Music and Life

This is my very first post on Steemit! I'm excited to share some of my music and how it came about.

https://steemit.com/dsound/@ggood/the-discovery
(check out the song!)

I've been a musician off and on since I was a teenager and have been influenced by many styles of music over the years. I primarily play keyboards/synthesizers, some bass and even violin, back in the day. My influences have run the gamut, from progressive rock bands like Emerson Lake and Palmer, Rush, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Kansas and Saga to all kinds of other rock, pop and electronic music. I’m especially fond of the wide range of innovative music that started in the 80's, such as that by Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones and Tear For Fears, still one of my favorites to this day, among others. Most of all, I love to listen carefully to the music others have created and appreciate how much talent and work really goes into it, both musically and from the production aspect.

I bought my very own Arp Odyssey synthesizer back in the late 70's when I was just in junior high school (see the photo!) and quickly gained a love for synthesis and sound design. I borrowed money from my grandfather to buy it and eventually paid him back over a couple of years with money I made on a paper route. I've always had a love for music and have found it to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of life on this earth. There's a great feeling a lot of people get when they listen to music, but those who aren't musician's might not fully understand the magic that music is. The song you are listening to right now (I hope! https://steemit.com/dsound/@ggood/the-discovery) was written in just a few hours, as are many of the compositions I've come up with over the years. It's very uplifting to look back at the result and be amazed at how, just a short time ago, that music didn't even exist and now it does...and that you made it yourself out of basically thin air and some mashup of your life's musical influences. I'd be interested to hear if others out there have a similar view on songwriting and how the sounds and instrumentation inspire the chords, melodies and rhythms we come up with.

I enjoy the entire music production process (recording, mixing) pretty much equally with the actual songwriting. For me it's all part of how it works. It's like you are transported out of this world into another in a way. All the stresses in your life disappear for a while and the creative energy takes over everything you do as you work to get everything “just right”. I do feel that some new kind of stress comes in though, the kind of stress to try and make something great, and out of almost nothing. It takes over but then goes away when you complete your composition, leaving a sense of euphoria. The beauty of this is that every time you listen to your music again you kind of go back to that place and remember the joy that process gave you and it revitalizes you. A few years ago I went through a life-threatening event...bleeding on the brain and the very serious related surgery. I survived without any cognitive issues but did fall into depression/PSTD a couple of years later whenever I re-encountered stress in my life and work. Creating this song is one of the things that helped heal me the second time around...I rediscovered how important music can be in one's life, even though I'd already been enjoying it and playing it off and on most of my life.

I challenge you all to learn how to play an instrument or try to create something musical somehow. You could be surprised at the capacity you might already have for making music. There are so many resources out there now to help make it a reality for nearly anybody…perhaps the subject of a future post. Try it sometime. It could be life-changing for you!