A DADE COUNTY IMPORT

‘Tis the season for the giving of gifts. I was thinking about this after a conversation I had with a good friend this week. He mentioned how relaxing it was to listen to the music at the Dulcimer Jam we have at Dade County ArtConnect every couple of weeks, and how he wished he’d learned to play the guitar earlier in his life. His mother “forced” him to play an instrument, and coronets don’t really lend themselves to joining small groups. But his wife and children all play a variety of instruments, and his granddaughter is taking lessons.

The discussion moved from his family to mine – how I “forced” my son to take a couple of years of piano lessons, and my daughter is also an accomplished musician. Two of her children have begun taking lessons, and the other will start when she’s old enough. 

Now let’s go back over 50 years. My grandmother was helping my mom fold clothes one day, and when I walked by, grandma asked me if I wanted a “pie-ann-er”. Well, I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but I said sure, and she flicked the towel she was folding at me and said “here you go”. It was the piano she grew up with, that had been being used at the one room school house at Halford. That piano was a heavy upright, painted a creamy yellow color, and came to be at our house. Mom showed me where middle C was on the keyboard, Aunt Danette gave us some sheet music, and I taught myself to play. My siblings were all offered the opportunity to take lessons at the Catholic grade school they attended, and two of them are accomplished pianists also. Cynthia plays a variety of instruments, and her son is a fabulous piano player. Sharon only plays the piano, but now has the one that replaced grandmas, although she paid for the newer one. Monique and Phillip lament the fact that mom didn’t “force” them to stick with lessons – but they didn’t like practicing! However, Phillip plays the guitar, as does his son. 

The piano that my grandmother laughingly gifted me with the flick of a towel was the beginning. I also taught myself to stumble through learning the guitar, and am currently plunking the mountain dulcimer.

Learning to play has worked its way through our family. There are a lot of scientific articles about the value of music providing so much enhancement of other abilities. And it has also been proven that people with Dementia and Alzheimer’s benefit from music. Just think about it, babies are soothed by singing lullabies when they are fussy, and that carries on through to the end of our lives.

As you give gifts, sometimes you don’t realize the far-reaching effects they might have to those who come after you. I reposted a funny on Facebook this week about Santa giving a drum to the child of parents who were on his naughty list, but I don’t think you should do that, unless the drum stays at your house! Merry Christmas.