A Slice of Life …with Andi Joseph: It’s never too late to learn to play a musical instrument – I hope
Click HERE to read stories published in the May 29 – June 11, 2019 issue of Gilroy Life
How many Gilroy residents have a special musical talent? Do you play an instrument, or perhaps a litany of instruments? Can you sing? If you don’t do either of those, perhaps you have rhythm and can dance — even when everyone’s watching.
Me? Well, I was never blessed with any sort of musical talent — at least one that I know of. I can barely carry a tune, but I played the mandatory recorder like a pro in elementary school.
I toyed with my paternal grandparents’ piano as a child, and often playfully strummed my maternal grandpa’s guitar. I never took any music classes; never tried to become part of my schools’ bands. My parents offered to get me piano lessons as a pre-teen, but I was a shy kid and the idea of going to a stranger’s home gave me anxiety, so I declined.
And boy, I sure regret it. I love music and singing (terribly), I love instruments, and I’m often awed by people who have a talent for any of that.
But I don’t need to regret it. Why not awe myself a little bit and see if someone really can teach an old dog new tricks?
So earlier this month I reached out to a former colleague of mine — a woman with many talents. She’s a mom, a Marine, and an entrepreneur who plays multiple instruments.
Though she hasn’t offered music lessons in a long time, she agreed to set aside some time — and patience — for me.
Although she plays a variety of instruments, her specialty is flute. She offered to let me learn on one of her “extra” flutes, and starting soon, she’s going to attempt to share her knowledge and help me learn the fundamentals of music.
I’m super excited to give it a shot. I’ve purchased a cheap music stand and manuscript paper, as suggested by my teacher.
Will it take? Your guess is as good as mine. But one thing I’m certain of is that there will be no regrets this time around — on my part anyway. (My teacher may regret it, but if she tires of me, her husband plays a number of instruments too, including saxophone — which is one of my favorites!)
If I’m a quick study, maybe I’ll become one of those musical people I’ve always admired so much.
And if not? Well, I think I still have my 35-year-old recorder from elementary school that I can fall back on.
Andrea “Andi” Joseph worked in newspapers for 18 years before transitioning to her current career as a website content writer and marketer. She lives south of Gilroy with her dogs, Bailey and Cricket. Email her at [email protected].