Can I go off topic here? This post has nothing to do with baking or dogs. I just felt led to share my musical testimony.
Music has always been a passion of mine and I love all kinds of music. Growing up, I was a huge fan of Huey Lewis and the News. In fact, it was their music and their drummer that inspired me to get involved. In my latter elementary school years, I took piano lesson from my aunt. I learned how to read music although I stunk at it. Still do. I understood the music theory I learned in a year and a half. I understood reading rhythm very well. I understood basic scales, chords and how to read symbols and notes on the staff. However, I couldn’t translate the notes from the staff to the keys fast enough to keep in time. I could play simple songs with A LOT of practice, even play a lot of familiar tunes but reading music at its necessary speed to sound good was just a struggle. My ear worked better than my ability to translate notes on a staff. As I stated before, I became interested in percussion because of Huey Lewis and the News. So, I signed up for band class my 6th grade year.
Yep, I was a girl, in the prime awkwardness of middle school, playing the drums. At this time, this was definitely a tomboyish thing to do. I didn’t care. OK, maybe a little. Deep down I knew there was something that I knew I needed to pursue.
So, I spent my middle school years dragging around a snare drum case up and down the middle school halls and drumsticks clanking around in my booksack. I named him “Leroy” (I don’t know why) and my mom hand painted the name on the front of the case. Yep, total cool girl points right there.
This drum thing was fun. It was easy. When it wasn’t, it was fun to learn how to fix it.
Fast forward to the summer of my eighth grade year. I was asked to be in the high school marching band. Woah! High school! Me? Wait, I’m not good enough to do that! (Nor am I in high school.) This was exciting yet extremely daunting. Here I am, barely 5 feet tall and being asked to play with high schoolers. My brother was already in the marching band and having been around some of the events, I knew how good our band was, especially the drum line. There was certainly a reputation of excellence and awards. I was intimidated and scared I wouldn’t be able to keep up and therefore ruin their history of superiority. Truly, I felt this was mine to mess up.
But I said yes.
And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Summer band camp was grueling. The summers were hot and wearing a snare drum on my shoulders for hours on end was heavy and exhausting. Friday night football games were fun except for wearing the band uniform. Award me extra awkward points for that super form flattering uniform. I sweated more than I ever had in my life but it was the best of times. Awesome relationships were made and memories I’ll carry with me forever.
In preparation for our set, I spent hours listening to my parts on tape and practicing in my bedroom on my practice pad. It was certainly not the middle school I had been playing. I listened and practiced all. the. time. I ate and breathed percussion. I loved what I was doing and I wanted it. I wanted to be good and I wanted to get better. I asked as many questions as I could and whenever I could. (Wayne, if you’re reading this, thanks for always being willing to stay after practice and help me get those drum licks down.
Turns out I didn’t screw things up too bad. We won every competition we ever competed in. First place finishes every time.
I played in the high school marching band until my junior year. During that summer, big things changed. Our band director, the heart and soul and foundational leader in my music career left to pursue a different career. Many graduated over the years or dropped out.
But I vividly remember the day I walked in to the band room the first week of summer camp. I was the new drum line captain. I had this uncomfortable and overwhelming feeling that something was off. During the week of rehearsals, that feeling intensified. Something just wasn’t right. It was wrong enough that I lost my desire to be there. I still wanted to play but I didn’t want to be there.
I don’t regret my decision to leave but I do regret not exploring other avenues to use my musical talent. Drum Corp was an option I had been encouraged to pursue but deep down I knew it wasn’t for me. I don’t regret that decision either even though I know it would have stretched me musically.
Life went on. I graduated high school. Then, I went to college and got a degree in Elementary Education. I taught in the public schools, got married and had 3 kids. After my first child was born we decided that I would stay home and raise our children.
When my second child was born, I had a nagging feeling to get involved in something that I was passionate about. I wanted to do something just for me. I remember praying, “Lord, give me something I’m good at and love to do.” Something other than changing diapers. Don’t get me wrong, I loved changing diapers. But I needed something just for me.
It never occurred to me music would make a return.
