Play anything, just play it loud!

Dear Daphne,

One of the coolest things that you can learn to do is play a musical instrument. If you choose wisely, it is a hobby that will stay with you all of your life and can be a great outlet. I learned to play the viola starting at a fairly young age, and it was a really rewarding experience. Not only did I learn to make music, but it gave me the opportunity to do some traveling when I got a little older and joined a competitive orchestra. I was in an orchestra that played in colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and several other neat locations. It was a fantastic way to make friends from other areas and it looked great on a college application.

But the fun didn’t stop there; I also played in my high school orchestra. Naturally this led to more trips for adjudication, but perhaps more importantly, our orchestra accompanied the high school musicals. This was doubly fun, because not only did we have a great time hanging around during rehearsals and generally being a nuisance to the theatre director, but we got to perform for the entire community. Most people (parents notwithstanding) don’t take the time to come and watch the high school orchestra play, but everyone goes to the musicals. It was a great way to show off our skill, without being front and center like the drama students were.

As much fun as I had playing the viola, I have to recommend that you pick a cooler instrument. The secret is in choosing one that has appeal other than in academic circles. Maybe you will want to play in the marching band. The atmosphere they create at football games is lots of fun and since your will be your mother and father’s daughter, we can assume you will love football. And the marching band always had good seats for the game.

Or better yet, maybe you will want to play in a rock band. One of my closest friends when I was younger played guitar in several garage bands and also played in the high school orchestra, which gave him the best of both worlds. My cousin Bradley (you know him as Uncle Brad) was also quite an accomplished guitarist. His band was pretty popular and they played shows all over Pittsburgh. Going to watch his band play was always really fun and the bottom line is that he looked really cool doing it. As an added bonus, he asked if he can be responsible for your musical education, so start bugging him about that as soon as you read this!

Guitar is not the only instrument with this double appeal. You could take up the drums (and since I will have to live with you as you learn, I can not believe that I am recommending this) or the bass guitar, which has a counterpart in the upright bass for the orchestra. But ultimately, it is up to you, and your mom and I will always be in the audience to watch you play (but if you choose the flute, I am so buying noise canceling headphones).

Love,
Dad