Everything Bianca

I took piano lessons for 4 years and learned to play very well. I could play all manner of classical and popular songs. I could play an array of songs, but those four years of lessons never taught me the piano or musicianship.

What happens? If you tell me that something is in the key of A, Bb, or … anything. I have no clue what you're talking about. I never had a clue. I read about transposing a song from one key to another and my eyes glazed over in a second flat.

That's why I'm so… apprehensive about learning 'songs' on the guitar now that I'm teaching myself. That kind of knowledge is frivolous and fun - oh, most definitely fun, but fleeting. It teaches nothing.

I do not regret a single lesson I took in playing piano. I'm very grateful to my teacher for teaching me songs and keeping it fun. I composed all of 2 songs of my own while I played. I even fancied up my favorite song to play on piano - Carol of the Bells. There's merit to it. I enjoyed playing an instrument and piano so much that I would cry years later when hearing a beautiful piano song.
Actual spontaneous shedding of tears. I do not embellish. Why cry? I felt sad because I knew that if I were still playing piano I could play the song I was hearing.

That's why I took up guitar. A piano is big and expensive (well, anything I wanted was). I want to make music again, but this time, I want to learn something that teaches me about the instrument and music itself.

I know I'm good at playing songs. I've done it before. I could do it again.

I'm utter shit at improvising.
For now.

In other news... I have the every creeping suspicion that my guitar is too big for me, the action too high, the strings too hard. Whatever. It's me an Patience for 6 months. If I really do need a smaller / lower action guitar, I'm not going to get it until June. This is my rule to guard against my tendency to spazz - i.e. - I'm still not sure whether or not playing guitar is just a phase.

This time last year. I was making jewelry. In my beadweaving defense, kittens provided a barrier around setting up a workspace that I wasn't too enthused about working around. If I come into a rolltop desk, then maybe I'll make jewelry again.