Everyone who knows me is well aware that when I’m at home I have to have some musical instrument an arms length away. Since we started filming Out Of System I get more and more people asking me “How did you learn to play so many instruments?”. To set the record straight I can play guitar, bass, piano and ukulele with confidence, I can keep a beat on a standard drum set or some bongos, and love to mess around with my melodica, harmonica and banjo. To say I’ve mastered any of the above would be a massive overstatement. But my first interest musically was guitar. I got one for Christmas and while I couldn’t play anything I remember feeling absolutely incredible just holding it. I couldn’t even play any chords. But I loved it. My dad would try to show me how to play songs for hours to no avail. I remember being EXTREMELY frustrated. I just couldn’t get it. One day the stars aligned and I found that I could play a couple chords in a song my dad showed me (Bad Moon Rising by CCR was the song). I would play the same chords again and again, transposing songs I liked into a different key just so I could find a way to play them. I was slow to pick up on many of the nuances of the guitar and anyone who’s heard me play knows how much I love to take shortcuts on songs. But that’s where I think music is it’s most fun. When you play a song with people it triggers something in the group and can bring happiness and fulfillment to everyone involved. There is no shame in keeping things simple as long as you’re enjoying yourself.
Playing live music has given me more of an understanding of artists I’d already loved. I kid you not when I say that I listened to the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” from start to finish at least once a day in June of 2019. I couldn’t get enough and it seemed like every day I would discover something new about one of the songs. It was a learning experience. Even to hear what’s on the radio and have a basic understanding of what makes a song sound the way it does is a very powerful feeling and has gone a long way for me. While the Beatles stuff I mentioned is a bit complicated from a music theory standpoint, another artist that has had a profound effect on me has been Gabby Pahinui. I can’t recommend him enough. He’s a great example of someone who understands the beauty of simplicity in music.
Both making and listening to music have brought a lot of serenity to me during this crazy episode of Black Mirror we’ve been living in since 2020 began. So my advice to whoever is reading this is to go dig up that out of tune guitar in your garage, go sit down at the piano in your grandma’s house that nobody has touched since the Reagan administration, do whatever you have to do just to get comfortable with making some music. Dumb it down. Be patient. The internet is an amazing resource and information regarding learning an instrument as never been more accessible, but it’s not gonna click on the first day or week or month even. But keep at it because when the lightbulb finally goes off it’s going to absolutely blow your mind. Trust me. We really appreciate those of you who have been following us on our journey here at OOS, so in an effort to show that appreciation I’d love to help steer anyone in the right direction if it means they’ll be brought closer to making some music. And if all else fails just keep singing in the car.
-Max
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