Well, kind of. I started playing electronic keyboards in the sixth grade. In high school, I got a piano. I was mostly drawn to all forms of electronic music, especially Pop, New Age, and the kind of stuff you hear on television shows and movies. Before college, I spent a lot of time working with MIDI sequencing. Some of my favorite keyboard artists at the time:- Wendy Carlos, Switched on Bach
- Richard Wright of Pink Floyd
- George Winston, December
- Harold Faltermeyer, "Axel F"
- Art of Noise
- Kitaro
- Shadow Fax, Folksongs for a Nuclear Village
- Chick Corea, Eye of the Beholder
- Eddie Van Halen, "Jump" and "I'll Wait"
- Herbie Hancock, "Rockit"
- Jan Hammer, "Miami Vice Theme"
I wasn't a very good sight reader. I loved making things up, applying theory, and playing by ear. I had many piano lessons. I usually only practiced the day before.
I ended up getting a Jazz/Classical scholarship to be a piano performance major at the University of Kentucky. In college, I was a little better about practicing, but not much. I studied Jazz with Orville Hammond and Classical with Patricia Montgomery. I played in the rhythm section of the Jazz orchestra, accompanied a vocalist, and played in a number of combos. I was learning a lot but having less and less fun. The dulcimer was getting most of my attention. By the middle of my Junior year at U.K., I was no longer a music major. I still enjoy playing from time to time, mostly with my Father-in-law, Dale Poteet or with my wife and children. Someday, I'd love to get better at sight reading piano music. |