I grew up like a normal kid (at least I thought so), but really, I grew up surrounded by musicians and world travelers. By the time I was eight, I had already lived on three different continents! Europe, North America, and Australia.
My parents had the travel bug, and having four children didn’t stop them.
My earliest memories of music are of my father bringing back exotic musical instruments from Africa and Southeast Asia. Most barely seemed playable, but looked great in the living room (mom didn’t think so!).
It was through my dad that I grew my love of music and good music taste. Having grown up in Liverpool, England during the late ’60s and ’70s, he told me stories of my grandad dropping him off at Roxy Music and Beatles gigs, whilst his dad would wait at the pub till the show ended.
Although my dad wasn’t the most gifted musician (sorry dad), he’d always bring back unusual musical instruments on his travels. My favorite was one of those croaking wooden musical frog instruments which he brought back from Nigeria.
Anyways, by the time I was eight, I was taking drum lessons once a week. The challenge but euphoric feeling of learning a new song was addicting, and I suppose as they say the rest was history.
After learning the drums, I moved on to the keyboard (inspired by Ray Manzarek of The Doors), and later the electric and acoustic guitar, the latter especially for those mellow campfire moments.
Although nothing really took off career-wise musically, I have learned a lot about musical instruments and other pieces of equipment along the way. As well as meet some pretty cool people, Billie Joe of Green Day is probably my favorite.
A jack of all trades but master of none, I decided to share my passion for musical instruments and put it into a blog, introducing MidderMusic!
I hope you find it as useful and enjoyable as I do writing these posts.
And as always, please feel free to email me about ANYTHING. The next best band, a new song you just learned, or a unique instrument you discovered on your latest travel adventure…
Happy playing – Will
Oh and remember, the best musician is the one having the most fun!
Founder – Will – will.middermusic@gmail.com