As the title says, I'm new to the forum - I'm looking to spending quite some time here, searching, reading and asking questions about all sorts of things surrounding my new (used!) Genos
Having already read quite a few posts in the forum over the last few weeks, I have been immediately taken aback by the amount and scope of help offered by members old and new here! Also, the general "tone" of the forum is one of support and a feeling of comradery - I have joined many forums over the years, all to do with musical instruments, but have either not partaken in conversations or have left the forum entirely, due to the attitudes of the forum members and moderators! Not so here
Quick bio - 58, Welsh, worked in IT most of my working life, trained as a recording studio engineer in the late 80s, but jumped ship to IT in the early 90s. Had no formal musical instrument training, but could play a melody by ear quite easily on the piano. This lead to joining a local band as a keyboard player in the early 80s (SC Prophet 5, Yamaha DX, Roland JX3P, not all at the same time, but you name it, I probably owned it!) - we sort of sounded like a cross between The Stranglers, The Cure and New Order!.
Before the band I used a four-track tape machine to do my own music, using various mono synths and drum machines - creating a sort of early "techno"! I really enjoyed the technology more than the song writing and ending up on a music technology university course up in Newcastle upon Tyne. On the course we would edit tape using razor blades but one day in rolled a computer that eventually did away with the razor blades! I thought to myself that if this was happening in my line of work, then ALL lines of work would eventually go the same way - that's when I made the jump from music to IT.
As I've aged, I have become less and less interested in music technology and this has lead to an appreciation of playing music, as opposed to sequencing or multi-tracking it on a DAW such as Ableton Live. The amount of time taken to preview sounds, effects and samples etc. just stops the creative juices in their tracks! But my lack of a musical education, learning a REAL instrument, has always been a stumbling block for me, preventing me from leaving the safety of what I know, DAWs and sequencers
So, after a LONG period of quiet contemplation, I've decided to "man-up" and learn to play the keyboard (always wondered what my left hand was for!) and an arranger keyboard fits the bill nicely. Hence the Genos - and so far, after a few weeks, all I can say is "WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS YEARS AGO"!
So, I'm here because I want to learn how to play my keyboard, but more than that, learn how to get as much enjoyment out of it as I can
Regards to everyone
Bob
