As many of you know from reading this blog I enjoy music. It comes from growing up with music. There was always music going when our family was in the car. My mom sang in the church choir forever. My dad started playing guitar in the church praise bands at some point in my life. I enjoy music. And I have enjoyed playing music as well.
I started, liked many kids, playing the piano. We had many a pianos in our house growing up since my father fixed them. I can remember taking lessons and learning how to play it, but the truth is I also remember not enjoying playing the piano that much. I don’t remember why, but I know I didn’t want to keep playing it, so at some point I stopped. My guess is that it was around 4th grade because that was when I started playing the violin. Our family had a few violins in the house, and my father could play a little bit. So, I took that up and started playing in the school orchestra. I can remember the out of tune notes and the screechy bow across the string noise. I can remember not wanting to practice, but still doing it, a little. I can remember taking lessons from high school and college aged people. There may have been other teachers, but I don’t remember any others.
Here is the thing. I wasn’t very good. I didn’t want to be very good. But I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being in the orchestra. I loved playing the music even though I wasn’t very good. I know I must have irritated my practice teachers and my schoolteachers with the fact that I was content just not being last chair violin. That was always my goal. And I always met that goal (sometimes barely).
I played in the school orchestra from 4th – 12th grade. It was so much fun, and I made some great friends over those years. After high school I stopped playing the violin. I never liked the sound of myself playing by myself. I really enjoyed the full ensemble of an orchestra.
But I haven’t just played the violin (and piano). I also played hand bells at 2 different churches. I started playing handbells in 5th grade at the church my family went to. It was fun, but truthfully we didn’t like the teacher much. She always seemed too strict and we were kids. But I played bells there all through junior high from what I recall. Then, once I was married my wife and I joined the bell choir again and we played at that church for 12 years (or so) and then at our next church for about 5-6 years (I may be off on the years a little). That was also a lot of fun. At the first church we played with my parents as well and others we knew well so that was a lot of fun. Even when we had kids we would bring our few month old all the way through toddler with us to practice. We are currently at a church that doesn’t have a bell choir so that has stopped, and the truth is I miss it.
I enjoy playing music. I like being a part of a group of people that are working together to make music. I enjoy figuring out the best way to arraign the bells so I can get to all my bells when I need them during a song. I enjoyed figuring out where my fingers needed to be on the violin. It was a challenge that I felt I could overcome with enough work at it. With bells it was easier for me since there wasn’t as much going on (at least I felt that way) compared to the violin, but both were fun.
Playing music also led to me enjoying music more and more. I listen more to music because I played music. I enjoy soundtracks to movies because of my time in orchestra. Music played a role in my life from a personal growth side of things as well.
With my kids now I have one playing the piano and one on the violin. The violin kid has also played the piano for a number of years. As a result, I have picked up a little bit of piano again. I can find notes and run my hands through some of it to help her, and I find myself wanting to play the violin again (for fun) because I hear my oldest practicing.
But then I never really get up the full motivation to actually play. I think that is because I don’t have a group to play with. I still don’t like the sound of myself playing alone. I want to hear a group playing. So, that has kept the drive out of me. Maybe someday. Who knows maybe someday I will play at the church I am attending. That will require some work on my end to get back into comfortability with the fingering again, but who knows. I can dream.
So, do you play? If so what and why? Was music important to you as a kid?