One of our two cats, snoozing on my fiddle, which is balanced on a chair in front of the digital piano. Resting on the keys are two native American flutes. The music on the piano is easy Christmas music from around the world. There is a conductor's baton and a container of guitar-shaped paper clips from the Hard Rock Cafe. The photographs are of our children, and Andre Previn, who autographed the photo to the kids as follows: "It is awful to practice, but we all have to do it. Good Luck!"
The kids are excellent musicians, despite the fact that they don't practice much. I, on the other hand, need to practice (and also enjoy it). I read in the New Yorker that string bass player Edgar Meyer does not practice at all, but also that in a survey done of musical achievement, that the single most important factor in a musician's success was not talent or teacher, but rather amount of time spent practicing. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Most people improve through practicing. Some are really gifted. And Edgar Meyer must practice a little!
The cats seem to enjoy music, in that they hang out with me when I practice, but you never catch them swaying to the beat, or letting an emotional tear fall at a particularly good (or bad) passage. I wonder if they hear the music at all or if they are just waiting for me to go to the kitchen to get us all a snack.
