MY MUSIC STORY.co.uk

Hi my names Andrew, I’m 16 years old and have recently finished my GCSEs,

Music doesn’t really run through my family much, but I first found my love for music at the age 4 when my family was given a grand piano by the previous owners of the house we were moving into. My dad saw my potential on the piano and had me learn it at my primary school, St. Vincent’s. There I was taught up to grade two in classical music. Throughout out my years at St Vincent’s I preformed piano in assemblies even along with my dad who had decided to learn a bit of piano himself. I enjoyed the music, but frankly I didn’t really enjoy the lessons as I felt I was limited to what I could do, and felt constant pressure on me to improve. After three years at St. Vincent’s I was playing at around a Grade 3 level. Soon my family decided to move me to a more local school called St. Scholastica’s, with this I also needed a new piano teacher.

After looking around, my father met a young piano teacher who offered to take me in as a student. Unlike my previous teacher she was a lot more patient with me. After a year or two being taught by here I had reached grade 5, but I was told that she couldn’t teach me anymore as I had reached her limit of teaching capabilities. So my farther started buying me music books and I started to teach my self at home. But as the years went by the pressure of constantly trying to live up to my parents expectations built up to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore, by the end of my primary school years I had lost taste for the piano and classical music, after coming to terms with my parents, I hardly touched the piano afterwards.

Looking back, I do regret this decision now, but at the time I felt a great relief. At that point I thought my life with music had ended, but during the summer holidays before I started secondary school, me and my family went to visit one of our neighbours. I can’t remember much but he was a young man, and he had a love for rock. Sitting in his house I saw he had a guitar and asked him if he could play it. After setting up his guitar he suddenly plunged into this growling solo, I liked what I heard and felt the adrenalin rush through me. It was then when I decided that I wanted to learn guitar, at the time my parents were reluctant as they feared I might decided do drop it as I did with the piano, but I was determined to see it through. Rock was a new experience for me as it had no boundaries like classical music.

I had finally started my first year at secondary school at Cardinal Pole, when my dad bought me my first guitar, it was a fairly simple guitar, red with three pick ups I can’t really remember what brand it was. It was at this time when I found out that guitar lessons where being taught at my school, I signed up immediately. From then I on I started being taught my Mr Galo every Monday. Though I started to like rock music I really didn’t know much about it or even own any rock music. Around year 8 I started to make friends with a boy from my primary school called Danny, music ran through his family as his father, worked in the music business and was a performer himself. Danny too, was learning guitar and had a profound love for Rock. After showing me some of his CDs it really got me into modern rock. One of the first bands i listend to was “The Red Hot Chili Peppers”. I continued to learn from Mr Galo throughout my years at Cardinal Pole. Me Danny and another friend who played bass had tried to start off a band but we didn’t really get much done though we did perform once and a while at school but that was about it, me and Danny continue to jam on guitar occasionally, I enjoy making my own tunes on guitar and sharing my ideas with other guitar players like Danny as we can help each other improve.

We both took up music for our GCSEs, and continue to learn guitar, though I dropped out of learning piano I am still able to read music fairly well, this helped me in my music studies at school and learning the guitar as it gave me a head start. I currently play at a Grade 5 level and plan to continue learning guitar in sixth form at Cardinal Pole. My ambitions for my future lye else where from music, but I still plan to continue my journey in music as I enjoy it and I believe learning and listening to music is a form of expression and helps broaden a persons perspective not only in music but in life as well. I still continue playing on the piano occasionally but I admit I probably would’ve been a lot better on piano if I continued to learn.

So if your reading this and your learning an instrument or any other talent you really shouldn’t give it up if you start to lose faith in it, as its always good to have a talent on your side as it gives you something to fall back on if things don’t go too well for you. Also learning an instrument shouldn’t be a chore it should be something you enjoy doing.

Right now i play a “Stratocaster Highway one” I bought this recently and it sounds great, also a good instrument can help motivate you =P

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Some of my favourite bands I listen to right now are,

Rise agaisnt, Red hot chili peppers, linkin park, A7X, muse,

MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/73461776

Hi All,

It’s Antonio AKA DJ Uzi, i’ve just started a bit of DJing and found it very interesting. I have liked music ( Sound ) for the last three years as my neighbours build sound systems for carnivals and clubs. From this i had decided to become a DJ as they where looking for one that they could trust, so we did a gig at a private party and they liked me so much that they have offered me to join their company. We have gotten quiet a few gigs so far. Also if any would like to hear me play, i will be playing at wanstead festival on the 14th July from 11am - 5pm. This is for charity and the more money we make the better.

I am available for private parties, weddings, etc. just leave me a comment (Below) or send me an e-mail on Tonyu88@hotmail.com

DJ Uzi.

Hi my name is Stevie and I am from London and this is my music story so far.

It all started with my parents sending me to a music teacher for some light music theory and keyboard lessons. My parents weren’t from a musical background so they wished for their kid to do some music. At first I thought of it as a weekly obligation, but now about 11 years down the road I am glad they sent me for that. After I did that my musical journey stopped for a couple of years. Until I discovered an unexplainable interest in the drumkit at the age of 12. I didn’t get onto one until I was 15 but that was worth the wait. At about the same time I started to listen to a lot of rock music. Starting out with normal rock songs, my taste in rock started to dig deeper over the years into more complex and heavier styles.

Once I got onto a kit and started to learn the basics I was like most people really awful at it. But I persevered and practiced at home on whatever kind of makeshift drumkit I could make up to whatever music I liked at the time. I wasn’t great still and grew up in a school where the kids thought that if you didn’t have the talent you weren’t allowed to touch the instrument. This put me down at times but I carried on practicing at home instead to the best of my ability and with whatever resources I had.

I then stopped having drum lessons due to commitments to education and after I got through school I got a drumkit as a reward for those commitments from my mother. And then from that point onwards it was endless months of playing every song I loved over and over again, countless rants from neighbours and couple of broken cymbals and sticks. I never studied past the basics from a teacher but my favourite bands’ drummers turned into my teachers and I learned all their tricks and just pushed myself as far as I could go. This technique of learning had its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was me having a fairly intermediate drum technique without the need of lessons. But the disadvantages were that I missed out on some crucial skills that teachers would have guided me through to learn. But that is just what playing an instrument is about, you’re always learning and you can never say that you’re a fully accomplished drummer because there is always something out there for you to conquer for you’re self-improvement.

After that through a girlfriend I discovered the guitar, an instrument I never could understand how to play but thanks to 4 simple power chords she taught me, I learnt so many things on a guitar in 3 years and I ended up writing some songs on it for my band which I am very proud of. And those musical theory lessons helped me in the end to write these songs. My band consists of three of my close friends who share a passion in the same style of music as me and are great people who I connect with especially when we sit down and write our music.

Music has become a major part of my life over the last five years. It drives me to make certain decisions in life and I have realised that there is nothing better in my life than making music and playing music to other people with my band. Although I haven’t lived most of my life yet I already know that nothing would make me feel so free than playing music with my friends to a crowd of people who love the music and feel the emotion I want it to portray whether its happiness, sadness, anger etc. Hear someone saying that they like a song that our band have done puts a smile on my face all the time no matter what.

this video below is the ultimate guitar flip done in perfect style: