While I'm not making actual music.. I was looking for a really small but unique instrument to learn just in a 5-10 minute break from my projects. I wanted to learn something that would attract the interest of others and that I could play anywhere, when just sitting there, like an airport.<p>The instrument I ended up downloading and plan to order one is the Kalimba. And I spent an hour learning ABCDEFG keys then I would just record what keys they were pressing, and play them until I could muscle memory kicked in and I can play up to about 16 songs now.<p>"Walking in the Air" was the very first song I learned, even though it was a bit more advanced.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bRnHSx0kzE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bRnHSx0kzE</a><p>(my version: <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-snowman.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-snowman.mp3</a>)<p>I continued on finding others that were simple to learn.<p>"Can't help falling in love"<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd7KC3PaEaA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd7KC3PaEaA</a><p>(my version: <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-fallinginlove.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-fallinginlove.mp3</a>)<p>A song I came up with of my own on a Sunday morning just lying in bed: <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-sunday-morning-delight.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-sunday-morning-delight.m...</a><p>Here are a bunch others that I played, each song taking me anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to learn:<p>Ah-Ha Take On Me <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-takemeon.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-takemeon.mp3</a><p>Queen Bohemian Rhapsody <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-bohemian.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-bohemian.mp3</a><p>Pirates of the Caribbean <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-pirates.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-pirates.mp3</a><p>Simon & Garfunkle Sound of Silence <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/Keylimba-soundofsilence-full.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/Keylimba-soundofsilence-full.mp3</a><p>Tears for Fears/Gary Jules Mad World <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-madworld.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-madworld.mp3</a><p>Disney's Up Theme <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-up-married-life.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-up-married-life.mp3</a><p>Pink Panther <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-pinkpanther.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-pinkpanther.mp3</a><p>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Pure Imagination <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-pureimagination.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-pureimagination.mp3</a><p>Somewhere Over the Rainbow <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-somewhere.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-somewhere.mp3</a><p>Celine Dion Titanic's My Heart Will Go On <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-titanic2.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-titanic2.mp3</a><p>Beethoven's Fur Elise <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-fur-elise.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-fur-elise.mp3</a><p>Coldplay's The Scientist <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-scientist.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-scientist.mp3</a><p>Coldplay's Yellow <a href="https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-yellow.mp3" rel="nofollow">https://my.bincdn.com/1117/keylimba-yellow.mp3</a><p>It's been fun learning. Not going to produce or turn it into a studio or anything, but still fun. And makes for good conversation or just a small audience who loves music.<p>As a developer, it takes my mind off a problem for a while, but keeps my mind doing something. If it's too challenging, I'll take a break from learning how to play the music and go back to programming, and by then, I've often solved my problem, or taking a break, I can move past where I'd been stuck making the same mistake in the song.