Musician
I play several instruments, but as I said before, I am a Jack of All Trades, and therefore, I am a master of none of them. I started playing clarinet in the 3rd grade. I chose clarinet because it was one of the instruments my Dad played, too. I had a beautiful, wooden Artley clarinet that had my name engraved on it. I was in concert band, orchestra, and marching band all the way up until college. My Artley was stolen, but I found a similar one on eBay. I even still have some of the sheet music from Junior High and High School.
“People of Note” by Laurence McKinney was originally published in 1940 and is a collection of poems about different instruments found in a symphony orchestra. I love this book because it has a fun poem about the clarinet. I originally found it in a thrift store when I was a teenager, and I still have it decades later.
I took up playing the ukulele after my grandson was born. I wanted to learn how to play lullabies to him. The first song I learned to play was, “You are my Sunshine”, and it is still his favorite. I tried learning to play the classic acoustic guitar, but the metal strings hurt my fingers too much. The ukulele is so much more fun to play and it is pretty easy to learn a wide variety of songs.
I don’t know if most people think of it this way, but another instrument I play is my voice. In other words, I love to sing. I may not be Mariah Carey, but I was good enough to be invited to join the mixed Staff/Student choir my sophomore year in high school. I also enjoy singing Karaoke with my friends.
There are other musicians in my family, too. My sister plays piano and flute. Her son is a drummer, and my son plays guitar, bass, ukulele, and he recently started playing the mandolin. I guess we are a musical bunch.
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