I grew up in a very musical family. My mother played the piano, guitar, autoharp (most of the time; it was easier for her because she's blind), soprano and alto recorders, and she sang. (She's the kind of person that people actually pay to come and sing at their weddings and funerals, and she leads the music in church every Sunday.) My father played the banjo, flute, and he also sang, though mostly in his car. I played the piano, the soprano recorder, the yuke (mostly baritone), the guitar, the clarinet, and dabbled around with other stuff, like I spent a good deal of time out on the old haystack with the harmonica. I also sang.

The thing about music is that everyone can participate, no matter what their skill level -- everyone can try to sing and everyone can try to dance, and if done right, everyone can play an instrument.

Rice picked up a music set for the kids which includes a harmonica, a wooden recorder, a kazoo, a triangle, castinets, a xylophone, and a bunch of other wooden percussion instruments. There are seventeen pieces in all.

For his birthday Avadore's grandmother bought him a tape player that comes with a microphone so one can listen to their music and sing along. Paired with the assorted instruments we can all be musical together. Even the baby participates -- he's nine months old and sings and dances right along with the rest of us, and he can bang sticks and shake instruments.

Who needs MTV? We have our own band.