slept because i wanted to practice music stuff a lot, because it's the only thing that relaxes me. THe only thing that kept me from going nuts and punching everybody in the head was music. I decided to wake up an hour earlier every day, and stay up an hour later every night jsut so i can have extra music time. i was exhausted every day, but i looked forward to playing music and escaping from everything for a while.

Near the end of the school year i got a new job, then i graduated, and now i found a new steady band with a bunch of stellar musicians and i couldn't be happier.

[Efrim]

It gave me something to do. Really, that's a big thing for me, as I don't enjoy much of anything else. In 8th grade, I began bass, and I played until my thumb was worn out, so I bought a pick, and kept on playing. Instead of going home every night, and literally doing nothing, just sitting or lying down and daydreaming, here was something I enjoyed.
It also gave me a link to other people. I was never very well connected, and still have trouble with it. Now, because I can find something in common with people, even those who don't play instruments and just love music, I actually met most of the people I like and started hanging around with them for just that reason.
Now, I have self-confidence, a passion, friends and a job thanks to my discovery of music, and I'm not even finsihed exploring it.

[good rats]

I first started playing bass around..2 1/2 years ago. The only reason I started was because my friends band needed a bassist and I thought it would be cool to play in a band. So I started by playing a pretty crappy band doing blink 182 covers and slowly working on originals.

At the time I wanted to be a big famous band, making millions and touring all the major countries. That dream slowly died and i thought it was stupid.

Then this crappy band started falling apart. Me and my guitarist wanted to go in a more...punk/folk direction, along the lines of old school Against Me! But our drummer wanted to still play blink covers. he also thought I was a no good bum who couldn't play bass for crap. needless to say, we kicked him out of the band.

SO me and my mate kept playing together, looking for a new drummer, then we just started to play acousticly. Each of us on an acoustic guitar. THis was about...9 months ago. We would do Against Me! cover after Against Me! cover. Our love for Against Me! finally led us to other bands and to the label Plan-it-X. We started listening to a whole lot of folk/punk bands like Defiance, Ohio, GHost Mice, etc.

So we kept playing acoustic together when my mate who I was playing with decided to just play solo and didn't want me to play with him. Fair enough, I was pretty ****ty. So I bought his old acoustic and sicne then I've just been listening to heaps of music and spending hours on end just playing the guitar. I also took up the harmonica, at which point my mate decided he wanted me to start kinda being in the band. So now a days we jam together, and we've got two gigs this month. Him on guitar and singing, me on harmonica.

Through all this time playing music I realized I didn't want to play music for the fame or the money. I just wanted to play music. And I always will play music.

I have no idea what I want to do when I'm older. I think I just wanna live a simple life. Travelling around places with my guitar, seeing the sites, blah blah blah.

[ebe9]

Would have been a drummer, but the coin toss said otherwise.


1st Year:

Started playing in January of 2003. Got first bass and began fumbling my way through trying to learn to play it. Went for a few lessons to learn the basics. Played a small varsity thing in the August and shat myself quite a bit but pulled it off. Discovered this forum late in 2003 and signed up. My general knowledge about bass grew exponentially as a result of this forum.

2nd Year:

Continued playing and really started doing the MX tabs dwal and learning songs I wanted to. Played the same Varsity thing again, this time wasa lot more confident and recon we did a good show. I became more confident in day to day life, I think music was a great stabilising force for me. Nothing much else from what I can remember.

3rd Year:

Went off bass for quite a while, cant really say why, just other stuff going on. I would only pick up my bass maybe 2 times a week. I did not realise how much I had lost until I had a friend over and they asked me to play something for them and I seemed to have lost all my playing skill, that really galvanised me into action and trying to get better.

4th Year (Current):

Theory begame a big thing for me to get down, that has currently died down a bit, but needs to be re-kindled. Just enjoying playing bass for me at the moment.

In general, I think I am a better person for having picked up bass. It is a goal and a point of focus for me. I sometimes feel sorry for other firends of mine who wrok all day and then the best thing they can think of doing is going out and sitting ina bar or club for no other reason than it is better than sitting at home alone.

Forme I know that going out is great but I also have no issue with just sitting at home on the weekend playing my bass and just enjoying it so much.

