Friday Family History: Music

I can't remember life without music.  Many evenings, Dad would get out his guitar and we would all sing together:  "Skip to My Lou," "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain," "The Fox Went out on a Chase One Night," and more.  Many days, Mom would sit down at the piano to play hymns or other tunes, sometimes requesting my sister and I to sing the soprano line, while she harmonized with the alto part.  And who could forget long car rides, when "Over the River and Through the Woods" heightened our anticipation of seeing Grandpa and Grandma again?

My mom took piano lessons when she was a child, after her grandmother gave her family a piano.  Her grandma thought that if my mom knew how to play the piano, she (my mom) would always be popular.  Though my mom tells me she was very shy as a child, everyone I know loves my mom, so perhaps Great-Grandma was right.   My grandma also learned to play, though later in life. 



Grandma

My dad's side of the family also enjoyed music.  I've been told that Grandpa never met a stringed instrument he couldn't play, though I don't think he ever had formal lessons.

Grandpa with mandolin





When my sister took up violin, Grandpa passed down his expertise.

I would be curious to know more about the role of music further back my family tree. 


Has a love of music been passed down in your family?   

Thanks for music, which communicates in a way words alone cannot, and thanks for family, for making music a part of my life.