Learning a new skill with a fake flute 🥲

Have you ever wanted to do something but never tried? You see it as a dream you never achieved, and you let time pass and see it as distant, almost unattainable, even though it's something easy to achieve. Well, something like that happens to me, but with music. Since I was little, I've been attracted to melodies, but my constantly changing perspective prevents me from pursuing it. Being a musician requires commitment and a lot of practice, and it's not that I can't do that, it's just that staying in love with it for a long time is difficult.

Before I was 10, I studied a string instrument that is very popular in my country for two years, but then I got bored and switched to the electronic keyboard. A few months later, the same thing happened. Then I wanted to sing, but my family no longer had the patience to listen to me, so I didn't study it formally. Now I've developed an inclination toward the flute, perhaps because I was given one that arrived in a box with several other things. It could also be because years ago I gave one away and I don't know how it ended up in my house. The truth is that I want to learn and see how far I can go.

Recently, I got in touch with a friend from high school. We've been friends for over 30 years, but we've seen each other only a few times since we graduated. Well, the thing is that she is a music teacher specializing in the recorder, transverse flute, and other instruments, as well as a choir singer. She is always in concert, and she was recently given a position in the orchestra system that operates near my home, four blocks away. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to see her and spend time together, and on top of that, she invited me to be one of her students.

Look how life turns out. Now she is my flute teacher, she will also teach me music theory, and I will join the choir that is being formed. However, there is one important detail: most of the students are children and young teenagers. She asked me if I was willing to do it, and she said it was no problem for her. Since I'm a little crazy, I accepted, because music is for everyone, and the system is open without discrimination against gray hair. This is a great opportunity for me, since I don't have the means to pay for lessons with a professional, let alone someone I trust.

I've only attended one class, and my first day was very funny. The class starts at 2:30 p.m., but the teacher (my friend) told me she would arrive at 3:15. When I arrived, I was going to knock on the door of the cultural center, but I heard flutes playing very close by. I looked in and saw my friend and the other students through the window, so I stayed there to wait. After a while, I heard her telling the children that they would have a new classmate a little older than them, and while she was explaining, I told her I was outside listening. Hehehe

The children's surprise when they saw me was not normal. Their mouths were open for a long time. I arrived and introduced myself, saying good afternoon, and told them that I would be another student coming to learn, even though I look like their grandmother with white hair. Then the teacher asked them what they thought of their new classmate, and the girl replied that I looked like the teacher, except that she dyed her hair and covered her gray hair 🤣😂. We laughed, and then my friend asked her how she knew that, and the girl said it was because her mother dyed her hair all the time. My classmates are practically babies, I guess they are 5, 6, 7, and 8 years old.

After the welcome, I watched the dynamics for a while and my friend examined my flute. It turns out that it's a brand she doesn't know, so she wrote down its name to find out more. No matter how hard she tried to tune it, it wasn't the best, so she thinks it's more of a toy than an instrument 🤭🫣 and I'll have to buy a flute if I want to learn to play it. After the children left, we stayed for another hour talking about our lives and also practicing. It's amazing how time flies. We hadn't seen each other in person for 29 years, but music brought us together, and I hope to learn a lot from her, as she is a wonderful person with a big heart.