Muirsical Introduction
"Music was my first love, and it will be my last.
Music of the future, and music of the past..."
Those lines from the classic 1976 hit 'Music' by John Miles is, in all honesty, a little overstated and not entirely accurate from my perspective but it does help summarise how important music is in my life.
I always wanted to be involved in music in some capacity and only two things restricted me from doing so as I shut the School gate behind me and wandered down the path of life - limited talent and lack of discipline.
Yes you're right, well spotted - they are pretty large stumbling blocks, with the latter being a far bigger problem than the former in my opinion (I'm a firm believer that self-belief and determination are far more important than overall ability in just about every facet of life).
I was brought up in an environment where pop, crooners, big band, swing, light jazz, classical and musicals were all part of the mix. And while my father was comfortable in the knowledge that there were no writers or singers quite like the Berlin's or Sinatra's respectively of his own era, my mum was more likely to be singing along to 1950s or 1960s pop. Both my parents could certainly hold a tune.
I had the knack of being able to pick up tune by ear and play or 'mimic' it back quickly and could also hold a beat on a drum kit or play a bass line fairly competently. Yet when it came to, say, the guitar or piano? Forget it.
What I did have to my advantage when I was very young was what are sometimes referred to as heightened senses such as 20/20 vision and perfect pitch (as regards hearing if something was wrong almost immediately - I could actually hear that pin drop).
As I grew older however those senses diminished (where did I put my driving glasses?) and amongst the aches and pains of aging is tinnitus which, as any sufferer of that ailment will tell you, can be blocked out but it's always there.
Tests I took not too long ago however confirmed I still had the full spectrum of hearing and can still tell immediately when pitch is off or someone or something is out of tune.
My musical involvement these days includes listening to it, writing about it and talking about it - on and off-the-record - with friends and musicians alike.
For the record my favourite artist is Todd Rundgren, followed by a host of others including Pat Metheny, Pat Travers, Cheap Trick, Joe Bonamassa, Wolfstone, Vital Information, Popa Chubby, Journey (original fusion and Steve Perry periods), Yes, Francis Dunnery, Rush, Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks, Peter Frampton, IQ, Santana, Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.
I'm also a fan of specific musical periods or the classic eras of many rock bands (including Uriah Heep, Styx, Kansas), the original line-up of others (The Alarm and It Bites being two examples) and many more who have either long since disbanded or whose musical careers and lives ended too early (such as Slade and Rory Gallagher respectively).
It's a continuing list within a fairly large and eclectic collection that runs the Muirsical alphabet from A(bba) to Z(z top), through rock (including progressive, heavy and melodic), pop, a selection of the classic crooners, blues, traditional jazz and classical.
Bottom line - from Mendelssohn to Emerson Lake & Palmer, Dream Theater to Miles Davis... it all rocks in some form for me.
A lot of Moody Blues is in that mix too, but that comes primarily from my wife Anne and her love of Moodies music and Justin Hayward.
There are a number of musical forms you won't find in that mix however, including traditional "Grand Ole Opry" country, speed/ thrash metal, rap, sampling, electronica and techno.
But then I don't recognise the latter styles as any form of music - rap is a means of (arguably artistic) expression. It might have a rhythmic cadence, but music it isn't.
Similarly, electronica and techno I don't define as music in any sense, other than having a beat.
The dance-beat rhythms of current pop trends is just a fast, discordant and unnatural 'pulse' -- and one that sits so uncomfortably with my own (musical) biorhythms that I have to walk away/ turn it off if I happen to hear it/ be near it. It genuinely irritates/ agitates me, both physically and mentally.
I am a '70s rock boy at heart and very much a product of my own musical era.
I certainly don't apologise for that and still believe it to be the most innovative and creative musical decade for many genres, rock in particular (progressive, mainstream, heavy, fusion, etc).
Ironically however when bands or artists from classic eras become 'brands' decades later and retain a name (or reform) after losing their signature sound (or performing in tribute to it) or are missing key personnel, I tend to have no interest.
I fully acknowledge however retaining a name does contractually and financially make most sense for many such bands. In some cases it's their only viable option.
I would end this little 'Muirsical' Introduction by touching on that very word, which is used to describe my various commentaries and thoughts on music...
My good friend Jason Galu, who contributed to my 'One in a Million' eBook and certainly knows a B flat from a C sharp (he has sung lead in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar in his native New Zealand), actually came up with the 'Muirsical' description. It never occurred to me until Jason started using it.
So welcome to my world. Muirsically speaking.
"To live without my music, would be impossible to do.
'Cos in this world of troubles, my music pulls me through."
