A 4 year old vs. Instruments - an Observation

My nephew is 4 years old. His hobbies include watching Octonauts, breaking and 'fixing' things, and making lots of lovely loud sounds that I get to enjoy, every weekend. Luckily for me, I work nightshifts, so I get the pleasure of this sound-making acting as an intervallic alarm clock to give me a great day of distrupted sleep.

Despite this, I love hearing him play with sound. His relationship to sound-making presents a curiosity without fustration that I am in awe of. Like most children (well, most adults even), he can become frustrated or bored with things that don't come easily to him. However, this doesn't occur when he interacts with instruments.

When he plays, he doesn't hold an expectation for how the instrument 'should’ sound. He's excited that it makes sound at all. He's playing, in the most innate way he can. Experimenting with different ways to play, without the pressure of trying to make something innovative. He's exploring sounds through different techniques and dynamics (although he might explore quieter dynamics a bit more). His response to his actions triggering an audible response is inspired. Unadulterated joy. No silly adult worries to distract him, or prevent him from doing something he loves.

I hope to be more like him when I grow up.