Reflection Tuesday ~ Musical Instruments

If you learned to play a musical instrument, tell me your memories of lessons, practice, and your music teacher. If not, what instrument did you want to play and why?

Me? After failing miserably in the fifth grade with the flute I moved on to another woodwind instrument, the clarinet.

My clarinet and I had many happy years together. I attended a school with a highly competitive music department. Competition was a regular occurence and I did not mind ithis since most competition was done as one orchestra against another. Now, on the other hand, I absolutely hated it when another clarinet player "challenged" my chair in the orchestra. The ability to loose my place on the second row if I lost a challenge kept me on my toes and I practiced a lot. I don't recall ever loosing a challenge.

What a glorious feeling it was when the conductor raised his baton and when it was lowered my 'note' came out as many notes! Magical! It stirred my soul! I have many silly memories of splitting reeds during performances, rendering the instrument useless, and 'faking' that I was playing . That I could do, but have me march across a football field faking it and I was all giggles.

I still have my clarinet but it only squeaks for me these days.....due to the player, not the instrument. Going to symphony concerts is one of my favorite things to do!

So how about you? Did YOU play an instrument?