[PainKiller8191]

I've been playing for 4 and a half years,
the first year I was phsyced about starting a band and being able to say I play a "cool" instrument (I played the flute in 5th grade and was ashamed of it for some reason)
and slowly my love for the bass grew and became a big part of me, although-
the second year I was in a new craze ---being a multi-talent!
I bought a guitar, and completely ditched the bass, like I would still play bass, but only at band practice, i was completely unmotivated to play bass once i had the guitar, i would write songs, and play mainstream stuff and had a great time, although i still called myself a bass player
-year three, i bought a drum set, I started playing bass and drums more than guitar, actually started working on fingerstyle instead of picking(picking made me feel I had no control over the instrument)
and the new craze came up ---STUDIO recording! i was bandless, so i got a 12-track, and started working on some of the most ear-shattering recordings the world is ever glad it didn't hear...i knew nothing about sound at all, my bass, guitar, and drums sounded so horrible, on the active EQ on my rockbass, i would have the bass all the way cut, the treble all the way boosted, and solo on the bridge p/up, and i knew it didn't sound good, but i didn't know how to go about changing it (this is all, of course, before I heard of MX), i actually joined MX sometimen this year
-fourth year- the big move to israel, in about 2 months, i was exposed to so much new music, all this death metal, I was exposed to solo bassists such as victor wooten and stu hamm, not yet billy sheehan, who would ultimately have the biggest influence on me, along with marcus
-fifth year- the quest for GOOD tone and technique begins!
I started expirimenting with different sounds and started working on tapping, which i fell in love with immediately
wait a second...I've been playing bass for how long?? i said 4 and a half, but it seems i've been playing for 5 and a half...

help me guys, i started on march 2002...6th grade (7, 8, 9, 10) I'm now a junior in highschool
??????

EDIT: judging by the length of my post and everyone else's, this is gonna be a personal nostalgy thread in which no one reads anyone else's posts but their own

[PainKiller8191]

In general, I think I am a better person for having picked up bass. It is a goal and a point of focus for me. I sometimes feel sorry for other firends of mine who wrok all day and then the best thing they can think of doing is going out and sitting ina bar or club for no other reason than it is better than sitting at home alone.

Forme I know that going out is great but I also have no issue with just sitting at home on the weekend playing my bass and just enjoying it so much.
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[ebe9]

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I also want to do the multi talented deal. Just with drums, violin and bagpipes

[Octavius]

Music has totally changed my life. When i was about 12 i started buy CD's and i was buying crap like Robbie Williams and Dance music. Then i discovered Oasis which totally changed my attitude towards music, i realised that music wasn't just to listen to and dance to but it was to convey emotions.

In 2002 i found my brothers copy of By the way - Red hot chili peppers, that just blew my mind and i decided i wanted to be in a band. So i bought an acoustic guitar and started learning to play it. But i gave up when i couldn't play Mull of Kintire!(3 chords)

Then in late 2004 a couple of my friends wanted to start a band and were looking for a bassist which became me! The band soon became a joke because there were six of us, three guitars, one bass, a singer and drummer. the drummer was the biggest d**k ever and we split in mid 2005.

I then joined a band with two friends as just a mess around, writing stupid songs about bacon and suicidal smurfs. But then it developed into a serious band and i began writing songs for us. We play a few disasterous gigs and then won our schools talent show! And at the moment we are in the process of writing and recording our first full album.

If i hadn't got into music i dont think i would know any of the people i know now and i wouldn't have a direction in life. Now i know that all i want to do is play music for a living. Alot of my teachers have tried to persuade me to think of another career path but i dont want to do anything else, i just want to play music. I dont care if im not successful and end up living in a box by the side of the road because i know that i'll have tried my best to succeed.

[katana_manatee]

I started back in August 2001 so five years ago this month. It has changed my life no end.

Before the spring of that year I hadn't listened to any music at all, sort of a rebellion against my parents who are both musicians and studied music to some degree when they were younger although they only play music as a hobby. My dad plays piano and my mum is a classically trained soprano but hasn't sang in many years.

So I first got into music thanks to sky digital which we just got and my semi fascination with "goth music" as how it was described by most people in my secondary school, ie nu-metal.
So I got into nu-metal's usual suspects, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park etc. and later that year my dad suggested I learn to play bass. We had one lying around and for the style of music I was into the bass probably had the easiest job in the music.

