I have the most amazing music teacher in the world

I have been a musician for 25 years. I play 6 instruments ranging in proficiency from beginner level (bass guitar) to having played in a full orchestra (bass clarinet). I have taken years of lessons...Including piano from a guy who performed at Carnegie Hall at 13. But right now I have the most amazing music teacher in the entire world...His name is David and he's been my best friend for 17 years.

In all those years of lessons and all those years of playing, I never fully learned to read music. I learned enough to "get by" because I was gifted with a fantastic ability to play by ear. But I never understood anything pertaining to theory and NO ONE in all those years of lessons seemed concerned about that. So I reached 25 years as a musician not able to sight read a piece of music if my life depended upon it. I could play anything, if someone would play it for me once. But I could barely read music at all and theory was Latin to me...Foreign and irrelevant. Then I started taking bass lessons.

I picked bass for two reasons, one I LOVE the sound. I've always been enthralled with watching David play. But most importantly, I KNEW I couldn't read bass clef at all. So I would HAVE to let him teach me rather than relying on tricks I have picked up in 25 years of faking Clarinet/bass Clarinet/Contra-bass Clarinet/ Alto sax/piano. I was baffled and somewhat frustrated when he insisted upon teaching me theory. No one had ever seemed to care about theory before. If it was mentioned at all, it was in passing...Perhaps some vague reference to chord numbers (without ever explaining what those things meant) but that was about it. For weeks and months we have discussed theory.

To my amazement, I sat down at the piano yesterday (having not touched it literally in over a year) and began to sight read. To actually be able to read and count through a piece and to play it recognizably (albeit in the wrong tempo at first...Got to do things slowly to start with) the first time through. I cried. I literally cried. In less than 6 months David has accomplished what 25 years as a musician and over 10 years of formal music training never did. Finally, I can read music!

I think he's brilliant!

And now, I've got to go play.
T