There are no “artsie” types in the family. Those genes seem to have gone latent in past generations. When one looks back in the family tree, one finds folks are into careers that require some sort of logical thought process: engineers. lawyers, accountants, doctors, that sort of thing. Singers ? Musicians?  Nah !

The follow-on generation seems to have improved on this somewhat. I have a son that took up the trumpet and some nephews and nieces playing piano, accordion and guitar. So all is not lost.

At the start of my secondary studies, I attended a boarding school. Looking for some extra curricular activity beyond the usual sports, I inquired about learning to play music. The only thing the school’s music teacher offered was the violin, which was about the worse thing  to propose. It conjured up the vision of me sawing away only to produce horrible whining sounds. I also dimly remember that also he wanted me to buy the thing. So I passed on that one.

I then tried the school choir but was told in due course I could not follow the score nor hold the tune. Then finally, there was the small matter of failing the music course in the 10th grade. At that point, I considered it best to leave the whole matter well alone. So it was back to hockey, reading and building model airplanes.

From time to time, I’ve considered taking up an instrument whose sound I liked (at least when played by someone that is real good at it : classical guitar, banjo, clarinet or saxophone). String instruments require a manual dexterity I don’t have. As for wind instruments, I never seemed to be able to get the breathing right.

That said, I do enjoy listening music quite a bit. And my interests are quite varied as can be seen in the section about the music I like.

So, a lifetime later or so, why do this (besides the fact that the wife wants a piano)?

Looking to learn something new?

Change of lifestyle ?

Satisfy a long latent urge ?

All of the above ?

Meh...Who cares ? Suffice to say that as a self employed consultant, I do have quite a bit of flexibility in the way I manage my time and do things I really enjoy. One lives only once, so might as well make the most of it..

How this web site works:

The Goals list what  I hope to achieve with all the effort and madness.

The Blog tries to keep a journal of this whole adventure.

The Studies are the pieces I am or have worked on over time with commentary about what was learned or the difficulties encountered.

The Take Aways tries to capture the salient points for this whole endeavour.

The Resources and Links provide a bibliography and external pointers for further reading and investigation .

Enjoy !

And ho, please feel free to send email with any remarks or suggestions you could have.

Marc Dufresne