Well I must be one of the lucky ones.

I have wanted to play music ever since I was about 2 1/2 years old. When I visit my parents and look at pictures of myself back then, (between 2 and 4 years old) I always have some sort of plastic instrument in my hands be it a clarinet, ukelele, guitar or a little piano....so the writing was on the wall almost from the get go.

When I was 5 (I'm 46 now) my ''calling'' happened as a result of watching the Ed Sullivan show with my parents one Sunday night, and Liberace came on, and played a couple of tunes, and I was totally blown away. My mother tells me that I said to her, ''I want to play piano just like him --but I don't want to be like him.''

A few weeks later my parents bought an old Heinzman upright and I started taking lessons. It was immediately apparent to my teacher that I ''had it''....course I never understood what all the fuss was about....it just seemed as natural as breathing to me.

By the time I was 11, I had completed all classical studies and had gone as far as I could go with Royal Conservatory of Music. .....so I began with a new teacher who taught me the styles of ragtime, and blues...and of course whatever I could lift with my ears from all the records I'd be listening to..

(I'm starting to ramble so I'll cut this short...) These days my main passion / hobby is finger style guitar....but regardless of whatever instruments I've learned to play, I have never ever considered practising to be WORK.

I lose all track of time when I practise as opposed to ''watching the clock'' to see how long I've been at it. I have and still continue to be amazed that the sounds that come out of the instruments I play are being created by me. That's just freaks me out, and gives me such a buzz, that it feeds me and drives me forward to improve and make even more interesting and complex sounds.

A lot of the time, it's as if I'm sitting beside myself ''witnessing'' myself playing. A feeling I cannot describe but I am sure there are others here who know exactly what I'm talking about.

Some people have an affinity for picking up languages and linguistic nuances....others have a talent for art, etc.. For me it's instruments and music. I don't know where I get it from as no one else in my family is musical at all --so they all kind of revere me....and ''force'' me to play at any family gathering.

I have a niece and nephew (10 and 14) who are taking piano and guitar lessons, and I occassionaly show them tricks and licks and things. They think their old 46 year old uncle is such a ''cool dude''. Cracks me up.