Re: Subject: [Harp-L] Time Required to Study the Musical Instrument

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Jun 10, 2014, at 5:11 PM, Eliza Doolittle wrote:

> Are keyboards faster to learn than other instruments?

No. Some people are good with some instruments and terrible with others. And vice versa. For example, I can't get fingers on two different hands to work together. I can't even chew gum and walk at the same time. Yet I am ambidextrous otherwise. With writing, tools, etc.   
 
> It all depends on the level of proficiency you want to reach. A very basic level can be reached faster than for, say, violin or French horn. In that sense, it may be more or less like harp. But playing the piano really well can take decades.

Horns cannot be compared to violins. Vocal people are better with horns, crafty people with golden hands better with strings. 
> 
> This is not easy, and most players never get proficient enough to play it properly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWyE3CxONrk
> 
> However, not everybody needs to reach these levels. Why should they?
> 
> This is very basic, and I'll give a black eye to anyone that says it is bad playing ;-) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXYX-drQWQk
> 
> I know many people who boast 'I can play the piano' or 'I can play the guitar' when they can only play two songs with each instrument, and rather clumsily. In some cases, I think 'Great!', and in others 'If you call that playing an instrument, then I can play ten instruments'.

BUT, when viewing the great scheme of things the key word here is 'playing'. I mean I can play Russian roulette. Shooting myself in the head is another matter. At that point I quit playing. So, I always felt that the proper wording for the people of which you just spoke should be: "I play AT violin", or "I play AT piano". And there are a lot of those. lolol

> It depends, more than anything, on the attitude with which they claim that they can play an instrument. People who can play just a little, enough to have a great time and to fulfil all their needs, and are conscious of where they are, are all right for me. But I cannot put up with bigheads.

Lot of those around too. lolol. 

smo-joe  ( When Stanley found Livingston, he was sitting by the river...with smokey joe. Yes, SJ is the most unforgettable character you will ever meet.) 

> I will never look down on anyone because the instrument they are playing is -apparently or not- easier than others, or because they are playing it worse than others. But I don't like boasters around me, if possible.
> 
> Eliza Doolittle