Quite simply I got hooked and went through all the usual stages.

Eventually I ended up studying music properly and won a partial scholarship to the Bass Institute and now here I am an alumni, with no job but I am in a good and promising band.

Basically, music turned me from a computer game freak to a music freak.

[PainKiller8191]

someone needs to tell me how long i've been playing for! this is really bugging me, i suck at calculating this stuff

[katana_manatee]

someone needs to tell me how long i've been playing for! this is really bugging me, i suck at calculating this stuff

4 and a half years, you had it right in the first place.

If you started in March 2002, then March 2006 would be four years. Add six months gives you up to August, therefor you have been playing four and a half years.

[PainKiller8191]

well i got confused when i counted it by school years somehow...like
i started in 6th grade, so i got 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and I'm now going to be in the 11th grade.....that's 5 and a half

god I'm stupid

[Killer Fridge]

Basically, music turned me from a computer game freak to a music freak.

Exactly the same story here.

I would litterally spend most of my time on the internet, stereotypically playing games like CS and SOFII and RTCW. It wasnt until I heard (and saw) Iron Maiden did I realise what I wanted to do.

I'd always wanted to play guitar, but I felt it was too late in my life (16, I know I was an idiot, but it gets worse), and when I saw Iron Maiden, I realised that there was this guy, who was playing a bigger guitar than the other two (i figuered he must be the bassist, seeing as it only had 4 strings).

Later that year, I went out and bought a bass, simply because I thought it was too late for me to learn the guitar, and I really wanted to play some Iron Maiden.

Since that day of buying my first bass, my life has taken a turn for the better. I still love to play internet games, but they no longer rule my life (jesus I was a boring kid!), and I have an actual direction that I want to go in, and I'm actually doing something about it!

So, I joined a band with a couple of friends (2 guitarists, and some other guy I had never met who was going to be the drummer), and it was the biggest failure I have ever witnessed. One of the guitarists could not keep time to save his life (constantly tried to do 3 bars of 4/4, then one bar at the end of 3/4, and he could not work out why it didnt sound right!). The other guitarist you would have to tell him to do everything. Litterally, like even getting his guitar out, you would have to tell him to do that, or he would just stand there and watch. Nice guy, not quite all there in the head. The drummer on the other hand, was quite good, but he could not come up with his own stuff to save his life. Whenever we started, he would have to go over to a load of printed off drum music, so that he could find a rythmn that would fit what we were playing. I however, was just plain appauling. I'd been playing bass for about 6 months, and had just learnt of Les Claypool - I would try and fit (what I thought were) complex tapping and slapping riffs into poorly out of time 3 chord rock.

So, that band went no-where.

Second band, was the lack of timing guitarist (who would be singing), + another who we met in the pub (hes a Taoist), + a guitar and drummer who we found in a classifieds section. We went to meet them, and at first, all went well, they seemed like nice enough guys, and they were pretty proficient. By this time I had learnt that there was more to the world of bass than slapping, and spent 98% of the time just trying to keep a fingerstyle groove. Unfortuntly, that was too much for them, and they wanted to play direct covers of simple songs, and wanted to write their own simple songs. This was OK with me, and everyone else. What went wrong, was that the guitarist and drummer like to get drunk. Very drunk. They refused to play a gig sober. They also became very violent to our taoist guitarist when they became drunk (taoist wanted to learn allot of theory, and base his music on it, they felt theory was the devils work, and only bad music can be created with it), and kept shouting at him to play like himself, not "like Stevie Vai, or Joey Satrianti".

So me and the Taoist left. The other 3 got a gig, at an 11 year olds birthday party. Aparantly it went very well, and I still like them (when they are sober).

So now, me, the Taoist, and another (very talented, but very loud!) drummer have our own little band going. As of yet, we have had one proper gig (lounge Jazz for a wine tasting evening), but not much else. We have had regular jams, and so far, things are sounding pretty good (the Taoist's style reminds me distinctly of Alex Lifesons playing, and Neil Peart is one of the Drummers idols - and who doesnt love Geddy!), and as of last night, we found ourselves a singer. Its going pretty damn well, considering this band is made up of drop outs of other bands (the drummer was from one of our very first bands, when none of us could play anything).

