On a train to New York, I saw a man unpack a portable electric guitar, assemble it, plug earphones into it, and begin to play. He was sitting at the window with two people packed next to him. No one heard a sound.
On the way out of the train, I asked him how long he’d had the instrument. “About a year,” he said.
“Are you a professional?” I asked.
“No, I’m a lawyer.”
I said I was a crude folky taking lessons, and he said he was taking lessons too—in jazz. I told him I was self-taught, and only now realizing how complex music is.
He looked at me. “Welcome to the game,” he said.
He got 45 minutes of practice on his morning commute, and 45 going home. That’s an hour-and-a-half of practice for a guy who has a law practice, a family, and a jones for music.
Music is a communication skill. So is speaking. If you’re not practicing, someone out there is, and when you meet that person, she will win.
Welcome to the game.