Thursday 6 November 2008

New music

I'm learning to play the flute. For the longest time I've been wanting to learn an instrument that would be more portable than the piano. I played the clarinet for years, but I really wanted to learn something practical like the guitar (great for camping), or sweeping beauty like the violin, or delicate like the flute.

Well, a friend of mine mentioned she has two flutes, and graciously loaned one to me. And I am loving it!

The most difficult part is mastering how to blow air across the flute. My friend will drop in next week to pass on some advice, however it's really going to be just a matter of practice. Thankfully the fingering is close to the clarinet, so it didn't take long for me to pick that up. And because I already play the piano and clarinet, and have basic trumpet and saxophone, adding another instrument is easier than it sounds.

That being said, just to pat my own back a little, I was able to play a few songs during that first half hour of practice! And now after four days (I get about 10-15 minutes a day to practice) I actually have been through 15 or 20 different songs! Now, they aren't all perfect, but they all do sound recognizable. My dad walked in the other day (not knowing about my new instrument) and thought I had a friend over practicing a flute/piano duet (with me obviously on piano!).

I am glad that it did come so easy, however. Between the previous few moments of time to practice, and my natural weakness to give up on anything that doesn't come quickly (a character flaw common to most gifted learners, I've recently learned), I think if I wasn't getting any sound out of the thing yet I might not be as motivated to continue.

I hope to perform for a music number at church sometime in the future (that will still be a while away!), but for now I'm just absolutely loving the floating melodies filling the air.

2 comments:

heather80 said...

I also give up anything that doesn't come easily to me. I suspect that this is because, at the risk of sounded horrible, so many things have come easily to me. It's something I've worked on, as I got out into the real world and discovered that I am not as brilliant as I thought I was. I'm also stubborn, and that gets me through some things :).

Terri-Ann said...

I was surprised to learn that the "give up when something doesn't come easy because most things come easy" is a VERY common trait of gifted learners - so common that teachers are trained in how to help us "overcome" this. My friend taught in the gifted program, and she said that most of the training they get is NOT what to teach us, but how to help us in social and behavioural (etc) issues. It was very strange to hear an analysis of me, but also enlightening as I realized some very true facts about myself. Luckily the stubborness often comes with the quick learner, so that if it's something we really want to do, we can work through the early disappointments and persevere.