Newcomer faces the music

By: Venu Rajendran

Image credit: Sushmita Chatterjee on Unsplash

Though we lack formal training, my wife and I are both very interested in music and had hoped to sign our daughter up for music lessons. However, on moving to Canada, money was tight in the early years and we thought we’d have to postpone that until we were more secure financially.

Thus we were delighted to learn that she would start music lessons in grade 4. We signed the form saying we wanted her to participate and then waited eagerly to see what instrument she would learn to play.

She came home the next day and said she was going to get a recorder.

“You’ll have to learn to play an instrument before they record it,” we said, indulging what we thought was our child’s ambition.

But Maya repeated that she was going to get a recorder.

“Yes, but first you’ll get a musical instrument,” my wife said. “What are you going to play?”

“A recorder, my teacher said,” said poor Maya, beginning to look teary-eyed.

Fortunately, we thought to look up what a recorder was before dashing off a note to the teacher.

A recorder is what we called a flute in India!

Maya gets to bring one home to practise and we are treated to renditions of Hot Cross Buns. Over and over again.

Not quite what we had in mind when we talked of music lessons, but we are happy! m