Next year, I will be taking a Higher Diploma in Bass, in what can really only be described as a "Rock School", just to get my sight reading and theory more up to scratch (and my nerves, Im still nervous as hell when I play live - playing live every week should help that somewhat!), and then the year after that, Im going to do a music Degree in either the ACM (depending on how much I like it) or the Jazz section in Middlesex (from what I've heard, their music department is kinda reminiscent of Berkley).

All this, because my music teacher (after 5 weeks or so coming to him) said that he hoped that I did something bass orientated with my life (he suggested session musician), and helped me get into the higher diploma at the ACM.

[Sauron]

Music has been probably been one of the biggest influences for me. I remember back in elementary school when I didn't listen to music at all, I barely even knew what music was. 3rd grade to 6th grade I played the saxophone, but I wasn't really interested at the time. Then in probably 4th or 5th grade my brother (who is 10 years older than me) introduced me to Led Zeppelin and got me hooked. I went out and get Led Zeppelin IV and listened to it endlessly. By 6th grade I was still listening to Zep a lot, but I had branched out to listen to stuff like Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden (various other grunge bands as well, except for Nirvana.. I was never really into them).

Later that year I got obsessed with RHCP and listened to them a ton. Through middle school (7th and 8th grade) I went through another Led Zep heavy period, and I became intrigued by classic rock stuff like Eric Clapton, The Who, Blue Oyster Cult and Boston. A friend of mine also got me really into Tool. Freshman year of high school came around and I started meeting new people and getting into new types of music.

All of my closest friends (ones who I had known since kindergarden) lived within a minutes walk from me, and we were (and still are) all very close. They all played instruments and would sometimes jam (2 played drums and dabbled on guitar, one played guitar and piano, and another just played guitar). I would just listen in on their jams and wish I could play an instrument along with them. Finally I asked one of them to teach me how to play something on guitar. So the first line I officially learned was, you guessed it, Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple.

Shortly after that (probably May of Freshman year) I wanted so badly to play guitar. After thinking about it so long I was like "Wait a second, all of my friends play guitar, maybe I should play something different to make myself a unique musician to them." It was then when I truely discovered bass. This guy on another forum sent me some Jaco Pastorius and Vic Wooten stuff and I started listening to bass stuff religiously. A month later (June) I bought my first bass and amp and later that week jammed for the first time (with no idea what I was doing).

Sophomore year I met a senior who introduced me to Metallica (getting me into old Metallica stuff) and Jethro Tull (which sparked my interest in Prog Rock). I got into more Prog bands like Jethro, Yes, ELP, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson and others. Another person got me intro Dream Theater, which bridged my Metallica and Prog Rock gap. I got into power metal bands like Iron Maiden and Sonata Arctica as well.

Junior Year I was still heavily into Dream Theater, I had been in a few bands now and was still working a lot on bass. I started hearing a lot of people in my school playing a type of music I had never really taken time to listen to before. That was Jam band music. I made friends with a few people and they introduced me to some bands that they thought I might like. I didn't really at first, but then I got heavily into Blues Traveler. I listened to them all summer and they opened my eyes to live improvisational music.

The summer before and during Senior year were my most musically influenced year, however. My intro into jam music lead me to bands like Phish, moe., and the Grateful Dead. I joined a jam band and played a local festival and we did quite well. A few months later we played another festival (with a different line up; Only me and the rhythm guitarist stayed constant members). I got heavily into jazz, blues, jam bands, basically anything that sounded good live. I drifted away from most studio albums because I truely wanted to hear bands in a live setting. Near the end of the year me and the rhythm guitarist formed a real band and we've all played quite a few shows together.

Overall I still listen to every band I listed in this long history. Music has mostly opened my eyes to new styles and disciplines of music. My bass playing changed exactly as I did, starting out I played bass like the person I was, someone who was trying to make a name for himself and stand out in the crowd. Now, I tend to be comfortable with who I am, and comfortable with my playing.

[chaosMK]

It opened the doors of homosexuality for me and caused vast amounts of hair to grow on my butt cheeks.

[katana_manatee]

It opened the doors of homosexuality for me and caused vast amounts of hair to grow on my butt cheeks.

Music induced puberty is very common, non music induced puberty is common too. You never know...

