I Cheated

I’d like to think I’m a fairly honest person. I tell the truth the whole truth and except for the occasional white lie, I found it’s the best way to go. However, there is one thing I have flat out lied about for the past 10 years, no scratch that, 15 years. I have no idea how to play the recorder.

I think this is something every third grader supposed to learn how to do and from there to see if you have any musical talent and whether or not you should advance to  another musical instrument that requires more skill. I got my recorder in music class and on the first day we practiced three notes. I got those down and by the next week we were playing the notes in succession. Fast forward a month we are starting to play full songs and I was pretty much left in the dark. There are things I’m good at, there’s a handful of things I’m great at, and then there are things I will honestly tell you I’m awful lot. The recorder is one of these things. It just isn’t in my wheelhouse, and you know what? That’s okay.

 But how did I get through the rest of third grade music? I became a very good imitator. We only ever played five songs and very quickly I learned to tune of them. I stood in the back and blew air through the recorder but instead of using my fingers to hold the holes to make different sounds come out I hummed into the recorder and moved my fingers up and down to pretend like they were doing something. Was I lying? Go ahead and chalk it up to yes, I cheated. And Mr. Garoofy, my third-grade music teacher, I’m sorry.