I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

Have you ever tried to learn how to play a musical instrument? Perhaps you've tried, or in fact, play a few. Can I ask you to think back to that first instrument and those first lessons. Probably, you were a youngster at the time, but if you think hard you can recall how you struggled to understand this new gadget and how it worked. Forcing yourself, perhaps, to make your fingers do things that were not normal or natural. Trying this and trying that, never quite being able to do what the teacher asked, dealing with the confusion of reading music, and no matter how hard you tired, it never came out prefect and it was always a little off. At the least, it was frustrating right? Now if you never had any issues like that and just picked up the instrument and started playing, please skip the rest of this post and move along. Please also do not introduce yourself to me if our paths cross. I don't want to know you. You are a freak.
 If however, you have suffered in some manner as I have described, please do read on.
 I began learning to play an instrument just a little over 2 years ago, at age 56. The background I will leave for another story. I started on the 5 string banjo, but after a year, moved to the mandolin, hoping to gain a little more skill and understanding before going back to the banjo. I haven't gotten back there yet, but I am working on it. One thing I am fairly proud of is that I have been consistent in my practice. I put in at least an hour a day with 20-40 minutes at lunch time and another session in the evening. On the weekends, I can get in more and try to break it into 1/2 hour sessions with 10-15 minute breaks. Sometimes I can do this for a few hours. The fingers are tuned such that there is no pain, just weariness and when I get tired and make lots of mistakes, I take a break, then try again.
 I learn VERY slow, but the persistence seems to pay off and I can hear progress. I have about 5 tunes that I can play well enough to enjoy myself and I would consider only one of them a beginner tune. I play that one because I love it so and it gives me peace. Ashokan Farewell has much significance for me and it gets played a few times a day.
 The tune I am working hardest on is Opus 57, written by David Grisman back in the mid-sixties (there's another story in there I might share at another time). David pretty well rips along on this one and plays at a speed which approaches over 200 beats per minute. I'll never hit that speed, but if you can play it at 180 or so, it sounds pretty good. I have been working on this tune for about a year now. I play it for up to 40 minutes a day working on speed, tone, and accuracy. Mostly it's the accuracy that kills me. Whenever I get it up to a good speed, my accuracy and timing go all to hell. It's frustrating, but I keep at it. Now, to be sure, I have bitten off a big  chuck here to take this tune on as a beginner, but because the tune is significant to me I work especially hard at making it happen.
 Here's a video of the tune as David and his group played it right around the time I began working with it. You can skip to the 2:30 minute point to catch it exactly where I pick it up with the same intro:

 

As I said, I'll never hit that speed. My goal is to play it well and fast, just not that fast, but fast enough to be able to try it with my favorite banjo player.

 So last night I was practicing, and here's the part all my fellow frustrated students will appreciate:  I got it rolling along and wasn't making any mistakes. The timing was fairly good, I didn't miss any notes, I didn't miss any frets. Sure, some of the notes blurred and the tone wasn't very smooth, but the melody came through and there were no hesitations. It was bliss as I was screaming along at a blistering pace without feeling all tensed up and the melody was coming though. I felt empowered, like I could do no wrong and it was grand!

 I tell you, in the entire 2+ years I have been working, that was the best minute and a 15 seconds I ever had.

Keep the beat,

Tom