To All the Music Makers

[Señor Fingers]

After getting sidetracked in a thread with Styles, I am curious who else is making beats and melodies out there. Here is a little Q & A I've already filled out. Feel free to chime in

What type of music do you make?
• Deep House (NY styleez)
• Hip or Trip-hop
• Ambient
• Breakbeat
• Anything with soul and rhythm

What is your role in the music?
I compose, write and produce my songs, from the basslines to the percussion and melodies. Sometimes I provide vocals in the form of spoken word or just straight rappin/beatboxing.

Do you play an instrument?
Piano & any type of percussion. Currently learning to play bass.

Any formal training?
None whatsoever. I been playing piano by ear since I was 12 and my dad was a percussionist so that just came naturally.

What message do you feel is most prevalent in your music?
A great deal is instrumental and roughly 120BPM, so I'd have to say the message is "Dance your ass off!"

Who is your biggest idol/influence and what makes them better than you?
Quincy Jones.. the man is a genius and has his own symphony for the love of God! I would LOVE to have my own string/brass/wind section to do my bidding...for me that's total musical supremacy.

 

[WhitePimp]

Cool topic!

What type of music do you make?
Right now I'm the guitarist in a pop-punk band, but I'm also huge into metal

What is your role in the music?
I write all the music and sometimes the lyrics before I bring it to my singer to work on vocals

Do you play an instrument?
I play guitar, bass, piano, drums, and any percussion instrument

Any formal training?
Some lessons awhile ago for drums but they didnt really do much. I just played along to cds and kept upping the hardness of the cds through the years

What message do you feel is most prevalent in your music?
I'd like to write music that really moves people, like those songs you listened to by yourself at night over and over again in middle school or high school when sh!t was going tough for you and the music spoke to you. That kind of connection to a listener is all I ask.

Who is your biggest idol/influence and what makes them better than you?
My biggest idol in Mike Portnoy. He's just an amazing drummer in my favorite band Dream Theater, and his dedication to their fans is amazing. He'll go to any lengths to give the fans the best show/music possible, and show the fans how much the band cares about them.

 

[dot]

What type of music do you make?
Anything but mostly rap beats.

What is your role in the music?
I make beats. I give direction to artists. I engineer with Pro Tools. So that would mean I'm approaching beatmaker, producer, and engineer.

Do you play an instrument?
guitar. I can play piano a bit.

Any formal training?
Almost two years of guitar. I wouldn't really recommend too much formal training. I feel like I need to get in touch more with my right side of the brain. I am trying to be more creative, etc, and play by ear, all that.

What message do you feel is most prevalent in your music?
I try to make songs that reflect a mood I can feel. If someone else likes it, then that's good.

Who is your biggest idol/influence and what makes them better than you?
No one really. I respect other artists for the drive and motivation though. Putting in work, really putting in emotions, feelings, and their soul into the music.

 

[Bonhomme]

What type of music do you make?

Unlike anything else. Has a "rock" base, and lots of minor keys, with extreme dynamics, odd-meter rhythms that usually sound more "tribal" than jazzy, and some chromatic elements and odd chords and inversions that give it a bit of "tension." Melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, sometimes extremely intense, and at times poppy, but definitely a bit twisted, with a bit of tension. Lyrics tend to be heavy on the wordplay and darkly humorous.

What is your role in the music?

I play guitar and drums, and compose some material. Tend to do best collaborating with a strong singer/lyricist. I'm better at coming up with chord progressions, riffs, and rhythms than words and vocal melodies. Also do recordings, specializing in a very lifelike, "you are there" sound.

Do you play an instrument?

Things with strings or things I can bang on. Mainly drums and electric guitar.

Any formal training?

Very little. Have done some reading up, though, and know some theory. Learning to sight-read drum music.

What message do you feel is most prevalent in your music?

That varies a lot depending upon the song.

Who is your biggest idol/influence and what makes them better than you?

That's a readymade pun, because I do love the music of The Who, especially the band's more playful earlier stuff.

Main guitar influences include: Pete Townshend (The Who), Robert Fripp (King Crimson and many sessions), Robert Smith (The Cure -- love his chord patterns), and Roger McGuinn (Byrds).

Main lyrical influences are Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen.

Main drumming influences are: Keith Moon (The Who), Bill Bruford (King Crimson), and Hal Blaine (numerous 60s hits, including Phil Spector's productions {such as "Be My Baby"}, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and The Papas, The Monkees {yes, he was the real drummer on those recordings}, The Beach Boys, Neil Diamond, etc., etc., etc...)