August 23, 2013 at 8:00 PM
This week a reader asked if a budding violinist has any advantage, growing up in a musical family.I've often wondered the same thing! I can't by any stretch say that I grew up in a musical family -- neither of my parents played an instrument or sang -- though fortunately, they did play the radio and record-player! (Not to date myself!)
I often wondered what it would be like to grow up in a house where the whole family plays quartets together, or where someone can play piano while everyone else sings, etc. It looks really fun!
Did you grow up in a musical family? Are there musical families you admire?
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My paternal grandfather played trumpet, Dad was a baritone, and one of my brothers plays French horn.
I had two years of piano lessons at age eight; started violin lessons after that and started my orchestral life in the 5th grade. Choir started in the early grade school years and has continued most of my life.
I can't imagine a life without music.
My grandmother used to play a bit of piano (Christmas songs, church music etc.) when I was young and she actually taught me and my sister some musical basics such as note reading and simple piano tunes. We liked it and were talented but not serious at all.
We didn't have a serious musician to show us the way... Music started in the highschool band where me and my sister played flute (me) and clarinet (her).
She did 5 years of clarinette and became really good and played in a semi-pro wind orchestra. I quited flute to go towards violin since I always had a "crush" for string instruments sound(violin, cello, electric guitar etc.) I also though wind instruments were too demanding... as doing jogging or so! Well, I wasn't aware of violin's muscular and finger acrobatics back then :)
When my sister quit, my grandma hadn't play for years either so I was for a long time am still am the only musician in the family...
There is good and bad sides to this...
The bad:
progress and coaching must come from yourself. Those who start as a kid have very few chances of beeing mature ennough to "teach" themselves home the right way and can become frustrated and quit... Unless they have a non musician parent willing to learn with them, present at the lesson.
The good:
I have no pressure and my parents, while not encouraging a musical career, still value music as a valuable activity and support me. Many families would have left me with a beginners Chinese violin and no lessons because what's the point and it's expensive...
Also, I have been able to explore many things and make my own mind.
I've knowned non musical kids in very musical families who were considered aliens because they did not like or do music when music was almost forced on every children there... This is no better since it's no longer a pleasure! If one really likes it, one will put the hours naturally. (I beleive)
Musical families that I admire very much?
- The Mendelshons if they were in 2013 and kinder for Fanny! Same thing for the Mozarts
- Rostropovichs and Oistrakhs and I have always found it so cool that Slava's wife had a wonderful career of her own too!
Nice blog :)
no one in my family really plays music. my older sister once learned to play a keyboard toy (it had lovely piano sound for a toy.. even the black keys are functioned) when she was in elementary but then she abandoned it and then become mine later...
No one at home cares about any repertoire I had practiced. They are all sounded the same for my entire family: "a music without lyrics which you can not sing along with" lol
I was encouraged to play music, though. In fact, it turned into enough pressure that in my late teens I turned away from music for over 25 years. It's not that I didn't like music, but the pressure turned it into a love/hate relationship that I just couldn't keep up.
Fortunately, though, I got back into music, first with guitar in my 40s, then mandolin, and now violin and viola. I'm making up for lost time.
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