Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Self-taught musicians

Today I discovered two very different self-taught musicians on YouTube videos.

The first is "Nora, the Piano Playing Cat". Some of the "licks" (pun intended) she plays actually sound quite modern. According to the person she lives with, she began playing on her own. She does seem to enjoy playing, preferring the mid-range notes. Her performance has encouraged many other cats to post their videos.

The second musician is twelve-year-old Conrad Oberg. Born in the summer of 1994, he taught himself to play piano (at age 2) and guitar (at age 10) and has been playing live concerts since he was 4. Quite an accomplishment on its own; all the more so since Conrad was born prematurely (3 1/2 months early) and has no eyesight in his left eye and only 15% of the vision in his right.

What in the world do these two have in common? Music, practice, and following their bliss.

What can I learn from this? Don't be hesitant to pursue the activities that utilize my talents and abilities. I may never be famous, but I'll enjoy my life a lot more!

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