Who are your biggest infuences and inspirations in music? Teacher, artist, friend, bandmate or whatever. What influenced you the most to play like you do today?

I'll start -- In chronological order:

1. Relative: Howard Norton, my father, who played violin, ukulele, trumpet and in his later years organ
2. Teacher: Robert C Monroe who taught me how to listen to music (not just hear), theory, and dozens of expression devices and who offered me saxophone in the band when a rental became available (I was playing drums at the time)
3. Friend: John Schneider who taught me how to double on both guitar and bass while I was in a road band with him
4. Artist: I have to add two, Stan Getz and Stanley Turrentine because listening to them taught me how to get the sax to do more than play notes, but to sing with vox humana, and both did it in very different ways.
5. Inspiration: Leilani, who is now my wife, because in the 3 bands we've been in together, nobody has been more fun to play with and musically interact with
   
   How about you?

My first and only actual "teacher" (I say it that way, as I think I have learned from everybody) was George Schulte. I studied with him from April 1956 to June 1961 when he told my parents "I have nothing more to teach him. He is now at a point where it's all about how much time he is willing to practice."

Learning and being taught are not the same thing. I learned from just about every band I ever heard.

Edit:

I should add 2 things. My cousin John was what I would say was my inspiration. He was a great ragtime piano player and I started taking lessons because of him.

The Beatles were my biggest influence as I studied their composition much more than admired their play. To be honest they were kind of ordinary players who had the synergistic factor going for them. As a unit they were outstanding, but standing alone, there were far better players. The best musician in the group was George Martin! I learned about layering and texture from Mozart and the other classical masters by viewing scores and seeing the relationships between the instrument groups. That all came far later when I studied music in college.

Our best friend Randy Howard who passed on way, way too young. He was grammy nominated and played on a host of chart topping productions. Even today I continue to be amazed by his playing -- so many genres including some awesome gypsy jazz. Without him encouraging Janice to sing I wouldn't be typing this.

If interested here is a very short tribute to him from our website:

Randy

Bud

PS There is also a country artist with the same name but he's not our Randy!
PPS If only Randy was around to see Janice's metamorphosis from bluegrass to blues and Americana over the past decade....RIP

I’m listing 2 influences because they are intertwined. The first is my sax teacher Frank Leal with whom I studied with for many years in the mid 50’s. He was a well known musician in the area but also one who had “on the road” credentials. At one time he also directed the hottest rehearsal big band in the area that I had the fortune of playing in. The second person was Allyn Ferguson who the son of the music store owner where I took those lessons so many years ago. Both Furgeson and Leal were members of the group “The Chamber Jazz Sextet” with Ferguson being the leader and composer/arranger. I would hang around after my lessons to hear them rehearse in the back of the music store. They eventually went on to record 3 albums and tour. I took college orchestration class form Ferguson at a time I didn’t even know what orchestration was. He went on to Hollywood where is involved in music for dozens of TV shows, music director for stars like Johnny Mathis, and music director of the Oscars, and the Emmys.
So one, Leal for his tremendous teaching and masterful playing and another, Ferguson for his wonderful musical genius.

My older brother really jump-started my playing. I was eleven, playing trumpet along with a Doc Severinson record when my brother came into the room and suggested I play something different than note-for-note with the recording. I hadn't realized you could do that. From that moment on, I have never played anything the same way twice.

In college, I studied composition with the founding director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. That was an eye-opener.

Then I was the trumpet player for many years for the best jazz musician in the region, Grammy-winning saxophonist Nick Brignola.

The best summer job I ever had was as the staff trumpet player for the Colonie (Albany) Coliseum. The talent (Jerry Vale, Mitzy Gaynor, Roger Williams etc.) and their music director would go city to city, and the best musicians in the region would learn a new show each week and play the shows for that week. Great experience.

Throughout, I devoured every recording I could get, studied texts on music theory, learned other instruments, and played, composed and arranged as much as I could.

I'm still improving.

Firstly my Mother, who was a coloratura soprano with an amazing voice. Her voice lifted hearts and minds and she never asked for a penny.
Secondly, being very much a teenager in the UK 60's boom, guitarists like Bert Weedon, bands like The Shadows, Ventures etc etc got me on the road at 17 through 26.
Nowadays I like who and what I like - good music influences me, always.
Ian

There's some really great comments in here! Awesome question, and it's really cool to see what people have to say. I imagine there will be a lot more folks adding to this one.

My piano teacher Mrs Leigh, and my mom for both encouraging me to follow my heart and just play music, and building that foundation and love for music of all kinds.

When my piano teacher called my mom to tell her I didn't need to waste my mom's money or the piano teacher's time, and that I wasn't spending time on my piano lessons but was instead playing the guitar when I should have been practicing the piano, she added, let him pursue the guitar because it's obvious he loves it.

After that.... practically any and all guitarists who were popular from Richie Blackmore to Hendrix, George Benson to Billy Gibbons, and many more.

Not to hijack this thread, but a note to sixchannel; I recently discovered Bert Weedon. I play (with BIAB backing) two of his tunes; "Big Beat Boogie" and "Lonely Guitar". Great stuff.

Growing up in Houston,Texas I was exposed to a lot of blues music. I use to run away to Lightnin' Hopkins house when I was a kid and got in trouble.

There was music on the radio, country, jazz, Miles Davis. There was music in the juke joints. The reasons for me being in those places had little or nothing to do with music. I had no idea at the time that this would influence me in the future.

Houston was a crossroad for musicians and many stayed or lived there. Eric Johnson, I met him at the driver license office. His band was the first band that ever played with me on stage. Billy Gibbons and I use to hang out at Rockin Robin guitar shop. There were many now famous people I met in the small local clubs. Willie Nelson, David Allen Coe, and many more were just some guys anyone could hang around with.

The first person I payed any attention to was Bob Dylan.I found the lyrics just amazing. I still do.

I am being influenced today by people on this forum. It is hard to pick a couple of people and say they were the main influences.

Cheers,

Billy

Great outlook. I use the same approach. Life is not meant to be a rehearsal.

My parents have definitely been very inspirational to me, musically. My dad was a professionally trained singer, and my mom was a DJ. Music has always played a huge role in my life, and my parents have always been encouraging and supportive of my endeavors. I owe them a lot as well for giving me an extremely varied taste in music. And I've been singing as long as my earliest memories, so I owe a lot to my parents for the voice I have now. I'm no Freddie Mercury of course but I can hold my weight, haha

That aside, I had a mentor of sorts in high school who I'll keep unnamed. Even when I was a teenager without much talent in my own eyes, he always pushed me to make music. Having someone see something in you is a beautiful thing, and even though he's moved physically and career-wise to better and bigger things, he was the first person to give me really solid confidence in my musical capabilities.