Taking The Advantages of Being a Multi-Instrumentalist: One-Man Band and Songwriting

Proclaiming a person as a multi-instrumentalist himself may sound a bit vainglorious to others knowing that the people who were officially called multi-instrumentalists are musicians in a professional proficiency. But when do we really consider a person as a multi-instrumentalist? In my opinion, you don't have to be a PRO to become one.

As long as you can play clean and good music and be able to make songs using your multiple instrumental skills, then you should be considered as a multi-instrumentalist.

How playing several instruments benefited me personally?

I unconsciously learned how to write my own songs and instrumentals from playing several kinds of instruments and my music listening skill is enhanced.

Let me just compare it to a basketball game. We know that in basketball, the 5 persons on the floor has their own specializing roles and positions, and although they are doing their own roles perfectly, they might still lose if the members aren't synchronizing in the general game plan and if they lack of chemistry. Knowing each other's teammate career histories, strengths, and weaknesses, and knowing their unique personalities helps out big in engaging good chemistry, synchronization and team work from them to get the product of a good win.

Like in music, when you knew about each instrument's method of playing by practicing, listening to the popular songs that these instruments produced, you will then know how they enter and mix in a musical composition because you will eventually determine how each unique instruments sound in different genres.

img source
Imagine hearing a slow intro of a sustained piano play in dramatic tempo, and then suddenly you hear these background chimes followed by a slide of smooth bass before the entrance of a very romantic saxophone with a little while on the background you can hear those electronic drum beats (add a little echo) and guitar mutes. I then imagine a produced song, like a slow teen pop song of Debbie Gibson's.

When you can feel the different appeals of each unique instruments you can do your own compositions and how to arrange them your way with your desired genre based on how you usually play each one instrument.

Better social experience

img source
With music being the constant trend since before our ancestors, i use music to bond with other people with the same interest, and being known by some people that i can play music gains more positive feedbacks to my personality. Although the thoughts of others for us doesn't define who we are, better than bad, knowing that they think i'm COOL, lifts up my self-esteem.

I Determined the best Instrument that i have a real potential for being a PRO

Remember Disney's quote: "You will never know unless you try." Curiosity and finding myself which instrument i'm better with playing is one of the main reasons why i play several kinds of instruments. In my experience of playing a Violin, i suck on it especially when i tried to learn the vibrato it took me weeks before i figured it out. It made me then stick back in playing a guitar because it's my comfort zone.

It gives me the potential to play more musical instruments in the future

Guitar, violin, and piano both have strings attached, but learning one to another is like going in another chapter, they are way too different to each other. At first i thought that the tuning of a violin is more like a ukulele, but it's not, actually the tuning is like opposite, plus the frustration at first of adjusting to the differences as my body movements are used to be playing a guitar. For an instance the differences of making them sound, from guitar strumming into using a bow to a violin pisses me off the first time. But then knowing that my body movement can eventually adapt (mainly my hands and fingers and feet) for playing different musical instruments by practicing and exercising, made me more capable of playing more instruments to my exciting lifelong journey in music.

I can make money out of it if i would pursue

img source
I also do piano and guitar lessons for free to my neighborhood and my friends and seeing them really learn from the basic knowledge i gave them makes me wonder if i could make a profit out of it. And of course music performing makes a lot.

Simply gives too much fun!

When i don't really have much to do at home, i play musical instruments and it just simply gives me a satisfaction, filling up the gaps of those times that i could've been bored. A sort of a life hack.

One-man band

It sucks that all of my childhood band members are now busy in their own lives, and so with my iOS gadget, i downloaded an app called Acapella from PicPlayPost in the App Store. I purchased the full version of it for $3 and i use just an Apple Earpod for this one because it has a noise reduction feature that's close to a condenser microphone. The free version of this app only have few grids and up to 3 minutes of video recording as the limit. This amazing app also features filters, and my favorite is that you can adjust each other video's equalizer, pitch, reverb, echo, and many more sound and visual effects in the paid version.

These are samples of my Video Collages:

In this one i tried to arrange a song based on my poem and here's what it sounds like. This clip covers only the intro, verse 1, and the refrain only as it's still unfinished. Unfortunately, life didn't gave me a good voice. haha

*"Kulang pa ba ang pagmamahal na inalay ko sa'yo
(Is the love i offered for you still not enough?)

At ika'y biglang nagbago
(And then you suddenly changed)

Dahil kaya, meron nang iba, meron na namang iba
(Is it because there's another one? Again there's another one)

At ika'y biglang naglaho
(And then you're gone)

Hindi naman ako nagtatampo
(I'm not being sulky)

Yan ay di ko magawa sa'yo
(I wouldn't do that to you)

Sa'yo ohhhh
(To you...)

And Here's a Christmas Song that i used for my greetings last Christmas in our forum website.

"Dinggin mo ang ating bayan
(Listen to the people)

Pamasko ang awitan
(with their Christmas songs)

Laganap ang kasayahan
(Gladness is widespread)

May galak ang daigdigan
(There is joy in the world)

Dukha man ang ating buhay
(Though our lives our poor)

Tayo'y dapat magdiwang
(We should celebrate)

Tayo ay magpasalamat
(We should be thankful)

Sa taglay nating buhay."
(For the life that we have.)

My Life with Music

I'm a huge fan of marching bands on the streets when i was a kid, hearing the basic rhythms in their parades encouraged me to try playing several percussion instruments when i joined the Drum and Lyre band in grade school. My family even makes fun of me thinking i'm weird because i follow the marching bands even at other people's burials, just to see them perform. The very first instrument i played was a tom-tom back in my first grade. Then as the years passed before i graduated from grade school, i played the Quad tom, it's a 4 piece of tom-tom resembled.

Then when i started high school, i tried to join my favorite marching band. I was then trained by the band leader to be able to read the musical notes, until my parents made me stop due to too much distractions to my academics. At least i learned how to play a saxophone and a flute as the goal.

Then on my 3rd year in high school when Filipino rock-bands and the rock fashions are too trendy, it made me want to learn string instruments mainly a guitar and i fell in love with it. That time i took most of my spare time practicing the basic chords at first, then months passed i learned how to play little solos and instrumentals as i brag to my classmates when vacant times in school, until i formed a rock band together with my classmates and learned about the electric and bass guitars and familiarize about amps and effects on the studios we rent and then i played as a lead guitarist for the group as we joined competitions and win some in the school and festivals.

Sometimes i go to the gigs, or also perform as an extra on bars and restaurants in Manila whenever i see someone that i know playing on the stage. I was then even invited once by another band in different school and wear their school uniform to pretend i'm on the same school. I don't really know about the reason of my urge to try different instruments, maybe i'm jealous for someone killing the instruments that i cannot play that gives me the drive, or whether i just get easily amazed by those people with their musical skills. When i went to college, life becomes more serious, i just then play musical instruments as a hobby.

Jammin with @dredridingshoe & company.

Follow me for more of my posts and my future blogs.