Yep, it's all about what you have learned and how efficiently you apply it.

I have played in bands, mostly in church praise bands where the piano players could play anything you put in front of them in the form of sheet music. Didn't matter that they hadn't heard it before or how many sharps or flats where in the key signature. But ask them to jam in the key of G with a one four five progression, and they looked at you like you were speaking Mandarin Chinese.

I remember when I was a kid.... just starting on guitar, a piano student to a classical instructor who believed in reading the music and understanding music theory. I was at a church gathering and someone handed me an acoustic guitar and there was a lady there who asked if I knew a certain song. I did. And that started a 30 minute jam session with her singing and me playing and she was amazed that I could play any song in any key and didn't need to see the sheet music. I remember thinking that yeah.... there.s nothing to it. I can hear the changes coming. We even played a few that I didn't know but I was following her melody and it worked. She would sing it a bit and I'd jump in and away we'd go.

One last thing about the piano teacher. She'd hand me a new piece of sheet music and then she'd play it for me. She'd say, OK... your job is to learn this at home this week and bring it back and play it for me just like I played it. I'd go home and practice it. I remember going back.... proud of the work I had spent on it....and I played it for her. She sat there totally quiet when I finished the piece. Then she said, "That was really good. Now, I'd like you to play what is actually written on the staff this time." Oooops... I guess I added some embellishments to it. But the cool thing was she never tried to extinguish that creative spark. She encouraged it and also encouraged me to learn to read. One day, several years into my lessons, she stopped me about 10 minutes into the lesson and asked me how many minutes I spent on the lesson material on the piano.... I said I reckon about 30 minutes. She asked how much time I spent playing the guitar that week. I had to admit, it was several hours minimum. She told me to pack my books and that she was done teaching me piano. Mom wasn't happy but I was..... I had all the time in the world now to play the guitar.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 09/01/20 08:40 AM.
You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.