Randoms by Rach

I Got Rhythm

Day Thirteen ~ On this day in 1854, Anthony Faas of Philadelphia, PA, was granted the first US patent for the accordion. He made improvements to the keyboard and enhanced the sound. Do you play or have you ever played any instruments? If not, what's one you'd like to learn? Bonus Points today for sharing a favorite song of yours with us that names any instrument in its title.

Music is something I'm passionate about. It's got me through some really tough times in the past. It's the thing that links me to my Dad more closely than anything else. I have an extremely eclectic taste in music, and I've dabbled in playing a few instruments.

As a young child, I took piano lessons. I passed my first grade exam. We didn't have a piano in our house, though. I had an electric keyboard to practise on. But I wasn't good at practising. I preferred to be outside with my friends. Anywhere away from the house, really. So I gave up my lessons when I was about eight. Dad was angry and warned me I would regret it some day. He was right. I wish, wish, wish I'd continued with my lessons. I would love to be able to play the piano really well. I did write a song with my keyboard when I was six. It was called "Little Elf" and was a fairly depressing song about an elf who thought nobody would come to her birthday party. I can still remember how it goes.

All through primary school, I played the descant, treble, and tenor recorders. I played solo and group performances in competitions a few times. We even won once. I loved playing the recorders. I desperately wanted to play the flute, but Dad refused to let me because of my failure to keep up with piano lessons. It was probably a fair call.

When I was thirteen, I discovered the instrument that would be my love forever: the drums. At secondary school, our music teacher, a slightly odd man called Mr Hughes, bought a drum kit. The moment I sat behind them and started to play, everything else faded away. I got lost in the rhythm. I began taking lessons and practising every lunch time. It was perfect; my hero was Karen Carpenter, and I wanted so much to play the drums like she did. Before long, I had formed a band with two of my friends. We used the music room most days to practise our music. It was my escape from the crap that filled my head. I wasn't me when I played the drums. We called our band "Storm," so that when we were famous and on "Top Of The Pops," the presenter could say we were, "storming up the charts." Of course, it never happened. But we did play and sing at school concerts every year. Our "signature" song was "All I Want Is You" by U2. Oh, those were the days!

The first song that comes to mind is "Mr Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan.



I also adore this song, so I had to link it as well: