I could not use this to create music, with a clean concience, unless i built it myself.

As far as gaining deeper rewards from more difficult to play instruments, I think it is a matter that is perceived in the classic Protestant belief that one works very hard to the point of suffering, if necessary, for the benefits one would receive in life. So that when one attains mastery it really is a deeper appreciation for what one has accomplished because one has the sense of having moved mountains. (Metaphorically speaking, perhaps one has.) An understanding and capability of nuance is perhaps the biggest benefit to one who attains mastery over anything.

As relates to music, I can only attest that in my experience I have generally noticed that great performers tend to deliver great performances. It doesn’t matter whether it is classical, jazz, pop, rock, folk, blues, electronica, (Ever listen to Tuvan throat singers?), the deepest and most elusive technical, intellectual, and emotional target can be hit consistently by the greatest performers. Even though the amount of work necessary to attain that ability varies from greatly from performer to performer. Talent, dedication are the common denominators. The degree of passion one has makes an enormous difference when combined with the other two attributes, in my opinion, but whether it is necessary is open to argument as well. There are many performers, great by any standard measure, who merely go about doing their jobs just as a grill man does down at your local McDonald’s, professional to the end.

In spite of all of this we live in a culture where hype is accented with, “The best ever this!”, “The best ever that!. All of the time. I do my best to trust my own eyes, ears, thoughts, and judgment. And I don’t expect to get out of dub tracks what I get out of Mozart piano sonatas. What it comes down to is the kind of musical trip I want to take; Coltrane is going to take me where Aphex Twin has, up until this point, never been able to but I treasure the works of both. And, again, have you ever listened to the throat singers of Tuva? Only they, to my knowledge, are capable of that unique bit of magic.

The result of the mastery over a given medium is what I think matters most, and not simply the difficulty of the medium. Can you rock a tabletop? Then I’d love to hear it. It could be a whole lot more beneficial than listening to that guy of world renown on his trumpet.