Why take up something at age 50 that I quit at age 12? Why quit a career and spend my life savings on cooking school. I’ve done both.
Yes, I wonder why. Cooking is a no-brainer. I love sitting at table and having conversations with family and friends. I enjoy being the “mom” who takes in “orphans” for Christmas dinner. I love reading and collecting cookbooks and using that knowledge to be a comfort to others. While I was trained in classic French cuisine, I tend to do more Mediterranean foods of Italy, southern France, and Greece. Fresh, great ingredients and don’t mess with them too much.
It’s not that I’ve become the Julia Child or Hubert Keller of the kitchen, of that I’m certain, but I’m confident there as long as the only dessert is ice cream with raspberry coulis or a trifle.
Music is different and I’ve been having a hard time of it the past few months as I took up acoustic guitar. It’s unfamiliar territory and while I have a good ear, according to Dad, guitar is different. One friend, PDXKnitterati (see blog list) asked whether I wanted to play the guitar to play the guitar, or to play the guitar to sing. My new teacher told me my left hand is my band, the right hand is my rhythm section and that I’m the vocalist.
This week I’ve thought a lot about it as I figure out a couple of key songs. I don’t want to just play the guitar or piano. I want to tell a story. It’s all about the lyrics when it comes to rock/pop/country/folk music. It would be great if I learned to write my own songs, but for now there are much better people out there to learn from. Just as in cooking. It’s a joy just to learn (not to practice, sorry K).
It got to the point that I hear songs in my head (even in my dreams) and want to learn to play them. Not for an audience, OK maybe Jim and Zoe, the dog. I have to thank several people for promoting an interest in music: my father (and his father, who died shortly before I was born); all my music teachers in grade school, middle school and high school; singer/songwriter Juni Fisher (www.junifisher.net); Douglas and Korky; and my husband Jim who plays the keyboard every morning before work, mostly doorbell sounds that irritate the dog.
Don’t worry, I’ll keep cooking. Perhaps next week when the weather turns cooler I’ll try a cassoulet. Check out cassoulet on WordPress.com and you’ll find I’m top dog there. Oh, the writing will continue as well. Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 
Frank Sinatra had a voice. He didn’t play an instrument or write his own stuff. He didn’t need to. Tommy Dorsey taught him how to phrase the music (breathing techniques) and Nelson Riddle did his arrangements. We’re left with a legend. Dee
Ah, so you want to be Joni Mitchell-Keller. I think that’s a great goal. I was a very serious musician (cellist) until my second year of conservatory, at which time I basically had a breakdown, bailed, and went to “normal” college to be an English major. When I play now it is just for the love of it, not competition or money, and it feels much better. As for your cooking, from what I’ve read, it won’t be threatened by a little guitar time.
I hope that was meant in a good light, and not that my cooking and blog are horrible!
All I really want to do is be able to sing and play with family and friends. It’s not as if I’m going to become a world-class musician at age 50! Dee
DH played the guitar to play the guitar (rhythm for gypsy jazz, mostly). I play the guitar to sing!
I was just reading an interesting thread about improvisation. The pianist said that he doesn’t improvise when he plays the piano, but he does when he cooks. I’m the same way. I think it has to do with how you learned to do either. Piano is something read off the sheet music (or learned by combo of listening & reading); cooking was always improvised by my Dad. I’ll improvise in the kitchen without a care. Not on the piano. You have to know a lot of theoretical fundamentals before you can improvise.
People who play piano by ear amaze me!