Playing An Instrument

Me - Playing an instrument, wow. I played the saxophone. My Dad always got mad because I never practiced. I wanted to play the guitar. I can play Don't Stop Believin' on the guitar. My cousin taught me it. I would also like to play the piano. We have  a piano but nobody really plays it that much. My Dad keeps saying some day, he will get me lessons but so far he hasn't. I can play Three Blind Mice and a little bit of Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music on the piano though. Also, I can play a scale. I also have a harmonica. I can make a train sound on it, but I can't play any songs on it. I can play pretty much anything you can think of on a kazoo. I got my kazoo as a summer reading prize. My saxophone used to be my brother's. He was pretty good at the saxophone but he gave it up. Before, that he played trumpet, he was terrible at that. My Dad doesn't think I can stick with anything because I kept saying I want to quit saxophone and I finally did. He had said that if I proved that I could stick with something, by continuing to play the saxophone for the whole next school year, and actually practicing it, he would maybe let me take gymnastics. I planned on continuing to play the saxophone for at least another year and practicing for at least ten minutes a day. Ten minutes a day is what my school recommends, and I really didn't think it was that much, is it? It is! I hated it, and I don't play the saxophone anymore.



Mom - When I was young, I took piano lessons for two or three years. I didn't mind playing, but I hated practicing. However, I practiced when I had to. I was never a great player, but I was okay.I had friends who played much better than I. When I was in 4th grade, I joined the band. I decided to play the flute. I could never really play that so my band teacher suggested I switch to a different instrument. I chose the clarinet. I could never really play that so my band teacher suggested I switch to a different instrument again. I chose the bells. I wasn't bad at that. I mean how hard can it be, the instrument says the notes right on it, and all you have to do is hit them with a little stick. However, the whole year and changing instruments two times was too much for me and after 4th grade I stopped playing bells too, and I never joined the school band again. I mean despite everything I enjoyed my year in the band. The band teacher was a really great guy super supportive and super nice even when he had to tell you that you should really change instruments because the one you were playing was really not for you. My stepson played the trumpet in the band. He was terrible the sounds he made with that instrument never came close to sounding like music. However, his band teacher never said anything to him or my husband and I until we specifically asked him about it. Then, he admitted maybe trumpet wasn't the instrument for my stepson and that maybe he should try something else. My stepson next took up the saxophone. He was a good saxophone player, but eventually gave that up too because, he didn't like to practice, and besides, he has never been known to stick with anything. Last year, Melia has took up the saxophone. She was not bad, but she didn't stick with it long enough to get to the level that my stepson was at before he gave it up, and she did not like to practice much either. She talked about practicing a lot, but did not do it so much. I kind of feel like sometimes she did not practice because she did not think she played well enough and that's why she gave it up. However,  she did not realize that in order to play better you need to practice. As for me, after fourth grade, I quit the school band, but I still played piano. After fifth grade, we moved. I never got a new piano teacher, and I never took lessons again. I never really played anymore either, and that was the end of my instrument playing.

And that's our view. What instrument do you play or would you like to have played?