In my family (two older brothers, two older sisters and myself) all the kids took piano lessons — everyone but me.

It’s an omission I sort of regret and one for which I blame solely myself, because I can only imagine I’d have been afforded the same opportunity as the others if I had really desired it.

But the fact is, I wanted to spend my non-school hours playing basketball, football, baseball, tennis and ping-pong, riding my bike, and catching snakes and frogs. And for the sedentary portion of my free time, I favored TV (Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Brady Bunch, Green Acres, Gilligan’s Island, Mod Squad, Rockford Files, etc.) and reading, mainly baseball books and our 1960 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia.

Anyway, my sisters ended up quite accomplished on the piano, and my brothers were decent; one went on to dabble also in the guitar and harmonica, sometimes simultaneously, a la Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Myself, while I’ve always loved music, I struggled to learn the song flute as required in the fourth grade, and every time I grabbed my brother’s harmonica, it mainly just sounded like noise.

But as a grown-up, I dabbled a bit with the guitar, though I haven’t picked one up in years. Someday, if I ever retire, I’ll resume playing, if you can call it that. But I was good enough to amuse myself, and that’s all that really mattered or matters; I wasn’t planning on a side career as a rock and roll sensation.

I do really admire all of you out there who can truly play the guitar, harmonica or piano (my three favorite instruments), the violin (No. 4) or anything else. And in honor of musicians and music lovers everywhere, we get to this week’s list, my Top 7 songs with musical instruments in their titles:

1) “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” Donovan. Histories of ages past, unenlightened shadows cast. Down through all eternity, the crying of humanity. ‘Tis then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man comes singing songs of love.

2) “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Bob Dylan. Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin’ ship. My senses have been stripped, my hands can’t feel to grip. My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin’. I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade. Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way. I promise to go under it. Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me.

3) “Piano Man,” Billy Joel. And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say man, what are you doin’ here?

4) “Squeezebox,” The Who. Come on and squeeze me like you do. I’m so in love with you. Momma’s got a squeezebox, Daddy never sleeps at night.

5) “Mandolin Rain,” Bruce Hornsby. The song came and went, like the time that we spent, hiding out from the rain, under the carnival tent. I laughed and she’d smile, it would last for a while. You don’t know what you got, till you lose it all again. Listen to the mandolin rain … .

6) “Different Drum,” Linda Ronstadt. Yes, and I ain’t saying you ain’t pretty. All I’m saying is I’m not ready. For any person place or thing. To try and pull the reins in on me.

7) “This Old Guitar,” John Denver. This old guitar taught me to sing a love song. It showed me how to laugh, and how to cry.