I longed to play the piano as a child. I'd feel a magnetic pull whenever I was around a neighbor's piano. Most kids are forced to take lesson; but, I couldn't beg them from my parents. We didn't have an instrument of any kind in the house.
When I was a teen I bought a toy chord organ about an octave and a half with plastic keys. I played the chord and tried to find the notes that matched the sound.
I eventually figured out what chords were. Then, I would put melody to the chords and tried arpeggiating as I played.
When I went to prison for two years (the Viet Nam "Neutrality Issue") I would sneak into the Catholic chapel instead of going to the Mess Hall for dinner. I'd try teaching myself piano. I took the Kingdom Songs book and tried to puzzle out the arrangements. By the time I left prison I had a half-assed self-taught style of piano playing.
At the Kingdom Hall I'd go in before the meetings and memorize the song that would be scheduled. The Congregation Overseer would ask me to play the accompaniment when the regular pianist wasn't there.
Years later when Synthesizers became available with the computer hook-up to record and layer sounds I went at it with full enthusiasm. I taught myself orchestration and arrangements. I sent demos to Tv and Radio stations as well as movie producers. Gradually I got hired for little jobs here and there. There was a PBS documentary and several independant films that followed.
Randy Watters has some of my music up on his Freeminds website.
http://www.freeminds.org/aftrhour/paradise_lost.htm