[twitter]I played the flute in band. In grade 6, we had the chance to learn an instrument, I picked the flute. I played it in grade 7, and then, in high school, I chose band as my elective and played the flute again in grade 8. My greatest accomplishment was learning the CHiPs theme.

That’s the extent of my musical career. 3 years playing the flute.

My brother taught himself to play guitar and piano, my sister plays a bit of strings as well. I don’t.

When we visited my parents last week, the boys discovered an old guitar in a spare bedroom and started strumming on it. They had no idea what they were doing, but the sound was sweet. Unlike the anxious banging on keys that usually accompanies kids discovering a piano, the sound of inexperienced hands on a guitar was relaxing.

Conversations rolled around to my boys asking if they could have it after my mother explained this guitar had a dent in the bottom and, according to my brother, was impossible to tune. The guitar belonged to my sister, so the boys hopped on FaceTime to ask if they could have it, and permission was granted.

On our road trip back from the coast, Zacharie strummed it on the floor of our hotel room while we packed up.

When we got home, he took it on to the back deck and plucked away at it in the warm twilight. I even picked it up and tried to make something that sounded like music.

How long the enthusiasm will last, I’m not sure. But I know music is good for kids, and learning to play an instrument is a wonderful like skill to have. So for now, I am the proud owner of an out of tune, dented, old guitar.

And it’s perfect.

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