Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of GrandmaMaryRocks.com

July 25, 2009 – We always make excuses for not learning a new skill. If it’s not “it’s too hard” or “I’m not built for that”, it’s “I’m too young” or “I’m too old”. Many who don’t play instruments will say to me, “I wish I knew how to play piano, but it’s too late”. That’s just absurd. Anyone can learn how to play no matter how old, and everyone deserves to have that enjoyment if they so wish.

I think the issue may be that as we get older, we see how far others have come and we expect that if we achieve anything less, we will have failed. Unlike children, our fear of failing in the future dictates how we act in the present. For music, it’s all about experience. If a person has played for 10 years and has considerable skill, then we shouldn’t expect to become as good in a year. We shouldn’t also even care about how good someone else is in relation to ourselves. Why would you want to play music, to enjoy yourself, or to impress that person?

Playing and creating music makes me happy and I want other people to experience it in the same way I do. I’m happy to teach people how to play an instrument, write music, or record it; the more people who can experience music in those ways, the better. On somewhat of a tangent, there are many out there that try to keep things secret because they don’t think other people are deserving of the same skills. Many audio forums are filled with trolls who may make things seem harder and more complicated than they are, just so they look like an expert. We’re all students of music; nobody has nothing left to learn.

Okay, back on topic. The reason I am writing about all this is because I watched a video yesterday of an older woman playing her first blues song on guitar (video embedded below). If that doesn’t eschew stereotypes, I don’t know what will. She proves that the only thing preventing you from learning an instrument is yourself. Who cares if you aren’t the next Elton John? I guarantee you that if you put in the time, it will bring you more enjoyment than you could possibly imagine.

Grandma Mary Rocks