Project #3: Become a Famous Musician

Actually, I’d settle for being any type of musician. My only real qualification for this goal is that I can recognize a song when I play it. Oh sure, like anyone listening to his or her iPod while typing away in his/her cubicle, I have dreamed about my moment on stage belting out my latest heartfelt rock ballad from my best-selling album, but I’ll start small.

In my youth my Mom gifted me with piano lessons. (It was a gift. I remember enjoying the experience.) On one birthday I received a harmonica and, as I recall, thought I was terribly gifted at the time. I also had a brief run in with French horn in school band but that experience is too intertwined with junior high awkwardness to ever be mentioned again.

Otherwise, my musical experience has consisted of coveting others’ musical genius and dreaming of making something so enjoyable and stirring myself. In my favorite daydreams I strum my acoustic guitar over my morning coffee while humming my latest poetic folk song.

I blithely mentioned to my friend CiCi that I had always wanted to learn to play guitar. It’s the sort of thing you say after all. It ranks with, “I’ve always wanted to try acupuncture” or “I hear kayaking is fun.” You say things like that and the other person smiles and nods and the conversation continues. Except with CiCi. She started sending me community class schedules and suggesting where to look for cheap guitars online. Ludicrous, I know! I told my Dad about my crazy friend who actually expected me to act on a lifelong inclination, and he said, “You know I still have that old guitar. You could have it.”

What is up with the universe?! The very idea of just going out and learning guitar just because I want to and owning a guitar so I can learn and…what is going on?! I’m much more comfortable with just talking about these things and the universe expects me to act?

If that weren’t enough, my other friend Rae has a fiancé, Ess, who turns out to be an actual musician. He not only taught himself guitar but can actually play music on a guitar! He restrung and tuned my out-of-nowhere free guitar in his spare time just ‘cuz. He told me my guitar (he actually referred to it as “your guitar” like I owned a guitar or something) had a nice sound. Rae lent me a chord bible and Ess suggested I get a songbook and practice. Practice. Practice. (Apparently, this is the solution to everything.)

So, here I am with a guitar, a guitar bible, a songbook, and a desire to be a musician. I think I’ll teach myself to play guitar.

What do you think? Two weeks?