Mastering a Musical Instrument (I)

A journey of starting, quitting, and drifting dreams · 乐器苦学记·上

When I was young, I really admired musicians. Who wouldn't? They play beautiful music on beautiful instruments.

Since my elementary school years, I have embarked on a journey of learning to play musical instruments. I've never stopped learning. Now, I'm almost twenty. You're probably thinking, "He must be a music grand master by now." But that is not the case. As a matter of fact, I'm still not good at playing any instrument.

My first music lesson was on the keyboard in Grade 2. I took music lessons together with my sister. We started from the simplest thing—using five fingers to touch the keys, forward and backward.

At first, I was filled with motivation. The first thing I would do every day after opening my eyes in the morning was to practise the seven keys on the wall while lying in bed. However, after going to the class for two weeks, my motivation wore thin... and eventually, it disappeared.

True, I liked the keyboard. I was able to make all kinds of sounds. I just couldn't stand playing for as long as I was required to each day. That was too demanding.

A few months later, I picked up the recorder in my music class in school. The recorder was light, easy to carry around, and extremely easy to make a sound with. I liked it right away as soon as my teacher distributed the instruments in class. This time, I wanted to be good at it—like a professional performer. I brought the recorder home that day and I practised. I practised at home every day after school for three days!

No matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to create the beautiful tunes that I heard in the movie Titanic. Blowing a steady flow of air into the opening while precisely covering the holes at the same time wasn't as easy as I had thought. So I lost interest in the recorder. It was taking too long to become good at it.

It made me wonder then where my dream would drift to.

Mastering a Musical Instrument (I) — A journey of starting, quitting, and drifting dreams

When I was young, I really a(1)__________dmired musicians. Who wouldn't? They play beautiful music on beautiful instruments.

Since my elementary school years, I have e(2)__________mbarked on a journey of learning to play musical instruments. I've never stopped learning. Now, I'm almost twenty. You're probably thinking, "He must be a music grand m(3)__________aster by now." But that is not the case. As a matter of fact, I'm still not good at playing any instrument.

My first music lesson was on the keyboard in Grade 2. I took music lessons together with my sister. We started from the simplest thing—using five fingers to touch the keys, forward and backward.

At first, I was filled with m(4)__________otivation. The first thing I would do every day after opening my eyes in the morning was to practise the seven keys on the wall while lying in bed. However, after going to the class for two weeks, my motivation wore thin... and eventually, it disappeared.

True, I liked the keyboard. I was able to make all kinds of sounds. I just couldn't stand playing for as long as I was r(5)__________equired to each day. That was too d(6)__________emanding.

A few months later, I picked up the recorder in my music class in school. The recorder was light, easy to carry around, and extremely easy to make a sound with. I liked it right away as soon as my teacher d(7)__________istributed the instruments in class. This time, I wanted to be good at it—like a p(8)__________rofessional performer. I brought the recorder home that day and I practised. I practised at home every day after school for three days!

No matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to create the beautiful t(9)__________unes that I heard in the movie Titanic. Blowing a steady flow of air into the opening while p(10)__________recisely covering the holes at the same time wasn't as easy as I had thought. So I lost interest in the recorder. It was taking too long to become good at it.

It made me wonder then where my dream would drift to.

📌 重点单词 · Key Vocabulary

🔗 重点词组 · Key Phrases

💡 语法小贴士 · Grammar Tips

🎤 文化拓展 · 竖笛、键盘与「三分钟热度」

文中的两件乐器都是北美/英国学校的「国民教具」：keyboard（电子琴）是小学音乐教室的常驻设备，recorder（竖笛）更是几代人的集体记忆——大多数孩子在小学音乐课上人手一支，便宜、轻巧、一吹就响。但「一吹就响」和「吹得好听」之间，隔着 precisely covering the holes 这道技术鸿沟。

他练习的曲子来自电影 Titanic——《My Heart Will Go On》的旋律全世界都会哼两句，但用竖笛复刻出来，需要的恰恰是「每天坚持」这件作者最缺的东西。练习三天就想像 professional performer，这个 gap 写得太真实了：不是天赋问题，是 expectation（期待）跑在了 hours（时长）前面。

「卧床练墙上的七个琴键」是全文最生动的细节——动力满格时，睁眼就想练。可 motivation wore thin 这句英语习语（像布料磨薄一样耗尽）也预告了结局。dream would drift to：梦会漂到哪里去？与开头的 embark on a journey（启程）首尾呼应——船开了，还没到岸。（下篇待续）