(John Miles, 'Music' 1976)
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"Music was my first love, and it will be my last.
Music of the future, and music of the past..."
Those lines from the classic 1976 hit 'Music' by John Miles is, in all honesty, a little overstated and not entirely accurate from my perspective but it does help summarise how important music is in my life.
I always wanted to be involved in music in some capacity and only two things restricted me from doing so as I shut the School gate behind me and wandered down the path of life - limited talent and lack of discipline.
Yes you're right, well spotted - they are pretty large stumbling blocks, with the latter being a far bigger problem than the former in my opinion (I'm a firm believer that self-belief and determination are far more important than overall ability in just about every facet of life).
I was brought up in an environment where pop, crooners, big band, swing, light jazz, classical and musicals were all part of the mix. And while my father was comfortable in the knowledge that there were no writers or singers quite like the Berlin's or Sinatra's respectively of his own era, my mum was more likely to be singing along to 1950s or 1960s pop. Both my parents could certainly hold a tune.
I had the knack of being able to pick up tune by ear and play or 'mimic' it back quickly and could also hold a beat on a drum kit or play a bass line fairly competently. Yet when it came to, say, the guitar or piano? Forget it.
What I did have to my advantage when I was very young was what are sometimes referred to as heightened senses such as 20/20 vision and perfect pitch (as regards hearing if something was wrong almost immediately - I could actually hear that pin drop).
As I grew older however those senses diminished (where did I put my driving glasses?) and amongst the aches and pains of aging is tinnitus which, as any sufferer of that ailment will tell you, can be blocked out but it's always there.
Tests I took not too long ago however confirmed I still had the full spectrum of hearing and can still tell immediately when pitch is off or someone or something is out of tune.
My musical involvement these days includes listening to it, writing about it and talking about it - on and off-the-record - with friends and musicians alike.
For the record my favourite artist is Todd Rundgren, followed by a host of others including Pat Metheny, Pat Travers, Cheap Trick, Joe Bonamassa, Wolfstone, Vital Information, Popa Chubby, Journey (original fusion and Steve Perry periods), Yes, Francis Dunnery, Rush, Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks, Peter Frampton, IQ, Santana, Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.
I'm also a fan of specific musical periods or the classic eras of many rock bands (including Uriah Heep, Styx, Kansas), the original line-up of others (The Alarm and It Bites being two examples) and many more who have either long since disbanded or whose musical careers and lives ended too early (such as Slade and Rory Gallagher respectively).
It's a continuing list within a fairly large and eclectic collection that runs the Muirsical alphabet from A(bba) to Z(z top), through rock (including progressive, heavy and melodic), pop, a selection of the classic crooners, blues, traditional jazz and classical.
Bottom line - from Mendelssohn to Emerson Lake & Palmer, Dream Theater to Miles Davis... it all rocks in some form for me.
A lot of Moody Blues is in that mix too, but that comes primarily from my wife Anne and her love of Moodies music and Justin Hayward.
There are a number of musical forms you won't find in that mix however, including traditional "Grand Ole Opry" country, speed/ thrash metal, rap, sampling, electronica and techno.
But then I don't recognise the latter styles as any form of music - rap is a means of (arguably artistic) expression. It might have a rhythmic cadence, but music it isn't.
Similarly, electronica and techno I don't define as music in any sense, other than having a beat.
The dance-beat rhythms of current pop trends is just a fast, discordant and unnatural 'pulse' -- and one that sits so uncomfortably with my own (musical) biorhythms that I have to walk away/ turn it off if I happen to hear it/ be near it. It genuinely irritates/ agitates me, both physically and mentally.
I am a '70s rock boy at heart and very much a product of my own musical era.
I certainly don't apologise for that and still believe it to be the most innovative and creative musical decade for many genres, rock in particular (progressive, mainstream, heavy, fusion, etc).
Ironically however when bands or artists from classic eras become 'brands' decades later and retain a name (or reform) after losing their signature sound (or performing in tribute to it) or are missing key personnel, I tend to have no interest.
I fully acknowledge however retaining a name does contractually and financially make most sense for many such bands. In some cases it's their only viable option.
I would end this little 'Muirsical' Introduction by touching on that very word, which is used to describe my various commentaries and thoughts on music...
My good friend Jason Galu, who contributed to my 'One in a Million' eBook and certainly knows a B flat from a C sharp (he has sung lead in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar in his native New Zealand), actually came up with the 'Muirsical' description. It never occurred to me until Jason started using it.
So welcome to my world. Muirsically speaking.
"To live without my music, would be impossible to do.
'Cos in this world of troubles, my music pulls me through."
(John Miles, 'Music' 1976)
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