Then, out of left field came the idea of learning to play the guitar. I have never wanted to play guitar in my life until now. But hey, why not. I’ll just go get a guitar from a pawn shop or yard sale and see what I can do with it. It may or may not work.
When word got out that I was looking to try my hand at playing guitar, my brother-in-law decided to buy me one for Christmas.
Not just any guitar.
A Martin guitar. If you don’t know anything about Martin guitars, know that it is a huge name in the guitar industry. It was new and boy did it sound beautiful.
Well, I guess I gotta learn to play guitar now.
Being a mom of two young kids at this point made finding time to learn to play feel almost impossible. There were babysitters to be found, money to pay an instructor, and of course time to practice on my own. So, I decided to see how much I could teach myself. My friend Amber gave me a You-tuber’s name, which was fairly new at that time, and I started watching tutorials. From this video series, I expanded my knowledge of previously learned music theory. I bought books, sat on my couch and played and played and played.
I remember sitting in church one Sunday thinking, “I want to play for the worship team. I think I can do that. Maybe not today, but eventually.” It was overwhelming at times how much the music stirred my soul. I knew God have give me something and could use it. I’m no musical expert but I could give something.
A year and a half later I took a few lesson from my friend Amber and she told me of an upcoming opening in the worship team. A few months later and I was in!
I was mainly back ground noise then but I was ok with that. I needed time to refine not only my skill but also learn how to play with others. The people I played with were crazy talented. (Nathan, Cindy, Brent, Amber, that’s you). Again, it was intimidating, scary and felt like it was once again mine to mess up. Kind of like back in high school.
The story doesn’t end there. I got this crazy idea to learn to play the banjo, oh and maybe the mandolin too. Long story short, I acquired both and began teaching myself. Disclaimer: I learned the basics of both. I cannot pick a banjo like a real banjo player but I do know where the chords are and can lightly pick one. Same with the mandolin. I know the basics, that’s all. But when you know the basics of any instrument, there is a plethora of music that you can play!
Fast forward a few years and our church was in need of a piano player. I had no intention of being that person.
However, the story goes…
One night at rehearsal, we were in between songs, chit chatting, when I looked down at the next song’s chord chart, Great Redeemer. I thought to myself, I know how to play a C chord. I remember it from my piano days. I remember how play a G chord. Actually, it was a G7 but I remembered the You Tuber showing me what those kinds of chords meant and how to play them. I knew how to play all of the chords (there were only 4).
So, while people were talking I went over to the keyboard that no one was using, turned it on, and played every chord. Put a little rhythm to it and boom! My first song on the piano. They even let me play it that Sunday. After that it was easy to see that I could play a lot of songs just by using basic chords. I remembered scales so I had some knowledge of which keys I could use to sound a little more like I had been doing this a while. And using the pedal came instinctively. I never had to learn how to use it.
At first, I never played in flat keys. I didn’t know much about the left side of the circle of fifths. Although I am no expert at it, I can now. It only took one song, which was in the key of F (and one flat chord) and remembering how to build a chord, to show me that I knew how to figure this out.
Then there was another song with a different flat chord and then another. You get the point.
In Christ Alone was my big number that helped push me past my fear of playing in flat keys, It required a short key change at the end. Just enough to expose me to playing in a flat key, playing it in time and gaining confidence.
I never thought I would be making music again. I never thought I would be able to do the things that I can do now. It may not be much compared to some but it is a far cry from what I started with. Despite the hiatus, God took my desire and talent and blessed it tremendously.
My advice to anyone getting into music:
Practice (obviously).
Learn songs you love.
Learn something from every song, no matter how easy it is and even if you don’t like it. I still do this, even with songs I’ve played a thousand times. Maybe it’s a lesson in dynamics, a new rhythm, or knowing how to embellish the melody. It could be nailing down a difficult chord in correct timing or learning how to complement what your band mates are playing.
Or maybe its learning that you don’t have to play in every single measure. Layers in music is a good thing. Give your song somewhere to go. Don’t pull out every trick you got in the bag all at once.
If you got this far, thank you for reading this off topic bit about me. I still have a lot to learn and always will. Learning more about music brings me joy. This journey has been a God thing and I give all the glory to Him.
Casey
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