Music lesson

  

Today's lesson is... Music. Well it was one of the lessons, the last one. No input from me this time. I was displaced this time from teacher to cameraman. I mean you can't have a music teacher who is tone deaf and has no coordination. I love music of all kinds and I have always had a burning desire to play an instrument. Unfortunately though I wasn't built for it. You have naturals, you have disciplined and you have those who excel by possessing both. When I tried to play guitar I found I had 10 thumbs. When I tried drums I was like a scattergun trying to find a metronomic rhythm. I just don't have the capacity. One year my wife was going to get me piano lessons for my birthday specifically to learn "Moonlight Sonata" because she knew I liked it so much. Not a chance though. I just cannot do it. 

Its been a mixed bag schooling the kids from home. I've helped where I can but mostly they crack on with it themselves. I have also enjoyed learning some things too so its not all been bad and has put some sort of routine into our day in these strange times. 

When it comes to music though thankfully my kids are not the same. For the second time in life as a parent I found myself listening for a moment while one of my children played. The first time was the oldest. She taught herself how to play keyboard and like her grandfather has an ear for music allowing her to hear something and play it by ear. She played Moonlight Sonata. It was wonderful. Today it was her sister's turn.

We have an acoustic guitar in the cupboard and I even bought a cheap harmonica last week but none were viable options for music class. Instead my wife had to take daughter to school yesterday to pick up an instrument. She came back with a glockenspiel. It's been months since she played it she said but today had to get back to playing Katy Perry's "Firework". I left her to it. It took only about 15 minutes to find her stride. Except it was a different song. She had got mixed up. Instead it was "Carnaval de Paris". That was unexpected. That really took me back to Paris 1998. It was everywhere I went. It was nice. Nice because it was familiar from a happy time and all the nicer because it was now a happier time albeit it different. Definitely the best part of the week.