THE NEVER-ENDING JOURNEY - and story
In 2018 I realized that my professional (non-musical) career of 35 odd years would be coming to a close and probably had just a few years left!
At 58, I felt like I should take the opportunity for a new direction, and since I'd never really pushed my teenage passion for making music, I decided a trip back to the future is in store for this old guy.
I’ve been in love with the electric bass since a kid and became very excited to get to the music shop. Pretty soon my old fingers were functioning so next step to join a cover band and get into the pressure of developing the set-list. Not long further, I was getting out way past my bedtime, pretending to be a super star, and having a blast!!
The younger version of myself was impatient and didn’t take the time to learn about music, didn’t take the time to develop even a modest understanding of theory, and never developed my ear. Surprisingly, my older self is very interested to gain delve into all things music - theory, sight reading, ear training (never knew I was tone deaf), various bass techniques and genres. Even composition, arranging, recording, mixing…and DAW’s, virtual instruments, effects…so much more technology than I remember. I’m a happy little nerd.
I returned to school for the first semester of 2020 for a Cert IV in Music Performance (bass), and most of the second half of the year was spent playing with Ableton Live and trying to compose music around the fretless bass sound. That’s still on my agenda in 2021, but I was keen to continue study and returned to complete my Diploma in Music and Sound Production, which drew me more towards orchestral music and forced me to think about future directions, which is trending more and more towards composition for media, in addition to the bass, of course.
I’ve never had any exposure to the orchestra, orchestral music, or even orchestral instruments! I’ve never been a fan of the classics, so I’m surprised by my new interest. Maybe it’s that I’m in the mood for new challenges, or maybe that this form of music can support such a wide range – from soft emotions through to epic battle scenes, across many different genres and styles. Let’s face it, I’ll never come close to emulating Hans Zimmer, but no harm in trying, right?
Here we are in 2022 and I’ve completed several orchestral tracks and distributed to all the music streaming sites – so much to learn but I’m quite happy with what I’ve been able to achieve so far…but lots of work to do on the social media and marketing front…
Current Goals - 2022 and beyond...
I’m keen to continue my journey into composition and production, even if it’s just for my own interest but also working hard to develop my capabilities as a bassist/vocalist and hope to get into some session roles going forward. I have no idea how that might progress, but continued learning and development for now, and see where it goes?