in 9th or 10th grade, i decided i wanted to play the drums. i managed to get a drumset together, since my parents were inclined to support my varied musical endeavors, thankfully. it was set up in the bedroom that my brother and i shared and i started to learn how to play drums. before i got a set, i used to play in the back of the band room before anyone got there. i’d just bang around a bit and imitate what i’d seen others do. my arms and hands were figuring out how the drums worked while i did this. then, i got some headphones and a tape walkman and played along with november by J Church until i learned some interesting things. i played along with every tape i ever owned and have tapped along with nearly every CD i’ve ever owned as well.

with piano, i’m not having such luck. tapping along or singing along with songs doesn’t really help figure out where notes are at or what chords feel like. however, i’m having some luck with covers. i’ve just been working on Jeremy Enigk’s canons, and in about 30 minutes, could manage to make my hands do the basic three-chord phrase (A – Bm – G, if you’re curious). then i upped the ante and made the left do the three-chord phrase as a bass line and figured out the guitar part as the right hand bit, albeit simplified a bit. basically, here’s where i’m at with piano playing: i can find notes in the chord without any difficulty, figure out the chord slowly, and do very basic two-hand stuff. if i’m going to really do this, what i need to do is play this thing every day for hours and hours until my hands know pretty much what they’re doing and i can play any basic chord (maj, min, maybe 7ths and some others occasionally) without thinking. but i’d still like to mess around using the power of multitracking and write stuff. i have some melodies wandering around in my head, but they’re so fleeting. i just wish i had more time.

it’s pretty clear at this point that rockstardom is beyond my grasp. however, i love the sound of this thing sometimes. and i’d absolutely love to write more songs. it just seems like such a mountain to climb at this point.

but then again, it’s summer starting tomorrow afternoon. and my time is my own. well, except for learning calculus, building a deck, fixing the roof, maintaining the house, building a closet, door and 1/2 bathroom, finishing the laundry room, doing the landscaping, helping with my dad’s house, building a new rally car, putting together the pieces of this puzzling life, getting less fat, finding time for adventures, branching out to new endeavors, etc. etc. etc.

my problem is that i have no dedication to a single thing. i’ve always been scattered and in love with everything. like hobby ADD or something.

on an unrelated note, i downloaded firefox 3. it’s pretty ok so far.

** Old Wordpress comments **

Jessie says:
July 4, 2008 at 2:08 pm
learn to play a guitar…

don says:
July 5, 2008 at 3:44 pm
the problem is, *everyone* knows how to play guitar. and i love the sound of rhodes electric piano. it’s a calling at this point. oh, you’re not talking to me.