My first piano teacher
Quite simply: the man made me a musician.

I started out by only being able to play the first bit of Tubular Bells over and over again (only using one finger), eventually my mum went spare and sent me to him.

Firstly, he taught me to use the whole hand when playing (you at the back, stop giggling!), how to read music, how to pick music up by ear (a skill I'm quite proud of now), and nurtured my improvising constantly.

Sometimes he'd ask me if I wanted to study for grades, and when I said"...no, not really." He wouldn't push, he'd just say "Ok, lets jam some more blues".

He had some great stories about how mad Mozart was, how huge Rachmaninoff's hands were, and how John Carpenter was a better composer than filmmaker. Sometimes he'd break out into really strange songs he used to sing with Uni mates, and was just a great guy to chat to.

Without that man and the 7 years he taught me, I would not be the musician I am today. So David B, wherever you are, thanks again!

(sorry for lack of lulz)
( Extinct Jesus Dossier "...I think it counteracts Hitler's magic...", Thu 17 Mar 2011, 17:02, 4 replies)

Is that...
...B as in Banfield?
(General Lee, Thu 17 Mar 2011, 17:06, closed)

Fraid not

( Extinct Jesus Dossier "...I think it counteracts Hitler's magic...", Thu 17 Mar 2011, 17:22, closed)

Quite simply: the man made me a musician.
If I got him the wool, would he make one for me too?
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Fri 18 Mar 2011, 8:11, closed)

Woo hoo!
People appreciating what a good composer John Carpenter is!

I have the soundtrack to They Live on my iPod - it's excellent for making a late night trip to a cash machine into a terrifying ordeal.

Also the soundtrack to The Thing, which isn't Carpenter but Ennio Morricone (seriously one of the greatest film composers of all time) who provided a Carpenter-style soundtrack that sounds exactly as if Carpenter had done it himself.

Good old John Carpenter. He's not made a good film in nearly two decades, but his music makes Adam Curtis documentaries that extra bit more awesome.
(leviticus no longer likes the cut of your gib on, Fri 18 Mar 2011, 12:18, closed)