We bought the keyboard off the floor, saved ten or twenty dollars. It didn’t come with a music rest. Back then I was into everything folding up to nothing and being able to move without really having more “stuff.” So we already had a folding music stand and stood it behind the keyboard. That meant I had to sit in an uncomfortable chair and read music from the stand over the keyboard…
Yes, I was looking for an excuse. My first acoustic guitar teacher dumped me after three months with no explanation. I was a beginner and learning chords and my second teacher (all private one-on-one instruction) was a drummer who said basically who cares about the music, the beat is all there is. So I took a month off then quit. I never formally quit but I had quit in my mind months before.
It seems so simple and I was so happy with my first teacher who started with my influence on Dylan and Johnny Cash; then the second seemed so cool but it seemed all he wanted me to do was keep the beat and not learn basic chords after I’d already done a lot of learning on my own. The kicker was when he treated me like an eight-year old and told me to sit outside until he called me in. Every minute is a minute I pay for and when the room is dark I like to go in five minutes early and unpack and tune up so my lesson is a lesson. Every conservatory should allow space for this.
Music is important to me, it alway has been to my family as my father still plays the violin and piano and I’m just looking for some extra time and the right teacher to help me along. American Pie has been at the forefront of my music stand for a few months, backed up by some Dylan and Joan Baez (her chords are too complex for me now).
Here’s to whatever music works for you. Sorry that the latest incarnations of whatever the cool people used to call hip-hop don’t work for me. Don’t worry, they’re writing songs of love but not for me, so let’s get away from it all. Maybe the Isle of Capri? xoxo Dee
Cooking with Dee 