Musical Mayhem

A new goal for my 50th-51st year: to learn the keyboard part to Baba O'Riley.

(I know I am late to The Who party. But in 1971, I can assure you that I wouldn't have been allowed to listen to them; my appreciation of The Who comes via Will's discovery of them via Clay's long-time devotion to the band.)

Yesterday I really listened to that keyboard part. Good grief. Variations on fancy little F arpeggios over and over and over and over. No matter where the melody, bass line and drum go, that keyboard part is relentlessly consistent through the whole 5 minutes (except for one little part in the middle where the arpeggios stop and there is a constant 16th single note run.) I started wondering how the keyboard player did that, night after night, concert after concert.

Then I read a little about the song and watched some YouTube videos; I was just a tiny bit disappointed to learn that much of that part was created by a special effect on an electric organ, and now in concert, it's a recording. Bummer.

But I still want to conquer it, just like this kid:



I don't want to sing it, just play it.

That part is like my life: constant repetition at a dizzying speed.

Peace. Rock on.