[Akira]

It's hard for me to really know how music has impacted my life. Music has become such a huge part of me that I cannot distinguish what music has changed and what other factors have challenged. I can try my best though. What I do know is I have changed a lot since I started the bass guitar.

As a kid, I never listened to music. It was really weird. I had some Weird Al cds, and I would listen to blues if my dad had it on the radio. That was about it. I actually think this is good, because I never got into pop music. I am one of the only one of my close friends who never had a cd by the Backstreet Boys, Christina Agulera, etc.

While I never listened to popular music, I have been around music from an early age. My mom has played acoustic guitar since she was a kid. She got me into piano lessons when I was pretty little. In 5th grade I started playing the clarinet in school. I enjoyed music, but it was never the passion that bass is. I feel that this early exposure to music was one of the biggest factors in who I am today.

One of my earliest memories of popular music is the video for "Somewhere I Belong" by Linkin Park on The-N. I mentioned it to my friend, and he said he liked the band. I got into them, and joined their fanclub. Through that I got seriously into rock music. Around this point I was every young, naive kid who just loved rock. I would venture to say that music in my life has never been as pure as it was then. I didn't care about a band's ethics, it was just about the music. That was a great time in my life.

By eigth grade it felt like time to start a band. My best friend had been playing guitar for a couple months, as had a friend of his. We sort of knew a kid who played the drums. I wanted to learn guitar, but had to pick up bass for the band. Best thing peer pressure has ever done for me. When the band started, it was amazing. We were just four guys who loved each other like brothers, and happened to also like playing pop-punk covers together. The best memories I have are with those guys. Sadly, I really only talk to one of them now.

The band worked for a while, but eventually things fell about. I felt the lead guitarist was spending an unhealthy amount time with his girlfriend, and was vocal about it. The drummer agreed. I was being a jerk. I don't know what it was, but at this stage of my life I was getting sort of mean. I was sarcastic and bitter. I realized the problem, and eased up on the guitarist. After all, I wasn't going to ruin a relationship with a guy I considered a brother over a girl. It was too little too late. He said he didn't think the band was working out. At least I kept some dignity in the fact that the drummer was really sick with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so the band was done at that point.

About then I felt like crap. I was pretty depressed most of the time. With the aforementioned guitarist going to a different highschool, our friendship sort of just dissolved. We still talk online sometimes, but basically never see each other. I never see the other guitarist either, because he is a grade below me. I am still good friends with the drummer. This was a low point though, I had ruined a friendship and began realizing it was my own fault. I felt like a jerk.

Around then I found these forums through MXTabs. I lurked for a while before really becoming a regular. This forums marked a whole new chapter in my musical life. You guys have introduced me to the jazz and virtuoso styles of playing. My playing has definately matured, and I personally have matured along with it. Where before I was learning Green Day and Fall Out Boy, now I also learn Stu Hamm and Jaco Pastorius. I have grown musically so much from this forum.

My playing has almost come full-circle. I play Stu Hamm tunes right alongside Green Day songs. I would love to join the schools jazz band, but I would also love to start a powerpop-rock band. I am regaining some level of musical purity that I had years ago when I started. I am still somewhat jaded, but I realize now that music is about fun, and any style is okay if you have fun with it. I feel that says a lot about where I currently am as a person, the fact that I am learning to throw away dumb feelings of rejecting music because it is to simple or popular.

I cannot believe I just wrote over 800 words about that. In fact, I wrote so long that the site logged me off. Music is just my life.

[Radiobass81]

It emptied my wallet.

If it wasn't for bass, I would have never been introduced to Lyza <3333.

It indirectly made me a more social person.

Gave me something to do, which I enjoy.

That's it, in a nutshell.

[bottlerocket]

ITT: People make extremely long posts.

Mine is short, sweet, and 100% honest:

Without music, I honestly think I would be dead right now. Seriously; if I never picked up bass, guitar, and vocals, I would have taken my own life about 2 years ago.

True story.

-Gav

[Akira]

ITT: People make extremely long posts.

Mine is short, sweet, and 100% honest:

Without music, I honestly think I would be dead right now. Seriously; if I never picked up bass, guitar, and vocals*, I would have taken my own life about 2 years ago.

True story.

-Gav
That's cool man.

*I wish I could sing.

