interesting thread. I am a freelance writer (mostly a film critic and alternative health writer), but have done a variety of other things to pay the bills over the years, including teaching and, for about the last fifteen years, working as an artists' model. I now have a "real" (i.e. full time) job as an executive assistant which arose out of a long temping gig; thought I'd try this for a while cuz I need the insurance. But I have lots of free time to do my own work during the day since we are not busy that often...best of both worlds. They get a smart creative non-automaton, I get some space to do my thing. Music-wise, I am a singer. Period. A rather good one, too, if that is not too arrogant of me. Always better at that than at instruments cuz I have tried several of them and while i do have some aptitude and did well studying theory in schol etc. I have trouble staying with one thing long enough to master it. Thus I play a bit of piano, a bit of guitar, a bit of pennywhistle... I do play percussion instruments fairly well, and am not too shabby on the bodhran (no jokes please! :)!!) I think the reason singing and percussion are my musical strengths is that they are somehow far more kinesthetic (at least to me) than learning tunes on instruments. They involve the body and emotions somehow more than other instruments which require some amount of mathematical thought when learning to play tunes on them...partly this is because of lyrics in songs speaking to the imagination with images, partly because drumming mimics the bloodflow and heart ryhthms more than anything else...also, as I am sure you would all agree, an innate sense of rhythm is something which cannot really be taught; any more than a true sense of pitch or a good sense of phrasing...although all these things may be somewhat refined with work...which is why many of our finest musicians have an emotional or magical quality to them that makes them shine far and above those who are merely great technicians; this may also explain why so many music lovers gravitate towards singers (groupie syndrome)since the emotional response to lyrics and human vocals is a bit more complex and immediate than to instrumentals; which affect us on, perhaps, a deeper, yet more subtle, level...any thoughts on any of this? my hobbies: herbalism, aromatherapy, calligraphy, hiking, cooking...was once very active in theatre...and I am a pagan/witch to boot! My MBTI usually comes out under Idealist; this time around I was a Champion, but it varies... peg