I ran across an interesting article online entitled “Love for making music hits high note in recession”, published by Reuters news service, which I found to be very thought-provoking: http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE53R2B320090428. It centers around the growing popularity of musical instruments, despite the current sucky economy. Listening to music has always been a popular pastime, but more and more people, it seems, are wanting to learn how to play. Learning to play, even passably, offers significant benefits. People find that playing a musical instrument can be a relaxing experience, citing the sheer joy they get from playing, with or without an adoring audience, how it is a means of expressing creativity, the social aspect of it, and learning musical theory, which can improve one’s intelligence.

In light of the article's premise, I can relate on many levels. This is because I own enough instruments to outfit a complete band. The problem is, with rare exception, I have never stuck with one instrument long enough to really get much satisfaction out of it, let alone master it. I own a classical guitar, a Casio keyboard, an African djembe, a set of bongos, two harmonicas (one diatonic, the other chromatic), a tambourine, and a set of finger cymbals. Sad to say, I don't play any of them very well. My very first instrument was the diatonic harmonica, which I bought back in the mid 80’s. It came with an instructional book and audio tape. It was produced by Klutz, which I thought was very fitting at the time. With practice, I was soon able to play “Oh, Susanna” fairly decently. Could not get the note-bending technique to save my life, which I longed to do since I wanted to be able to play blues. But I continued playing it off and on anyway, and later purchased the chromatic harp for a song (pun very much intended!) Also bought an instructional book for the chromatic, but never got very far with it. Only pulled it out every now and then when the feeling struck.

I bought the guitar from a co-worker back in the late 80’s, because he was struggling financially with the birth of his first child, and I was trying to help him out. Like me, it’s Mexican, and I love the way it sounds. I have taken several beginning classes for it.  Been playing it off and on ever since. Although I can play an impressive little lick from “Malaguena”, I still cannot play one damn song in its entirety. Why? Because I’m challenged when it comes to forming certain chords correctly, or worse, when it comes to changing from one chord to the next. Lame, lame, lame. However, I can play single notes with a bit more ease. But in either case, my fingers get sore after only 15 minutes or so.

I later picked up the bongos at a garage sale. I monkey with them every now and then. I think the keyboard came next, maybe about 10 years ago. I have practiced “Ode to Joy” and “Amazing Grace” until the cows came home.  Can’t seem to play much else. I’m not going to divulge how I got the tambourine, for fear of incriminating myself.

The djembe happened to me maybe about 8 years ago, when I joined in my church’s drum circle. I was instantly smitten. Surprisingly, my relationship with this instrument faired much better. I caught on quickly, and before I knew it, I was invited to join an all-female group. We practiced fairly regularly, and we had a kick-ass leader, whose playing was on par with Sheila E. herself. I can say this because Sheila E. showed up to our leader’s performances on Venice Beach, on two different occasions. So yeah, I got pretty good, if I do say so myself. With the neighborhood’s blessings, we were able to rehearse on a fairly regular basis, then started performing in public. This went on for about a year and a half, after which our group disbanded, due to some infighting (I know, with all them female-types, how odd that we lasted as long as we did!). Later, I was invited to join another group, co-ed this time, but which also had a female leader. Turns out the two leaders were rivals. Not that that mattered much. They had their individual styles, and both were great. Unfortunately, I had to give this one up because there was a fee involved, and I was broke and out of work (how some things never change!). But I would continue playing, off and on, at least for awhile.

The finger cymbals (or more accurately, zills) I bought to accompany my bellydancing, which I started doing about five years ago. I’m also fair to middlin’ on them. I have an instructional DVD to help guide me along in the process. They’re a lot of fun, but they’re meant to be an accent piece, as opposed to my other meatier instruments. I mean, no one goes to a bellydancing show just to hear the zills being played, do they?.

I also sing, and the human voice technically qualifies as an instrument. This I’ve been doing since as far back as I can remember. Sang in my high school choir, at church, and have been singing karaoke since the 80’s. I’ve taken a few classes, and had one notable private lesson with a well-known backup singer and vocal coach. Not to toot my own horn too much (note that it's one of the few instruments I don't actually own, at least not currently!), but I probably sing better than I play any of my instruments. This is most likely because I sing more often than I play. Although I am my own worst critic, I’ve received fairly positive feedback, for the most part.

But getting back to the main topic of discussion. So why own all those instruments if I’m barely playing any of them? Well, the best explanation I have is that I cannot let go of my dream of being a proficient musician. Yet I realize that without devoting consistent time and effort into study and practice, my dream may never come to fruition. Therein lies the rub. There just never seems to be enough time. Got bigger fish to fry, as they say. But to allow those instruments to sit and collect dust is no answer, either. Especially when considering that there are many folks out there who long to learn to play an instrument, but cannot afford the high-ticket price tag that instruments are known to carry. The other hindrance for me is lack of privacy. I don’t like to practice, knowing that I may be disturbing others, and/or invoking their judgment (as in having someone shout at me “you suck!”, to which I retort with “you’re right, but only when I play the harmonica, you a$$hole!).

So if, like me, you own a musical instrument and aren’t playing it, first of all, for shame, and second, like the Nike commercial says, “Just Do It”. Come on, what are you waiting for? I mean, the more you play, the better you’ll get, doubtful you’ll get any worse, right?

And if you need any more incentive, I’ll leave you with this little bit of inspiration, credited to Max Lucado: “There are certain things you can do that no one else can, things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them. In this great orchestra called life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to yourself to play them both SUBLIMELY”.