V.com weekend vote: Did you grow up in a musical family?

May 11, 2025 at 09:52 AM · Were we musicians? No. Did we like music? Yes. Like Laurie's family we played the Radio, Records and I watched all those Warner Brothers' Cartoons with classical music backgrounds. Saturdays were "Special" in that my father adopted the taste of his father and loved Opera. So, just about every Saturday afternoon it was The Metropolitan Opera sponsored by Texaco hosted by Milton Cross. And then there were the Sunday morning with Leonard Bernstein's children's concerts.

My journey, as documented here many times, began in 7th grade where I first held and played a few non-scratching notes on a violin and had the desire, but not the backing, to play the violin.

I also love "Show Tunes"

So, my final answer is Yes and No.

May 11, 2025 at 09:54 AM · My family were Irish everyone one of them sang and played musical instruments, I myself started with guitar, others played 4 and 5 string banjos and other instruments, no one ever bothered with classical though, to be honest it isnt very popular in Ireland. I dare say there may be the odd person but they are few and far between.

May 11, 2025 at 10:13 AM · My family was not musical in any way. My mother sang in church choir but couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. She had horrible pitch. My mom loved records and had a huge record collection, so we always had music playing while I was growing up. I remember when I said I wanted to take Violin in school in 4th grade, my parents didn't think I would stick past year 1. (My two brothers both took trumpet and quit during the 1st year).

May 11, 2025 at 12:51 PM · I voted yes.

Neither of my parents were professional musicians but both were accomplished amateurs. My mother was an excellent pianist - although she grew up in small-town Kentucky, her teacher had attended the New England Conservatory and so her training was well above what one might have expected in that place and time. My father grew up in a family where each of the six children was expected to learn piano and at least one other instrument (an expectation that continued to my siblings and me). There are newspaper articles describing my father as an “accomplished violinist” at the time of the accident that cost him his right arm and right leg at age 12. Thereafter he took up trumpet, learned piano left hand, and sang beautifully.

Side note: I am in no way living out my father‘s supposed frustrated dreams as a violinist. He wanted me to be a physicist like him.

My father and all of his siblings were serious musicians but none became professionals; all were highly educated and successful in other fields. In my generation of 21 total siblings/cousins on Dad’s side, over half of us either became music teachers or full- or part-time (side gig) professional performers for at least some time as adults, and two of us continue to perform and teach (and compose, in my cousin’s case) full-time.

May 11, 2025 at 01:14 PM · Re ~ Did You Grow Up in a Musical Family {#5} ~ I'll be back Later!

I voted without hesitation, YES! Now Mother's Day, I am returning to much needed sleep waking up very early around 2:45 AM to dispatch over 70 Mother's Day Jacquie Lawson eCards to many friends Family & colleagues around the World & so tired I must get some much more needed sleep, but I love this Blog of Laurie's and on Sunday, 11th of May, in 2025 ~ We've also a New Pope and American born in City of Chicago, where I reside!!! Proud as Punch I know this can be further addressed at another time!

I wish to offer Mary Ellen Goree my heartiest kind Greetings on this Mother's Day on May 11 of 2025! Her Family sounds "Large Size" but they are not blouses on Sale!! They sound marvellous all 21 of Them, I think? Apologies if I miscounted, dear Mary Ellen, but Wow, You have a Chamber Orchestra of Relative's!!!!! The more the Merrier ~ Hugs, Elisabeth 'M' ~ I will return Much Much Later! Happy Mother's Day to Editor of Violinist.com, Laurie Niles and her Mother!! em for now ~

{Will Fwd ~ dmg much later May 11, 2025!}

Continuing now 12th May, 2025 Monday after Mother's Day ...

