What a great place to share how you are enjoying your keyboard and your music. To tell your story--which is always our favorite subject.

Let me be the first.

I have played professionaly for many years. A wife, home, and four children have made dollars important. I have looked for the best paying jobs I can find. $$$$$always decided where and when I played. First came the almighty dollar, then came my love for music.

I am about ready to turn 72, and I sadden when I think about my playing career coming to an end. But---there has been a change in my thinking, a revelation.

I am now playing for the love of it---playing and enjoying. I am playing anywhere form a backyard party to a nursing home. I've seen pictures of a man carrying a guitar on his back ready to play anywhere, anytime. No thought about dollars, just playing for the love of it. That is going to be me.

The last four jobs have been without pay and I had a beautiful time, I throughly enjoyed every minute of it. One mic,one keyboard and stand, and one amp---and no thought about perfection--Wow--how nice.

God is good, John C

Good story John As far as playing publicly is concerned, It's always been my philosophy that when I stopped enjoying playing, or played purely for the ‘Buck’ , then I would stop playing publicly. I have always regarded myself as a purely amateur musician and any payment received was secondary to the sheer enjoyment of playing, either solo, or as a member of a group. Any cash received, was useful to pay expenses like travelling and ‘essential liquid refreshment’ during the gig, but for me, has never yet been the sole reason for playing.

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Willum

Hey John C (bruno 123):

Your Forum messages are always such a delight to read and respond to, but today I must scold you slightly! Although I am just an amateur and play strictly by ear, I can understand your professional attitudes, and those I accept. (We all had to make a living one way or another.) But it is the age thing that bothers me: so you are 72!!!! Big deal!

Look at it this way, John, you are 72 and ALIVE, and still able to make beautiful music (at least on your keyboard ). Age, my friend, is a quality of the mind! Would you believe I only found out about my musical "talent" and "ability" when I was 62!!!! And it was by accident that I found my first keyboard--a Technics 5000! Won't bore you with the details, but these past 10 years have been some of the most productive and happiest of my entire life. (As you might have guessed, we are now age-contemporaries! ) So, whether you play as an amateur, like me, or professionally, the joy is in playing and knowing the incredible pleasure all these magic sounds combined can provide us, emotionally, mentally and, yes, even physically!

So, play on, John!!!! And keep those wonderful messages coming to us all on the Forum. I have learned so much from you (and all my other Forum buddies) here that I could never even begin to thank you all enough. How right you are that this place is the greatest!

Ain't life--and especially the life of music--GREAT!!!! [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/smile.gif[/img] [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/cool.gif[/img]

Ted

[This message has been edited by Ted Rose (edited 09-07-2003).]

[B]What a great place to share how you are enjoying your keyboard and your music.

Bill,Your choice to play for the enjoyment was a good/wise one. Would you share the manor in which you are receiving this enjoyment? How does it come? When you do what? Please share.

Your friend, John C.

Ted, AMEN---You are so right, it took me a little while to get past me. I have been making the changes in me with help from the good book, it helps me when I can only see the point-of-view that I grew up with. One more AMEN!

Your words are good, and they come with WISDOM. Thanks, John C.

John, Ted, Bill, and Many Others of you that will post to this topic.
You are a joy to me, and I look forward every day to reading and studying your wisdom. My learning curve is not composed solely of the new keyboards wife Jann is always buying me but also to developing wisdom to overcome 72 years of developing attitudes about many things. I am gaining thanks to you my friends and to my best friend, Jann my wife.
I had a great hatred of music for many years of my life. My dad made me practice many hours a day from age 5 through 12. At age 12 I switched from Piano to Horns and life got better. I did a lot of gigging in bigger and bigger bands, as I bummed around the country. I doubled on piano and horns and also played accordion and organ and guitar just to keep from being hungry too long. Going through college, I played 6 nights a week at a piano bar. I really hated it even more. I spent 30 years building 5 companies and never played a note. I then begin to like music again by just listening to it.
I retired and Jann bought me the first Technics digital Piano to come out and for the first time in my life I begin to love music and not consider it work. Now I play every day and every night and just love to play. I don't have to play for a living and I love that too. Live is good. Thank you LORD.
Bill the Bebop

Don't worry about age John.. If your health is OK you've got a few years yet. I am 78 and still "at it". New KN7000 this year with amps and speakers which I lug around unaided. Yesterday I did a 6 hour gig with just a 10 minute break for food and enjoyed every minute of it, at least until the voice started to get a bit croaky.

What now seems like a lifetime ago when I was playing with bands, I remember saying that I couldn't see myself still playing at 60. Then that went to 65, then 70. Now I have stopped that line of thought altogether. When the grim reaper comes
for me I'll go, taking my KN7000 (or whatever I'm using then) with me.. I just hope the money's good down there.

Take care of youself

Trevor

The money's better up there - streets are paved with gold.

Mike