有句話說：「學音樂的孩子不會變壞。」我是不知道是真的還是假的，我只知道學音樂很貴，在台灣，一對一家教或課堂式的行情，大約是每小時七百元到一千五百元，樂器的價錢也不斐，動不動就要上萬元，此外，音樂的養成，需要長時間累積，很多人是從小學就開始學習的，整個加起來，對一般的家庭是個不小的負擔，對於大部份人，關於音樂的啟蒙，應該來自於學校每週的音樂課，內容涵蓋歌唱、樂器演奏與音樂欣賞，我印象中，我的同學中沒有人對音樂感興趣或表現出音樂天分，大家都是普通人。
機緣巧合之下，某個週末，我剛好看到一場樂器展覽，想說既然有免費或優惠入場的機會，不妨進去逛逛，一走進展場，就聽到時不時飄揚的音樂聲，當然，更可以看到各式各樣的樂器，從人們熟悉的鋼琴、吉他、小提琴，到爵士鼓、薩克斯風及古箏等，而進場參觀的人，年齡從活蹦亂跳的小學生、穿著前衛的大學生到白髮蒼蒼的長輩都有，他們都流連在各攤位，把玩著各式樂器，有些人還會一時興起，就用攤位上的樂器，順手表演一下自己的拿手曲目，而不少攤位，也有安排表演橋段，藉以招攬顧客，整個展場真是樂鬧非凡。
身為一位樂器小白，對於樂器的價錢，是一點都沒有概念，不看不知道，一看嚇一跳，之前我有位親戚，小時候學鋼琴時，買了一台十來萬元的鋼琴，我就覺得很貴，而現場攤位所展示的手工鋼琴，最便宜是一百三十五萬元，最高等級的要價近八百八十萬元，和店員療了一下，他提到店內的鎮館之寶，怕被現場試彈時弄壞，所以沒有搬到現場，要價一千五百萬元，對我而言，真是天價啊，光是現場那台八百八十萬元的鋼琴，都可以買上一間地段還行的房屋了。
逛了一圈，我發現最便宜的樂器是烏克麗麗，只要一千元上下就有，不過，看的人不多，在現場買樂器的人其實不少，不但可以現場比價之外，還有不少額外好康，如限時折扣，此外，很多攤位所舉辦的樂手現場演出及講座，也非常有看頭，我想，有時候逛展覽不一定要先對主題非常了解，我們只要抱著一點好奇心走進去，就可以發現一個新世界，對於我這個喜歡到處亂逛的人來說，這還真是一趟有趣的小旅行。
There’s a saying in Chinese that goes, “Kids who learn music won’t turn bad.” I have no idea whether that’s really true or not. All I know is that learning music can be really expensive. In Taiwan, private one-on-one lessons or group classes usually cost somewhere between NT$700 and NT$1,500 an hour. Musical instruments can be expensive too, with many of them easily costing tens of thousands of dollars. On top of that, learning music takes years of practice and dedication, and many people start when they’re still in elementary school. When you add everything together, it can be quite a financial burden for an average family. For most people, their first introduction to music probably comes from the weekly music classes at school, where students learn things like singing, playing instruments, and listening to different kinds of music. As far as I can remember, none of my classmates were particularly interested in music or showed any obvious musical talent. We were all just ordinary kids.
By chance, one weekend, I happened to come across a musical instrument exhibition. Since I had a chance to get in for free or at a discounted price, I thought, why not take a look? As soon as I walked into the exhibition hall, I could hear music playing here and there. There were all kinds of instruments on display, from familiar ones like pianos, guitars, and violins to drums, saxophones, and even Chinese instruments such as the guzheng. The visitors came from all walks of life, too. There were energetic elementary school kids, college students dressed in trendy outfits, and elderly visitors with gray hair. People wandered from booth to booth, trying out different instruments. Some visitors would suddenly get into the mood and play a few songs on the instruments provided at the booths, showing off some of their favorite pieces. Many exhibitors also arranged live performances to attract visitors and potential customers, so the whole exhibition hall was filled with music and activity.
As someone who knows almost nothing about musical instruments, I really had no idea how expensive they could be. Seeing the prices at the exhibition was definitely an eye-opener. I once had a relative who bought a piano worth more than NT$100,000 when they were learning to play as a child, and I already thought that was pretty expensive. But at this exhibition, the handmade pianos on display started at around NT$1.35 million, while the most expensive one cost nearly NT$8.8 million. I chatted with one of the staff members, and he told me that their most valuable piano wasn’t even brought to the exhibition because they were worried it might get damaged if people tried it out. Its price tag? NT$15 million. To me, that was an absolutely crazy amount of money. Even the NT$8.8 million piano on display could probably buy you a decent house in a reasonably good location.
After walking around the exhibition, I found out that the cheapest instrument was probably the ukulele, with some models costing only around NT$1,000. However, not many people seemed interested in them. Quite a few visitors were actually buying instruments at the exhibition. Besides being able to compare prices in person, shoppers could also take advantage of special deals, such as limited-time discounts. I also found the live performances and talks by musicians at different booths surprisingly interesting. I guess you don’t necessarily need to know a lot about a subject before visiting an exhibition. Sometimes, all you need is a little curiosity. Once you walk in, you might discover a whole new world. For someone like me who enjoys wandering around and checking out all kinds of places, this turned out to be a pretty interesting little adventure.