ToneGym Hero: Kathy Anderson

With a deep passion for music, finding joy and fulfillment in playing guitar and singing with others and proving that it's never too late to pursue your dreams. Kathy Anderson is this month's ToneGym Hero!

How did you first find your way into making music?

I started taking piano lessons, but before I could advance very far, I became ill with rheumatic fever and was bedridden for a year. I resumed my lessons and advanced very quickly as soon as I was well.

I loved the piano and played mostly classical music. I took music classes in high school, played the clarinet, and joined the school band. It was a great group, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Before life could go any further, I became ill again and was bedridden for nine months when I was 15. The piano and the band had to stop. After nine months, when I was well, I was determined to return to the piano. I rejoined the band and bought a guitar.

I loved the guitar from the beginning, taught myself how to chord and strum, and played mostly folk music and camp songs.

The piano was my main instrument, and I dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. I entered music festivals and took all the standard music exams. At the same time, I enjoyed playing and traveling with our high school band. I continued playing the guitar in my spare time and took it with me to camps where I led sing-alongs. In many ways, my life was all about music.

I was living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. At that time, there was an additional year of high school—grade 13. I decided to take grade 13 over two years to attend school in the morning and practice in the afternoon.

During those two years, I practiced five hours a day. I got up every morning at 6 and played scales and Hanon exercises before going to school. I can still hear my younger brother’s bedroom door slam every morning at 6 a.m. :)

My practice and dedication paid off, and I was admitted to the University of Western Ontario for piano performance. It was a very exciting time—I went off to Western University and enjoyed the classes and the adventure.

However, by Thanksgiving, I was very ill. I saw a neurologist who had no answers and recommended less stress, quitting school, and taking it easy for a while. I did quit school, and I felt like my life was over. Something had happened to my hands, and I could not play the piano as I had before.

I didn't know what to do. The following spring, my parents told me that I had to do something. I felt better and enrolled in psychology at Carleton University. The thought at the time was that the stress of Western was too much. Years later, I was diagnosed with MS, and I have to wonder if Western University was the beginning of it. The ability to diagnose MS at that time was limited.

I finished university. Fast-forward—I got married and had children. I used to sit on the floor with my young children and play the guitar for them. They loved to put their little hands on the guitar and feel the vibration. Fast-forward again, and life happened. The MS had several severe points, and I developed arthritis, so I gave up the guitar. I was in my late twenties.

Fast-forward again to 2004, when I received my first service dog from the MIRA Foundation in Quebec. It was a life-changing moment—increased mobility, more confidence, and independence. In 2014, the desire to return to the guitar and play with others grew stronger, but it felt like an impossible dream. In 2022, I felt like I had to figure out how to make it happen!

1. Purchase of a new guitar with a narrow neck to accommodate my hand, April 2023.
2. A guitar teacher who believed that anything was possible, June 2023.
3. ToneGym, fall 2023.
4. First open mic, April 2024.
5. Teach my new service dog about playing and singing with others in the summer of 2024.
6. First open mic together—Kathy and Dax, fall 2024.

Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

I enjoy playing bridge very much. Sometimes, I play duplicate bridge, and sometimes, I play kitchen bridge. It's always fun with good friends. I walk several kilometers daily with my service dog, and I have an exercise routine that I do six mornings a week.

What’s something that you are surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?

Baking! I love baking.

I have adapted many recipes to make them lower in sugar and cholesterol. I use light-spelt flour because I am sensitive to wheat, and several of my friends are, too. I have created my own recipe for dark chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

They are amazing and often requested by friends and family. When I am invited for dinner, guess who is asked to bring dessert!

If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?

If I could play with any artist, it would be Gordon Lightfoot (he passed away on May 1, 2023). I love his music and play many of his songs.

I really enjoy folk music and folk/pop music—Gordon Lightfoot fits right in there. From what I have read, Gordon Lightfoot was also a very nice person who supported others. I would have enjoyed playing with him. I believe that his music will live on for a very long time. I especially like his song "Early Morning Rain."

If I got to play with an up-and-coming artist, I would choose Vicki Brittle. She is a singer/songwriter, and I really enjoy her work, especially "It’s Only Love." I hope you check it out!

What musical instrument do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable for you?

I love the guitar. When I play it, it feels alive to me. Over the past two years, I have felt drawn back to music like a strong magnet. I wanted to play guitar again. My hands are on the small side. They are arthritic, and the middle finger on my left hand only bends from the hand, not the finger joints. I was determined to play again.

