Hi, just joined...
I'm new here, but, not to Internet forums (been around since usenet days). I'm new to nord, but not to piano & music. I have a long history, but...
here goes:
I started music in 2nd grade ('72), w/ the (Bb) clarinet in elementary school. I learned how to read basic. I also, was brought up, by my mother singing in the church choir, & in 2nd grade, when I joined band, I also joined the school chorus. I learned pretty well, when in 3rd grade, the chorale teacher recommended me for high school honor chorale. So, I would get bused over to the local HS water school & did a little touring w/ the HS Honor Chorale.
3rd grade was transformative for me, as I started my rebellious streak, I didn't get along w/ my 3rd grade teacher, who was also the chorale teacher. So, I wasn't getting along & I didn't like the songs, so I quit. I also quit band & while still going to school, checked out, because I was bored.
So, I pretty much dropped all of that & in HS (10th grade - around '83), I decided I wanted to be a guitar player. Taught myself, & all my friends thought I was the greatest, but... we all know better, eh? I was a semi-decent hack.
A couple years after HS, I decided to straighten out y life & ended up in a huge circle of musicians. In this circle (SoCal - LA area) The demographic was something like guitarists 90+%, vocals 2-3%, drummers 1-2%, keyboards 1-2% & there was 2 bass players. I saw myself as maybe avg, or maybe a little less, in the pool of guitar players, & a friend of mine's band needed a bass player. So, I started learning how to play bass. The band leader was a guitarist, that was a drum major in school, so he learned drum theory, subdivisions, etc. he coached me to play bass, to play along w/ the drums, not to just be a bass note guitarist, staying on the root.
So, I played bass, for 15 years on a professional level. In that, I was introduced to a small amount of keyboards. I had a little Casio, as a kid, & taught myself the notes, so, I already had that knowledge, & could play easy chordings to back a small part here & there (the band had a Roland D50). Towards the end of that period, I bought myself a Roland XP10, but, after the band split up, I never really played it. In 30 years, I've probably played that thing less than 50 hours...
A couple years ago, I decided I wanted to finally get serious about learning, so I started looking for an electric piano, w/ weighted keys. I picked up an old Roland that, I guess was semi-weighted, & not very inspiring. It did get me back into it though, but, not really enough to keep me going (lasted about 6 months)...
Last year, I decided, hell or high-water, I wanted to get serious about it. So, I started scouring the internet looking to see what keyboards are considered "best" in the upper class of keyboards. Obviously, being into musical instruments & other audio/video gear, there really is no best, but there's top of the line & a few different brands w/ different philosophies. It was up to me to find the best for me, based on what I wanted, my philosophy, & who had what I wanted, & then look around for best bang-for-buck...
After months of educating myself, looking at weighted keys, best hammer action, sounds, etc., I saw a pawn shop selling a piano5 for $2200. I went & checked it out, & offered $2000 & he took it. It didn't have the nord 3 pedal, but had a 3rd party single. I ended up buying the nord 3 pedal.
So, now I have the piano5. I'm still a hack, albeit, a semi-educated hack, as far as the world of music goes, & especially piano playing.
I play guitar, bass, piano, violin, cello, harmonica, & sing a little. I should have been a great singer, but, not keeping up with/ it, you lose it, & I have a problem w/ laryngal collapse, that gives me sleep apnea, & has affected my voice, where I don't get the range I once had, plus... getting older. So, I do play a lot of things & can pick them up easily, but, I'm not great, at any of them. For the most part, I can hold my own & be a team player.
My playing style in music has always been aggressive when needed, & soft & subtle, also, when needed. I am tending to gravitate towards classical sounds on piano, but, I am a (heavy) metal head at heart. I have always like rhythmic playing, & harmony.
I have been playing on the nord, since last early Dec. I was playing it through my Yamaha studio monitors, through a Neve interface. I decided to buy some dedicated speakers, & bought a set of QSC K12.2 w/ KS112 sub's. Kind of nuts, having this (8,000 watts) for my living room, but... the sound is awesome. I am using a mix of 2 grand pianos (white & silver) & 2 string sounds (symphonic strings legato & mellotron 3 violins) a little delay & cathedral reverb...
Hopefully, I'll be doing a program, where I'll be playing some piano/keyboard, before too long & also playing some guitar/possible singing. This is why I joined. I have some questions, &... they seem like the most elementary to getting going on performance, but I haven't found the answers yet browsing through the forum yet, so, I'll probably be asking a few things.
Anyway, glad to be here & look forward to being a part of the community, if there's any way I can help, I'll be glad to, but, as of now, I'm the n00b...
Cheers!
P A U L