I think the subject was to inform people writing in of major changes to one's initial techniques on a given string Instrument or in my case Yes, definitely one well trained in violin bowing in what is known amongst Violinists as the Franco-Belgian Bowing Tradition which accentuates Beauty of Sound in Purity and makes all notes & phrases beautiful whether the underlying "Story" of the musical work is calling for specific obvious displays of given emotional responses such as Love; Anger: Remorse; Happiness; Elation; Calm; Rejection; Joy; Sorrow and one gets the point ... Many mentor's of Violin teach only what they were taught and one unless use to being with truly professional musicians with a wide and versatile experience know whether a new teacher has all "The Right Stuff" quoting from a film which was most successful a while back! It is a very difficult decision for none musician parents to discern and make when finding teachers to start from Day 1 to grow new to Violin Pupil's and from Scratch which , IMO, after decades of teaching experience and with pupil's now in major symphony orchestras world wide, I know needed my own violinistic pedigree so rare having studied with the GOAT Violinists On Earth and revered by All String and Musician Colleagues Globally and for most of the Twentieth Century and The Twenty First Century now here and somewhat floundering around to Find Itself and Now with Standards in every day lives now being trashed by those who would take down every known solution to Common Sense people yet due to far out ideology we are gluttons for continued punishment when knowing well It Doesn't Work! In this regard, when going to Auer's Sascha Lasserson, the Chief Guru of the Leopold Auer Tradition of Grand Violin Playing in Live Public Performance and in Recording Studio/s was The 'Go To' Artist Teacher every sincere Violinist in All London and throughout the UK wanted to study with even if not knowing what their real troubles were and How to find them with tried and true solutions only Lasserson could offer. The Secret to greater Control of a chosen Instrument one is playing upon is keen studying and in Slow Motion all one is doing with both the Right (Bow Arm) and the Left (Left Hand) are doing conjointly! This is a situation which requires & demands the Finest of Diagnosing Violin 'Doctors' in the World of Concert Violin which is certainly different from The World of major orchestral tutti string playing but in a major ensemble i.e., the New York Philharmonic; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony and The Philadelphia Orchestra, all of whom demand the skilled experienced technical execution of a Pro Major Orchestra String Player whether it be in the Violin's, Viola's, Violoncello's or in the Double Basso's!! In any event the Subject of Change to a gifted and already trained in a particular known pedigree revered is at best very difficult meaning breaking time honoured Habits though they be wrong for the player or learning about new Violinistic Techniques either with the left Hand or Bowing Arm and which the Bow Arm is likely to be involved and in a sort of mythical idea vs Common sense Ideas without a lot of confusion which one hears when those not knowing really How to Bow try to falsely improvise with very revealing lack's of knowledge almost like a Car Salesman trying to Sell a 1941 Cadillac to a new Driver and a young one, saying it is the Newest Car on the current Market which blows the Cover of fraud-like teachers knowing so little yet Talking Big ~

For now it is So Late for me I will have to return tomorrow when sleep has favoured me and Time is Kind to finish this very important issue to be well discussed by myself and Others tomorrow or Today and Later when I am fully awake & near The Top of my Game! Over and Out for now, Elisabeth Matesky/Carrier of The Heifetz-Milstein Tradition of Violin Art & Nathan Milstein Bowing Legacy... AM Monday 12th of May, 2025 ~ Save My EM Space!!! Thank You!

Returning Tuesday, 13th May, 2025, I think much has already been written here so not much more is now currently needed yet I read almost all Replies with great interest and find all contributors very honest in sharing their specific individual music experiences with changes made or required on this very important and seemingly been shadowed subject although I do not think intentionally, but due to so many other string playing issues it has been overlooked or not prior to this addressed forum and without a doubt, certainly a Feather in the Editor of this V.com online Mother's Day Issue, Laurie Niles' Cap for bringing it up and in a kindly thoughtful manner ... A Last Thought: I heard a brilliant person from another Field of Endeavour speak about the Life Cycle/s of most people who did say and in reference to hosts of Careers begun with profound words about our usual thinking once having decided What We Will Do in our Work Lives, to "*Never think that what You are doing Now will Last Forever!" He went on further mentioning ~ "one must be prepared to move into another direction or idea in a professional field at a given time in one's long professional career, so do not focus only on How you started out but know with experience you may change career paths or Ideas and it is a healthy attitude to have!" My words here are not 100% verbatim but they mirror his profound thoughts about the Life Cycle and Cycles of All of Human People which when hearing this Speaker I felt a sense of Relief if one had to turn away from full time Concert Touring or full time Teaching in a public school or full time counseling those trying to quit various addictions (knowing little of this very important life saving mental health issue) or hosts of other Lifetime Professions yet none of us know What the Future holds so best to Yes ~ Pursue a favourite hobby or pass time issue which brings you joy and which you do well simply because you Love It & know in Life Nothing Is Forever except our Lifetime's here on Earth and do the best you {and for myself} can at every passage in our lives with gratitude to be able to help those who do need our knowledge in good faith and always with love ~