In the early spring of 2023, I downloaded all the information I could find about choosing a guitar. I found that Taylor guitars generally have a narrower neck. I tried guitars at several places in Ottawa and finally found one that I knew was mine, which I bought just before my birthday. I couldn’t play it, but I had an instrument that was the first piece of my return to music and the ability to play with others.

At the time, my daughter was taking lessons from Michael Friedman, who lives on the Sunshine Coast. He gave lessons via Zoom and believed that anything was possible. I took lessons from him. I was mostly fingerpicking at first.

He figured out adjustments to the chords so I could play, and as my hand got stronger, I could play more chords and started singing. I took lessons every two weeks for about eight months. Now, I continue to play and sing on my own.

What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?

I average about two hours a day on the guitar, six days a week, with additional time researching songs, etc.

I start my practice with exercises and then play a couple of songs that I feel almost ready to play with others. I have identified other songs that I really like but need work, then I concentrate on them, breaking them down, focusing on the difficult parts, and then putting it all together.

I work on ToneGym daily for at least an hour, usually first thing in the morning after a walk and exercise. I do the daily workout and then usually concentrate on a game or two that needs extra work. I try to listen to different music, discover new artists, and identify songs I might want to play and sing down the road.

I have been going to RED BIRD in Ottawa for their jams this summer. RED BIRD is a music school, a café, and an 80-seat music venue. Many people take music lessons there, and their evening concerts with up-and-coming talent are usually sold out. They have great equipment and make it available for the community to gather and play together in an open mic or jam format. It is community-supported.

As someone who loves folk music, I feel very at home there. I think it will be a great place to have fun playing music with other people.

What keeps you motivated to continue making music?

I have always been very self-motivated—driven to meet my goals. I am very drawn to playing and singing with other people. It feels like a strong magnet is pulling me in that direction. It is where I want to be. It is what I am meant to do!

What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?

This is an interesting question. I think the song may change depending on where you are in your life. When I was playing piano, I was very heavily into Chopin and Debussy. My favorite was "Nocturne op9 no 2."

Stevie Nicks’ song “Landslide” has always resonated with me. Life is never certain. We all have dreams. "Landslide," for me, is about the fear of everything crashing down around you and trying to figure out how you can hold it together—I’ve been there.

Right now, I would say “My Way” sung by Frank Sinatra. I have traveled many roads in this life and learned many things along the way, and yes, I did it my way.ֿ

What’s your favorite feature on ToneGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?

In the fall of 2023, I really wanted to play with others. My sight-reading was reasonable, I had a very strong sense of rhythm and a good ability to read musical notation. I was also able to look at chords and transpose to another key, but my ear was terrible, and I knew I needed to do something about it if I wanted to be able to play with other people.

My daughter told me about ToneGym, so I tried it. I loved it and have been training almost every day since.

I really enjoy the game format and the fact that you can play as many games as you want as many times as you want in a day. I do the training but then can concentrate my effort either on something I am having a lot of difficulty with or something that I am good at. I am a little competitive, so I greatly enjoy the sight-reading Playground!

Any of the games that require aural memory have been difficult for me, especially as they get faster, but I am improving! I enjoy Scale Spy and Notationalist and really enjoy the musical notation games.

Recognizing interval games has been very difficult for me at times. However, I know that they have been very important in getting me to the point of being comfortable playing with others. When I listen to music, I hear much more than I used to and have started incorporating it into my playing and singing.

I really am feeling so much more comfortable about playing and singing with others.

The community on ToneGym is very important. I read many of the different topic threads and often get hints on moving forward with my practice.

What’s something exciting that you’re working on or looking forward to?

I am going to sing at open mics and jams regularly in the fall of 2024, mostly at RED BIRD. I sang at an open mic in April 2024 (in Russell, Ontario) and loved it. Now I have a new service dog, Dax.

At the end of April 2024, I left to train with him for almost three weeks.

Dax will be going to the open mics with me. We plan to start playing together in the fall. He is doing very well attending the open mics and jams and getting used to all the different sounds and environments.

We will be attending open mics and jams in the early fall. I will be playing and singing, and Dax will be with me. I am very excited about finally playing with people and enjoying music together. It is where I want to be!

When music is a part of our lives, we don’t always know where we will end up. Life has so many twists and turns and mountains to climb. What I have learned is that life may not end up the way you planned it, but many things are possible, and it can be wonderful! It’s never too late to follow your dreams!

See you at a jam!