Thanks to other posters for sharing the cool links above.
When I was maybe 8 or 9 I had clarinet lessons, and ended up as 1st clarinet in the school band. But I wanted to play with my friends in the woods more than practicing at that time, so I quit the band. When I was 17 my brother gave me his old guitar, but I was still not in a disciplined space to practice and get good, so I dropped it.
When I was 20 I was collecting tons of music and was just so in love with music, and fortunately was not in love with a partner so I had plenty of time on my hands (a good relationship needs time!) so my compulsion to play finally overtook me and I hunkered down to play guitar. In another thread the song Grantchester Meadows is mentioned. That was the song I learned guitar with - not finger picked, but strummed. I played that sucker TO DEATH, and at some point it felt good and sounded good. I then added songs and gradually built a repertoire.
I still have many distractions in life, not the least of which are a loving relationship and listening to the amazing output of professional musicians, but the ability to sit down and make a joyful sound from a musical instrument is something I very much treasure, and I would recommend it to any music fan. It's a bit of a chore at first, but you only ever have to please yourself, and feeling fluid with that first song was such a thrill.
Music is just such a core part of my life. Could any of us imagine life without it?
but still... (do you have any grey poupon?)
