"I Want To Play A Glockenspiel"

Not long ago I asked my third grader Nicolas if he would like to learn how to play a musical instrument. "Sure" he said.

And so I threw out the obvious possibilities.

Guitar?

"Nope."

Piano?

"Not really".

Drums? (secretly I cringe)

"No."

Well... what do you have in mind?

"A glockenspiel."

A what????

"A glockenspiel."

Don't you love those moments when kids take you by surprise?

Not even knowing what a glockenspiel is.. of course I go to Wikipedia:

The glockenspiel (German, "set of bells" or "play-bells", also known as orchestra bells and, in its portable form, bell lira or bell lyre) is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It is similar to the xylophone, in that it has tuned bars laid out in a fashion resembling a piano keyboard. The xylophone's bars are wooden, while the glockenspiel's are metal, thus making it a metallophone.

Where did he hear about this contraption?

Turns out they have one in his music class.

I wanted to check it out during his open house but the music room was locked up by the time we made it to the back of the school building.

Rats!

I was so there.

With bells on.

My wife and I haven't decided how to handle this unexpected turn of events.

Maybe it's just a passing phase.

Maybe the glockenspiel is the next big thing.

"Guitar Hero" watch out.

"Glockenspiel Hero" could be the hottest selling interactive game ever.

Remember: you heard the whole spiel from me first.