Have Fur, Will Travel

Taken on my way to work this morning. It's a little blurry, but I think it's still worth posting.

I'm A Musician

I've been thinking about how, when someone claims to be a musician, we have no standardized scale by which to pinpoint exactly what kind of musician they are. This is not a full system yet, but I think it's a pretty good starting point.

The scoring should, of course, should be graduated. I play piano, bass, and drums. Piano is tough, and should certainly count for something. But bass... 4 strings, you play one at a time? That can't count as a whole instrument. And drums are tough to do really well, to lay down a groove or a pocket that just feels right. But to just play? I could teach you to play in 30 minutes. So, the first step is to identify which instrument(s) you play, and collect the points as listed below:

French horn: 10 points
Piano: 9 points
Oboe: 8 points
Guitar: 7 points
Cello: 6 points
Bass (fretless): 5 points
Saw: 4 points
Bass (fretted): 3 points
Drums: 2 points
Tambourine/shaker/spoons : 1 point

Then you multiply your score by 2 if you can sight read for that instrument, by 3 if you can improvise (in a way that sounds like music, not just in a "free-jazz odyssey" kind of way). Subtract 30 from your score if you also play, or have at any time played, accordion. Add back 15 if you write, and multiply by 3 if you write well (this is usually evidenced by the fact that people who don't actually know you are still interested in listening to your music).