~ ~ ~ Thanking Laurie Niles for This ~ ~ ~

............elisabeth matesky............

Fwd ~ dmg {now 13, May, 2025} original {#5}

May 11, 2025 at 02:44 PM · No. While my Mother would listen to country western music on the radio and sing along, my Dad never listened to music. No one in my family played an instrument until I took up violin in 6th grade. In addition to my 2 siblings I had 11 cousins who would make fun of me for playing the violin...and for being a voracious reader. It's a wonder I kept it up through 8th grade. Then I didn't play again for over 50 years but am so very grateful I had those years as a kid. They came in handy when I began to play again at 62!

May 11, 2025 at 03:37 PM · My mom liked Beethoven Fifth!

Then I always listen Beethoven Fifth!

My wife likes Beethoven Ninth!

My son and I always listen Beethoven Ninth!

May 11, 2025 at 04:17 PM · My mother never played-- part of that was dyslexia. When she tried to join me for Suzuki lessons, she completely froze up. My dad ended up trying lute and guitar lessons for a while when I was a kid, but he did not play music when he was younger.

Each liked music, though. My mom went to the Met a fair bit when in medical school, and remembers her father dozing off to the Saturday broadcasts. And my father was a fan of classical recordings.

The main influence for me was having the radio on all day. There was even a year when my crib was between two enormous loudspeakers while the BBC blasted classical at me. We also went to a lot of performances at the Met Opera and more local orchestras.

As for sibling quartets, my parents had an inventory of fractional violins that I used, and a piano that her mother gave us. So the younger ones were forced into lessons and eventually two got shuttled off into viola and cello. But we never played together.

May 11, 2025 at 05:48 PM · My dad played saxophone and clarinet in a wedding and party band his entire life, along with his four brothers. Music was just part of the air we breathed. Two of my cousins ended up playing in major symphonies, and one of my aunts was a NY opera singer. Being creative—making music, acting, painting, writing—was always encouraged growing up. It was a big part of who we were as kids.

But college? That wasn’t really on the table. Both of my parents had to leave school in the eighth grade to help support their families, so they didn’t see higher education as something necessary. In fact, they were a little intimidated by it. I was gently (okay, not-so-gently) pushed to get a job and grow up fast. Still, I’m so thankful to them. They gave me a deep love for music, for playing and listening, for theater, for Shakespeare, and for reading. That foundation has shaped so much of who I am.

May 11, 2025 at 06:16 PM · I voted "no" mainly because my parents are not musicians, but my younger sibling plays the same instruments I do.

May 11, 2025 at 07:20 PM · Not at all. Neither of my parents even listens to music at all, and my dad even goes out of his way to avoid hearing music in public places. I didn't hear music at home until I got my own radio. My parents were willing to pay for piano lessons and rent my school band instruments, and had my late great-uncle's violin brought over when I said I wanted to learn a string instrument, but they asked me to practice when they weren't home if possible. To them, all music is just noise.

May 11, 2025 at 08:38 PM · No I did not. Seeing my peers in music school in college I would have had an easier time with my aspirations if I had. I am not claiming genetics, just being around the right influences earlier on.

