piano lessons

If there's one immutable fact in my life it's that I suck at the piano. I've been "learning to play" the piano for about 18 months, on and off. I take lessons from a friend who's a music genius of some sort. He teaches guitar and bass for a living, but is great (so far as I can tell) at the piano as well. Listening to him (or anyone else) play is both depressing and inspiring. Depressing because I know that it took me 2 weeks to pick-up the "my-first-Sony" version of "Rock-a My Soul"; inspiring because I figure I have the rest of my life to get as good as the player I happen to be listening to.

Alas, sometimes it's hard to ignore the fact of how uneasily it all comes to me. Over and over I play the same measure, always being sure to vary my errors. It's rather like watching a kid learning to ride a bike. He falls and falls, bashing his head into the cold, hard cement, skinning his knees and hands, bleeding profusely. You can't help but laugh and think to yourself, "Maybe it's better for him to give up. We all can't be bike riders, you know. Look at China. All those bikes, pandemonium really." But I'll be damned it that stubborn little bastard doesn't keep after it and eventually ride that fucking bike.

Duly inspired, I press on. Maybe I will post on it from time to time. But wow, that would be dull.