Journal Jar #2

Q: Have you ever played a musical instrument or taken lessons? What instruments did you always want to play?

A: Yes, I've taken piano lessons... way back when I was a kid. I don't remember how old I was, but I know it was before we moved, so my best guess is that it was in Elementary School. I took lessons from a lady at church, Sister Clark. She was very talented. I remember that my mom took piano lessons from her too. My mom had always wanted to learn how to play the piano and never had the opportunity as a kid. I honestly can't remember if my brother took lessons, too. I think he did, but I don't think it lasted very long. I can't even remember how long I took lessons. To me, it felt like years... I think it was at least 2-3 years because I did come away with a pretty strong knowledge of chords, keys, etc.... I do remember that I HATED recitals. I would be on the verge of throwing up every time I had to preform. Even when I had my song perfected, I would freeze up in front of a crowd and fall apart. Over the years, people have made the mistake of asking me to play at church when the pianist wasn't there. Big mistake! For one thing, I only know a handful of hymns and I can't learn one on the fly. I CAN'T sightread at all. It takes me weeks of dilligent practice to learn a song. In addition to that, I can't accompany people. When I start to play, I'm usually okay, but the minute people start singing, I fall apart. I haven't learned how to skip a mistake and keep playing. I always have to fix the bad note to move on. It's not perfectionism either... the way that I memorized music as a kid involved motion memorization. If I wasn't on the right note to begin with, my hands couldn't move to the next note correctly. Weird, I know, but that's just how it is! I've tried to learn new songs as an adult and I can't seem to learn music any other way....

There are a couple instruments I would like to learn... we got Taylor a guitar for Christmas a couple years ago and I'd love to teach myself to play it. My dad has given me a little bit of help, but I just don't have the time to sit and dedicate to it. When I'm older and have more free time (not sure if that will ever happen!) I'd love to learn to play the harp. In Dublin, I knew a family who had two harp players... it was the most amazing thing to listen to!