May 11, 2025 at 09:40 PM · Yes. We were happy amateurs. Mom was a one-time piano prodigy. My older sister played the flute. Sis also was - and is - a good singer. Her twin brother played the trumpet and had a talent for ragtime piano. Not sure whether he did these rags by ear or by reading the music.

Piano was my first instrument - I began lessons at 7 y/o; but the violin muse soon got hold of me, and I went on to complete a degree in performance, having had the childhood ambition to become a symphony player. I was the first in the family to play a stringed instrument and the only one to major in music. I decided, near the end of the degree program, not to go into the music field after all and found chamber music to be my preferred ensemble medium.

My younger sister started violin a few years after I did my first playing and continued for a year or two, later becoming an adult starter in cello.

Dad had had some piano training in his youth but did the least playing among us. I do remember his playing “Silent Night” on the piano on more than one Christmas Eve - in the key of B-flat.

May 11, 2025 at 10:47 PM · Elisabeth, to clarify: I have four siblings, and 16 first cousins on my father‘s side. Since Dad was one of six children himself, this is not unusual.

Thank you very much for your kind greetings!

May 11, 2025 at 11:08 PM · You bet I did. My middle name, Ludwig, is to honor you-know-who. My parents were both very musical; my mother played piano at an almost professional level, and my father played cello. My family tree is replete with professional musicians including two superstars. My mother's mother and father's father were both professional quality piano players (at least until my grandmother got terrible MS). My grandfather put himself through college playing summers in the Catskills with his brother who was a violinist. My generation is the first one in a while in which there have been no professional musicians. My parents had several close friends who were prominent composers and musicians. So, yes, I grew up in a musical family. In fact, one of the unresolved questions of family history is: why the h*ll did a family of Jewish professional violinists (my great-grandfather and two sons) go settle in Denver, CO, in the late 1870's, when it was barely a civilized place?

May 11, 2025 at 11:27 PM · My aunt and grandma both play violin and my dad used to play the tabla. However, I voted no because they are not really much into music anymore. I still am very passionate about the violin and classical music.

May 11, 2025 at 11:53 PM · My dad was a self-taught pianist who was skilled enough to muddle through easier Mozart and Chopin, and who accompanied me and my brothers at "Solo and Ensemble Festival" when we needed that. The concept of hiring an accompanist was entirely foreign to us, but we also weren't advanced enough to need a pro. Dad had a brother who was an excellent pianist and a close relative (cousin, perhaps) who was a Curtis-trained professional organist and an organ professor in Chapel Hill NC. From Dad I inherited a love of solo piano music especially Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Chopin, and Scriabin. I grew up listening to Horowitz, Rubinstein, Lipatti, Gould, Pollini, etc.

As a Holocaust refugee, my mother grew up in places and circumstances that weren't favorable to the study of music, even though my grandmother who was a pianist in the "highly skilled amateur" category.

After my parents married, in St. Louis in 1956, one of their early purchases was a nice set of recorders, and they both learned to play those. At Christmastime, there would be evenings of music and the recorders would come out and be passed around among those who could play them; I could not, but I had my violin. My brothers and I each have a "Christmas book" of pieces, many are German melodies, that we associate with the holiday season.

May 12, 2025 at 12:08 AM · I was lucky to grow up with a mother who sang (mainly folk songs) and had us all taking it in turns to choose songs to sing in the car. She sang with love, humour and gusto!

She was also into opera and we went to many operas together later on. She loved playing Haydn on the piano.

The reason I'm contributing to this discussion is to say never underestimate the power of singing to and with kids: folk songs, bits of arias, nonsense songs that make them laugh, songs of beauty, good pop songs, whatever, whether or not you are a professional.

I took up Irish tin whistle 20 years ago, playing in sessions and for dancers, and fiddle at the age of 68, five years ago, and only really play by ear. I'm really good at picking up tunes by ear, and I have hundreds if not thousands of phrases in my head. I'm sure that this is thanks to that early singing. I have so many tunes in my head, and can often play along with a non-curly tune I don't know, a microsecond behind. (Don't gasp in horror, I don't do this where it would be annoying.)

