music resources

[Donn Cave]

In article <1qfUc.128080$gE.84239 at pd7tw3no>,
 "Elaine Jackson" <elainejackson7355 at home.com> wrote:
> Thanks for your suggestions. What I want to do with music is to learn it and
> play with it. Even an auditory equivalent of "MS Paint" would probably keep 
> me
> busy for some time, since I'm essentially starting from zero.

I think I'd recommend a ukelele, really.  Music happens in
a different part of the brain, and I think you're better
off starting right there and moving on to the symbols and
tables later.  It isn't just pop science, there's really
something to it - I know when I'm playing something that
leaves my mouth free, people try to talk to me, and I can
look at them and understand at some level, but there's no
way I can get the words together for a response, because
that part of my brain is taking a break for the moment.
Never tried to think about computer programming in that
state, but I'm rather sure it would be useless.

It's hardly short of a crime that masses of young people
come out of the school system every year with the ability
to render a tune from sheet music like a player piano but
with barely any personal sense of music, just because we
only know how to start there and teach them to see a note,
play a note.

I have never actually played a ukelele, it's just an inexpensive
and approachable instrument capable of playing several notes
at once and with strong rhythmic potential (cf. its close relative
the Brazilian cavaquinho for more on that perspective.)

   Donn Cave, donn at u.washington.edu