[Wintermute]

Sweet jesus, so many ways music has changed my life.

Directly, it drained my wallet, and was damn good fun. Then it got more serious when I realised how incredibly boring Lab science is, and I changed the course I was applying for from Biology/Biochem to Sound Technology.

I've branched out a short way, now dabbling in keyboards and guitar as well as bass, with mixed success. Indirectly, bass lead to my girlfriend (one year, three months and counting) which is another massive change to my whole life.

And of course, there's the way I've been visiting a certain music board daily for three years, and am now helping run it... :p

[bottlerocket]

^ Ironic: I'm doing biochemistry with a minor in music but I'm strongly considering transferring to Berklee to major in music performance or music comp.

-Gav

[sr800bkBassist]

pfft people say nobody will read their posts.
i read them. of course i prioritize, i usually read the posts of the more interesting users first, and maybe i get around to the ones i don't know about.

but a story is a story, and it's an even better story when it's about a musician :thumb:.

[TerryThorne]

Music really has affected me a ****load, but I dont believe Im able to articulate it well. However, all I can say that music, has been the largest influence in my life. I can honestly say that if it wasnt for music, I probably would have never gotten into weed, which has been a big factor in my life, so far I think its been for good.

But overall, its a big outlet for my passionate artistic side, which rarely is let out. THe biggest problem I face is trying to channel my creativity through music, but I have such a hard time expressing myself due to my introverted nature.
Also havent found a good band because I never find any good legitimate musicians who share my same passion for music. Hopefully I will soon though

[JBass]

THIS much -holds arms out-:thumb:

i wouldnt be me

[lbanks]

It led to me quitting college, hanging in stanky bars till closing, sleeping in a lot of cheap motels, getting shot at, making little money, meeting more pimps, 'ho's, dealers and cops than anyone should have met, always broke and depressed and having a shaky future. The usual...

[Son of Magni]

I have two brothers, when each of us was about 5 years old our father started teaching us piano. We knew somehow that he felt it was importent, and though we hated practicing, it never occured to us to try to tell him "I don't want to learn piano". Later we were allowed to switch to other instruments so we could play in the orchestra in school. I started playing cello.

It wasn't until much later, maybe in high school, that I realized that not everyone played an instrument. I just thought is was part of life.

me: "So, what do you play?"
stranger: "huh?"
me: "I mean, like what instrument?"
stranger: "Nothing, why?"
me: (hmm, this guy must be wacked in the head) "Um, later dude..."

So, my brothers and I still have jams every time we see each other. And I mean EVERY time.

Anyways, back to threadstarter's question, I really can't answer that. I never had a life without it. And I'm glad :)

[Raiven]

Music ruined all of my previous life goals, and I'm really happy about it.

As with Steve I am an alumni from BASStech.

I'm in a metal band that is doing well and actually getting bigger and bigger.

Anyone near London on Saturday should come and see us.

I'm poorer then before, I have a part time job to keep me alive, but hell.

Music has got me the best of friends, the greatest of people to interact with and there is never a dull moment. Like gav, it's saved me.

[bottlerocket]

Yeah, music has definitely saved my life, not even just the music I make, but the music others make. If I didn't listen to the music I did (emo, hardcore, jazz, and random crap), I'd be a way different person.

-Gav

[peeted]

im not gona do an essay or owt, untill end of year 9 - faild musician, got picked on at school, pretty quiet and not doing to well at school.

3 years later - in a sucsesfull local band, get people coming upto me in the street saying im good at bass, get invited to partys most nights (it is the long hols bare in mind), got realy good gcse results and am doing 4 a-levels + general studys.

picking up bass basicaly changed my entire life, it gave me something i realised i was good at and this gave me both confidence in all areas and an identity in school and in the local music comunity, i dread to think what id be doing now if i hadnt have picked up bass.

[Killer Fridge]

Ahh good ol general studies - about as useful to getting into Universities as your cycling proficiency!

Seriously though, I went to 2 general studies lessons in the whole year, took the exam, got a B. (May have been because I did science and maths too, and politics, which was almost what the entire general studies exam was based around, but at a GCSE level.)