All (ha ha) I need now is the technique to get them happening!

May 12, 2025 at 03:06 AM · One of my earliest memories is singing action songs along with my siblings with my Dad playing on his Piano Accordion, so that's a pretty musical memory. Both Mum and Dad could play the piano and organ, so we got used to them playing at the church every now and then, though Mum gradually lost her hearingand now needs hearing aids. Us kids also used to take turns blowing on a mouth organ Dad had, that he never used. And my parents had a large selection of records. My oldest sister was the first of us to learn a musical instrument - the ukulele - and I remember her and the next oldest sister singing songs she made up on cassette tapes to send to our grandparents in New Zealand. We were living in PNG at the time, and we sounded like proper Pasifika kids!

May 12, 2025 at 03:10 AM · As a middle child in a family of seven kids who all played music, the sounds of cellos, pianos and violins playing etudes, scales and Bach, Beethoven, Bloch, Stravinsky etc was resonating in the house for at least 5 years before I was born and for some time after I left home.

I think that a large influence on my musical inclinations came from my somewhat unconventional home and family environment, where our house was frequently the place where artists, musicians, poets and thinkers would gather over dinner and discuss music, art, philosophy, play chamber music, and tell stories, and we sometimes had after-concert dinners for visiting performers to our city, such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt & Concentus Musicus Wien, The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and many others. Olaf Baer and Paul Badura-Skoda even gave recitals there.

This was all somewhat interrupted by a shocking car wreck my family was involved in when I was still young, which was a challenging experience for everyone involved and which left me partly crippled for life, yet also brought change, growth and new perspectives. If anything it put an emphasis on being able to spend time alone, engage in introspection & reflection, and gave my life thereafter a focus on a non-sporting lifestyle, which in many ways you could say was ideal for creating a musician. Anyway it was the life I have.

So it was a very rich environment for a developing child over those years and it has all been a significant force which shaped my life, and which I have drawn on and added to for decades in my life as a musician.

I can see that these early influences informed my life trajectory with certain expectations also - that I attended university and gained a degree in violin performance, went to further study and play in Vienna and London, and eventually find my way to becoming an original classical artist (performer-composer) performing all my own works, and also branching into the music of many other cultures and genres of music.

I realise that this was a very unique opportunity which I found myself born into, and its value is not lost to me - it has given me not only insight and a great passion for music, the humanities and themes of social and cultural development for the world, but also a powerful desire to share and pass on the fruits of all this through teaching, masterclasses, writing, wellbeing coaching, interviews and my concerts and recordings.

My journey as a player has continued along similar lines interestingly enough, with many amazing out-of-the-blue opportunities to play with some household names, chance meetings, and unexpected mentors, who somehow all lead me to the next step I needed in my journey to be able to do what I do now. I can only encourage anyone on the musical path to learn to look at themselves, to face and better who they are as a person in every way they can, at every opportunity. Life has taught me that there are no free passes when it comes to artistry, and who we really are..that's all we've got to offer.

I see a vision for music which has more emphasis on artistry than pure technical development, and as much our own development as people and the humanitarian reasons we make music, from where we can we can bring and remind the world of the care which is necessary for humanity's survival, a theme more relevant today perhaps than ever.

May 12, 2025 at 08:33 AM · My parents had little interest in music but in my teens I became a classical nerd thanks to kind and enthusiastic musical teaching at my school. My younger brother might have gone the same way but his (extra-curricular) violin teacher was a harridan.

May 12, 2025 at 01:21 PM · My sister and I are both musical.

My mother is musical but struggles with proprioception so our only ever learnt to play the piano by watching her hands.

I loved it when my mother played piano when I was a small child. My favourite music of what she played was the various pieces from The Sting soundtrack.

My father tried various instruments over the years including oboe, cello and most recently (in his 80s) bassoon. As far as I can tell he's completely unmusical in that he lacks aptitude for both rhythm and pitch.

My sister and I are so lucky that we inherited our mother's genes.