A Truly Humiliating Experience

I'm grateful to author, Mary Rowen for including my guest post in her Music Tuesday blog series yesterday.

I am not a music person. My office is silent when I plan classes or grade papers. I don’t plug my ears with earbuds when I walk. NPR plays on my car radio. When I write, I prefer to hear the words in my head. Should I write in a public place, the music must be loud enough to drown ambient conversations. And though there are musicians I appreciate and enjoy – Dylan and Cohen, Marley and Cliff, Muddy Waters and Louis Armstrong – when I listen, I want to listen. I’m not fond of background music. Our home is a quiet place.

In my teen years, I attempted to teach myself folk guitar. Didn’t we all? Wasn’t that the thing in the 1970s? I didn’t get far. I lacked both patience and a singing voice to accompany the guitar. “My bags are packed, I’m ready to go …” was such a disappointment to my own ears, I gave up.

Still, when my daughter began kindergarten, I was convinced of the importance of a music education, and Erin started piano lessons. Read more . . .