ToneGym Hero: Benjamin Jack

A multi-instrumentalist with a passion for building instruments, arranging, and mixing, balances an impressive array of talents from piano to woodworking, all while aiming to push his musical boundaries and inspire awe in others. Benjamin Jack is this month's ToneGym Hero.

How did you first find your way into making music?  

At the age of 10 I was banging C chords on a piano (not being taught anything about chords, that was just the only thing that sounded good to me). I decided I wanted to learn to play piano, and began piano lessons. Six months later I started my second instrument, a flute variation called a fife, for a re-enactment marching band.

Now, seven years later I am a dodeca-multi-instrumentalist (I play 12 instruments), namely: piano, guitar, violin, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, dobro, fife/other flute variations, and mandolin, with less proficiency, I play the ukulele, accordion, banjo, and lyre. I also practice the drum set and other assorted percussion such as cajon and bodhran.

More recently I have branched out into not just performance and practice and have tried my hand at arranging, songwriting, recording, and mixing.

This last year I began mixing FOH for my church. In learning how much I did not know, I began a research binge that eventually led  me to SoundGym to train my mixing ears, which in turn led me to ToneGym last December(yay!) and later GuitarGym.

Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

I enjoy woodworking, especially woodcarving and lutherie. I have built a cajon and mountain dulcimer from kits, and have designed and almost completed building a piano dulcimer, which is a chromatic variation of hammered dulcimer.

What’s something you're surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?

I can juggle.

If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?

I would love to play in a giant jam session of the ToneGym community. You guys inspire me! 

What musical instrument do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable for you?

Choosing my favorite instrument is nearly impossible, but if I had to say, I would choose the human voice.

Although... The piano is my favorite instrument for music theory and solo performance, guitar is my favorite vocal backing instrument, violin is my favorite melodic instrument with dobro as a close second, and hammered dulcimer has the most “cool”/unusual factor and has a fun rhythm... In summary I love music in general, different instruments just are better for portraying different parts of it.

What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?

I have played piano for 30-45 min a day 6 days a week for 7 years straight. I am still taking piano lessons, and currently am reaping the rewards of constant practice, I recently have played some of the greats: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Mozart's Rhono Alla Turca and Fantazia in Dmin, Chopin's Raindrop Prelude, Scott Joplin's The Entertainer, Debussy's Dr Gradus ad Parnassum....

For the other instruments, I go through phases of practicing an hour a day for one instrument a few days in a row, although I do not practice every instrument every day. I can say though that very few days pass that I do not practice at least a half an hour, and my average is closer to an hour. I also play ToneGym contests many, many times a week (as fast as I can afford the contest fee)

Overall I just like to choose songs that inspire me and then play them on multiple instruments.

What keeps you motivated to continue making music?

The beauty of it, the feeling of awe it inspires in others, and the ability to worship my Creator.

What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?

Here I Am to Worship by Hillsong, although Celtic Worship’s version of the classic hymn Come Thou Fount would be a close second.

What's your favorite feature on ToneGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?

The contests are definitely my favorite. They encourage me to keep pushing the boundaries of what I know and can recognize in music. I also want to give a huge shout out to GuitarGym which took my guitar playing to the next level.

I also love discussing random things with the community, I have learned so much about music just reading through some of the amazing posts. The community here is awesome!

What’s something exciting you're working on or looking forward to?

Finishing building my Piano Dulcimer, and then recording it in the song that I am working on writing.

I am also planning to go to college next year for engineering in hopes of building audio equipment or being an acoustician.

I would love to win the ToneGym championship, and because I am currently a free member I only get 10 ToneCoins for each workout, and so I have to earn 800-1000 coins in contest prizes in one month

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