[Harp-L] re: a good musician

["Daniel Perrone" <dany_perrone@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rainbow Jimmy wrote:

"Also, get out and play with other people. Music is a language. It's meant to
be performed. It's the interaction of many people which makes it different
than any other art form I can think of"

Amen to that. I firmly believe that music is a language, a way to communicate and express yourself with others. Just as a child learns to talk we should teach them music in a fun way.
I think in modern society we have come, a bit too much , to rely on others making the music for us, we are passive listeners . After all, music is in the elevators, at Wal-Mart, your ringtone, when you boot up your computer, you iPod can load hundreds of music hours etc. Only a few generations ago you had to either make your own music or travel to a place to listen to it.
 I regret that for a long time I did not think it was worth it to make my own music. I had a bad experience learning music as a child. At 14 I was sent to boarding school very far from home. My parents enrolled me in the music conservatory ( on top of all the regular classes that I was taking). It was very overwhelming for me. I dreaded the music building and the long classes of theory and solfege. I begged my parents to pull me out and my situation got to the point where the school preceptor advised my parents to pull me out of music classes. I then decided to let others make the music for me. After all there are hundreds of pros out there, incredibly talented , to listen to. right?. Well , yes, but not quite. I am grateful for the pros that make amazing music, music  I could never make, but that does not mean we should not make our own. 
 For me, harmonica has brought the fun to music, and I am very grateful for that. Pity that I came to realize this at 40 and wasted so many years. 
 Just the other day, an older guy, a guitar player invited me to jam with him. What a fun !!!!!