And, yeah, it kinda ruined my life plans too, but I'm so much more happy about it. Originally, I wanted to be a barrister, because they earn lots of money (and I'm fairly good at arguing). Then, I wanted to get into programming, because, also, they earn a fair amount of money. Now? I want to be a session musician. Why? Because I enjoy it. If I can make money out of it too, thats a bonus, but other than that, I dont care.

[iamreprogramed]

man, seems like almost everyone picked up bass in 8th grade. haha

well, i did too. but not after trying out the guitar during 7th. then in 8th grade, my friends and i decided to start a band, but we didn't know anyone who played bass. so i figured i'd give it a go.

we played together through about mid-sophmore year, then split due to personal differences. i didn't join another band until early senior year. it was a metal band, and i hated it (the people, not the music.). i didn't stick around long.

then around the begining of winter, i began to play with the girl i play with now. this was the first time in a while that i genuinely loved what we were playing. i loved my basslines, and just the overall feel of the music. we continued to play together, and started playing shows around the area. however, she moved away a few days after graduation. so that kind of put a damper on writing. we're still in touch, and i plan on moving out there to continue playing.

basically, music gave me direction, and an excuse to move halfway across the country. :thumb:

[chipmunk2510]

Eh..everyones doing it.

I can honestly say without bass I wouldn't be as happy as I am now. (Yes happy) in 8th grade I was extremely depressed. (Like "emo" if you could call it that.) Well I picked up bass because my friends were starting a band and I wanted in. Almost a year later I'm glad I picked bass. I love bass and all the music I listen too. I cant really imagine what my life would be like if I never started playing. That first band is still around and I enjoy playing with them still. I'm in another band now too. We've already played our first gig and I can see this band really going places.

[pitchfork]

If I wasn't playing music now I would still be a slightly mad alchoholic smoking lazy depressed idiot, addicted to some form of hard drugs.
And I would have probably ****ed everything my life up really bad by now.
May even be dead.

Lucky for me I'm a musicians and happy to be one.

[katana_manatee]

What age are people at the 7th grade and so on? If your not American we haven't a bloody clues so please someone say what the ages are.

[MeaninglessPhoto]

Without music, I wouldnt be doing anything. I dont do anything else but music because its all im good at.

[Akira]

If I didn't listen to the music I did (emo, hardcore, jazz, and random crap), I'd be a way different person.

-Gav
The music a person listens to has a huge influence on who they are. both because of what the music preaches, and the other people the music attracts. My social circle would be so much different if I had, say, listened to pop radio as a kid and got into pop music.

[Akira]

What age are people at the 7th grade and so on? If your not American we haven't a bloody clues so please someone say what the ages are.
Hmm, 7th grade is 12-13 years old.

[katana_manatee]

Hmm, 7th grade is 12-13 years old.

Thank you.

http://www.nothingbutcrumbs.com/images/cookie_care.jpg

[4_String_Formation]

Well, when i was younger i got picked on quite alot and thought that noone listened to me a whole lot so when i finally found music i was like "wow! i can express how i feel through this"
and 2 years on I'm still doing it and am a better person for it.
so without music I'd probs be a mushy pulp on the playground right about now

[Spencer]

I know no1 is going to read this.. 3 pages of long stories about people, I didn't get past the first few but here is mine anyway.

Summer of 7th grade.
I never knew mydad had a 1978 the paul and amp. So I picked that up and just played everyday.

8th grade never took music seriously just thought it was fun never thought about even makeing a band, I thought that was funny. But I still played everyday.

freshman: I played everyday and soon was really depressed I wanted to take my own life soo bad and then I met my girlfriend. She changed everything around and made me so happy. I sorta slowed down on my playing a little. But I still played but it was nothing but linkin park every song thay came out with I played and had every single cd even the nonreleased ones.

10th grade: I played guitar linkinpark, umm was happy and still with my girlfriend. I played with a friend a few times. Discovered RHCP and started playng bass during the summer.

11th grade. I played bass alot... Bought a buch of bass gear and got so into music tried a few bands but nothing ever worked out. I got super serious with music, and I want it to be my life. Me and my g/f's relation ship started going bad. We just broke up, and the only thing that makes me happy is music. I still am trying to start a band and get into my churches band. Its hard to stay happy withouther.

[WhoDidTheElf]

Seems music has been good for a lot of people.


For me, it's pretty short, from day one, it brought me joy. Simple.