My musical journey almost stalled. But help keeps coming from somewhere.

Through one of my nieces, I heard about a gentleman who was almost obsessed with teaching music. Despite my visual impairment, he agreed to teach me. At that time, I had only an almost non-functional, ancient keyboard and had recently acquired a small MIDI keyboard. On his insistence, and without much thought, I went in for a compact digital piano—a Casio piano with keyboard features. It allowed me to play rhythms, learn music with its software, record what I played, use various tones, and many other features. Though I’ve had this CDP for nearly seven years, I must have used less than ten percent of its capabilities.

This gentleman did not come to teach me himself; instead, he sent his 20-year-old son, who was an excellent piano player and an aspiring singer and composer. The young man wasn’t even aware I was visually impaired at first, but he found ways to teach me. He was a kind and talented boy who taught me a lot about the theory of music—chords, chord progressions, chord inversions, scales, dynamics, arpeggios, and different ways of playing chords, among many related topics.

Playing the piano is not easy. The left and right hands play different notes, and coordination is challenging. Of course, there are other instruments that require both hands to do different things, but for me, the piano was special. He managed to teach me to play a few movie songs and other tunes as well. However, two years after I started with him, I developed sudden pain, numbness, and tingling in my right leg, which forced me to discontinue. It was a sad end to our lessons. The boy was good and talented, and my best wishes will always be with him for his success and happiness in life.

My staccato movements through the music world seemed to have hit another pause—or was it a full stop?

In 2013, we were on the lookout for land in the suburban areas for small investment purposes. Land developers arranged for transport to and from the residence for a tour of the properties offered. One of those trips brought me a pleasant surprise. Another person and his friend were in the car. As I struck up a conversation, I was delighted to learn that he was a musician. I have always been attracted to and fascinated by musicians, whether they are singers, instrument players, composers, or anyone contributing to music. He was a stage singer as well as a composer. We became friends when he heard of my passion for music. We met a couple of times, and once he even visited my house. Thereafter, we kept in touch mainly through phone calls. He had a sound knowledge of music, and we would discuss for hours together.

To be continued... 54 - Part 10.