To be honest krayzie, that's YOUR opinion and you're entitled to think that..but if I'm shelling out bucks to see P live, then I WANT to see him wail on the guitar, play pretty stuff on the piano and pluck on the bass guitar. I play those instruments too and he's my musical hero.

In 86 he focused more on singing, dancing and just doing a whole "soul revue" type show. And back then I was a little let down. He did the same thing in 98.

And P and MJ have nothing to prove to me personally because they've done it all.They owe me (or anyone on this board) nothing.

krayzie said:

Dude seriously are you on drugs? It makes perfect sense, you just don't want to comprehend the implication.
You can find damn near anything you want on YouTube including, but not limited to a shit quality video of Prince, James Brownn and Michael Jackson on stage from like 1983 which has been posted on this very site ad nauseum but somehow nobody can find not ONE video of MJ playing an instrument?

I'm guessing it's not really his thing, but that he knows enough to get his ideas across. Btw, who needs instruments when you can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...vwwh8m9P9A

Or can compose demos like this on what - kitchenware?:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...CWJfzH6FDY




Random Edit:
[Edited 4/3/08 16:05pm]

SpcMs said:

Thanks for making my point in a way -- a video of him beat boxing
and a video pic collage with demo music attached... BUT no actual video of him playing an insturment. Or was that Mike on cowbell?

Ifsixwuz9 said:

well, at least here's a video of him (faking) to play the piano:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...dV7lKPRYOc

SpcMs said:

Ifsixwuz9 said:

Excuse me but first of all you don't find ANYTHING on youtube...

Number two there are tons of pictures of MJ playing instruments at various age...

Number three, they have been several people who have said that MJ can play instruments

Just because there's no footage on youtube doesn't mean he can't play instruments...



I've never seen Marvin Gaye playing deums, does it mean he can't play drums ???


That makes no sense...
[Edited 4/3/08 17:00pm]

but marving gay played as a session drummer first before he become known as a singer
on trouble man soundtrack most of the songs are instrumentals with marvin on keyboards and drums

sorry i meant marvin gaye

You guys do realise the voice is an instrument right? Arguable the most powerful instrument of them all capable of producing an array of different sounds and tones.

thebanishedone said:

OK, I'm gonna get my Marvin Gaye fan on but uh, not only was Marvin a capable drummer (he plays drums on the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" and Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips" - the live version that became a hit) and from what I heard he was the drummer on so many early Motown singles before he became a singer. According to Motown historians, Marvin not only co-wrote "Hitch Hike" but he also played drums and piano on that at the same time.

Marvin was a bad-ass at the keyboards though, that's where he really shined as far as his instrumentation went IMHO.

Michael Jackson, I think, can play drums, piano and percussion and probably RHYTHM guitar. I don't know why some believe he doesn't play instruments just because he doesn't do them live. I just think he thinks people would be bored if he played instruments. I know good well he was the Jackson 5's conga player at six, seven years old before he became the group's lead singer. I think his instrument of choice was percussion though.

why would michael think people would be bored if he play acoustic or electric guitar or keyboard on stage.
fan would be thrilled because its something they never seen him done it.

thebanishedone just out of curoisity, (& I'm not trying be a wise guy).. are you a multi-instrumentalist? Just asking because you always start these "how many instruments can.." threads.

krayzie said:

You might not have seen it, but we have. He played keys on stage as far back as the early '70s. In his autobiography he spoke about learning to play as a kid. A guy called Leon Austin gave him his first lessons, but he didn't have a piano to practice on, so he started sweeping out the local church so he could use theirs. After he'd done sweeping up, he would lock the door and practice for hours.


Timberlake has much more skill than Madonna. Like I said, he ain't no virtuoso but he played a variety of songs and chords in his concert, one time with no other accompaniment, so if a fan were to claim that he could play a little, I would accept it because I've seen it with my own eyes. I'm still waiting, after 38 years, to see some footage, somewhere, of MJ playing an instrument.

krayzie said:

Oh really? Care to name them for us. Can you produce the quotes? I'd love to see them.

midnightmover said:

It's painfully obvious that some people believe that MJ can play instruments even though NO ONE has seen it.

Graycap23 said:

hasn't this thread been done many times before?

SoulAlive said:

Has any verifiable proof ever been presented?

I'll say this: I think what people really wanna know is how good he is at any of the instruments he plays. At least I do. Of course he knows his away around a piano and has a good sense of theory. But how good is he?
[Edited 4/4/08 6:59am]

Adisa said:

No.....nor will there be any proof.

Graycap23 said:

Why bother with anything as boring as evidence? It's more fun to believe whatever suits you best. Don't be pedantic and start wasting time with logic.

midnightmover said:

A picture of Mj sitting in front of a piano is not proof enough? lol.....

Graycap23 said:

Exactly. Now you're getting the idea.

krayzie said:

Are you missing the point on purpose or what? I said with all the videos and stuff you can find on YouTube (and other free video sites) you would think someone, somewhere would have posted a video --not a picture of him holding one or sitting in front of one-- but a actual video of MJ playing an instrument.

Prove me wrong by posting a VIDEO of him actually playing an instrument LIVE either in concert or in a recording studio. And no, hearsay of him being able to play doesn't count. I want to see and hear him playing drums, keyboards, guitar, horns, violin, or something-- LIVE.

midnightmover said:

No doubt. Hey, if the MJ can play -- terrific. But I have yet to see evidence of such.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Ahhh. The Million Dollar Question. Or could it be that the thread title is a dead giveaway to someone actual profession offline who knows . You got to love the anonymity factor of the net.

I think that if you lock Michael Jackson in the studio alone with instruments absolutely NOTHING would happen.

Its not as if the man hasn't moved through a fortune larger than the gross national product of some small countries, and hasn't had access to the finest studios with the most coveted equipment in the world.

If he wanted to make music, then....I think he would. But he hasn't so that says to me that he obviously doesn't give a flip and is not interested. He records, then scraps and doesn't release. Who knows what that's about...

Players play. It doesn't matter if it's on a Casio keyboard from their toddler nephew or a Steinway grand. True musicians never seem to keep their hands off of any instrument in their sight, and are always tinkering with things or scouring for new stuff to test out and experiment with insofar as instruments and gadgets are concerned. There are other musicians who wait a zillion years between releases that still at least make "one-off" recordings and guest appearances. I guess it might be a combo of having to sing for your supper along with a NEED to create and record. But the point for me is you can see something demonstrative that says they WANT to make music. Again, players play. There's nothing about Michael that currently says this is a man who desires to make music so much you could lock him in a studio and he'd actually deliver something. Technology is as such these days, that he could record in a room in his house if he wanted to and not have to set foot into a formal tonstudio. The ability to record often comes down to drive and desire...he dosen't seem tohave much of either to me

The Whole "Composed Produced By" came from his hard on of Prince! EVERYONE Knows that! For Christ's Sake he bleached his skin to look more like Prince! "A/B" The Bad Era MJ with 1999/Purple Rain Prince.

MJ was trying to get Quincy & Others to take most-producer credit for Thriller and when the awards were coming out he wanted them to withdraw their names.
- It was in a book from his Manager or whatever. I forget the guys name. All you can correct me on that little thing that it wasnt his manager, blah blah blah or maybe it was? Who Cares it's in a Book released a few years ago.

MJ taking a liner note credit is a joke. If you have lets say 72 tracks to the board and you have a few guitars on a song, one of the tracks can be his in the background. It means nothing! Thats goes for the samething as "Producer" Sean Combs has done that for years! He will come in at the end and turn a knob or two and presto co-producer

MJ has performed as a solo artist for what 25-30 years. We had a full Victory Tour, A HUGE long long BAD Tour, Dangerous, History & 2001 MSG Shows. 100's of 100's of Concerts. Not one moment of him playing an instrument. I have seen a few of his shows and they are boring, he repeats the J5/Jacksons show with his solo music video performances live. Thats the whole show! He doesnt break it down, sit on a stool in the middle of the concert and do a little thing like Prince did on Musicology or even Janet has done for 10 years since Velvet Rope!

His ego is so big, if he could do anything more then lip sync/repeat music video steps. He would set up every instrument in a circle and then play one, then jump to the next one & so on! WE all would see this all the time. Everyone of his concerts needs a "musical moment" a break down, a slow down, a change of pace.

30+ Years of Performing and no instruments - rarely sings live. How amazing

- The closet thing I can remember is I believe in was 1992-ish when he had this guitarist with lights all over her and she had a huge blonde mohawk. While SHE was playing... MJ stood next to her and "played" air guitar

There you go, well hey he pretends to sing, why not pretend to play instruments too.

NDRU said:

Speaking about Elvis. This guy was 300lbs, wasted on drugs.. having half a shit hanging out of his ass.

Sang Live!

Watch that last concert, he forgets words, he is totally wasted. But his voice sounded great and he was 100% live. You cant say that with MJ for any of this tv performances! You cant say that for the 2001 performances and or for Motown 25 in his prime.