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Friday, December 16, 2005

A Musical Journey Part 1

A visit to Ted's house last night prompted me to consider my musical journey and how I got to be the musical snob that I am today. ....
I was raised on Country Sunshine. I grew up around my mother's musical family. Picture in your mind a family that lives/lived in SE OKlahoma 6 miles from the Arkansas border and you may get a clearer picture. My Pepaw played the fiddle add Aunt Dodo (Dolores) and other aunts and cousins and uncles and you get a picture of the family band. Play by ear, play what you hear. Country music. Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Willie, Waylon. Bob Wills, Hank Williams Sr, then add a HUGE dose of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis and my education was complete. I, as the only grandson/nephew for a few years was appointed to be the "Next" musical genius. The inheritor of Pepaw's famous fiddle. I quickly found out that I had no natural ear for music. In the fifth grade I took violin lessons under a tyrannical teacher/lady who would swing her bow like she might hit us and then throw her keys ( back in the day when skeleton keys were still used) across the room if we didn't get it. I didn't want to get it. She became the first adult to which I shouted, "I hate your guts!!!!!" I soon learned to hate the violin and still had to listen to years of "You'd better learn to play the fiddle so you will get Pepaw's fiddle when he passes." I didn't care then and I don't care now. Although I would give almost anything to once again hear him play "Faded Love."

Side Note: What am I listening to now? ELVIS COSTELLO/ THE JULIET LETTERS w/the Brodsky Quartet. From Ted's eclectic music collection.

Add to that the fact that in the early 70's in my town and other places the fact that the sight of a boy carrying a violin anywhere would cause the Redneck to come out in otherwise docile students, my education became even more complete. JAMIE DAWN, there was SOME truth to my memory of us. But in my new memory there was a better outcome.

In the 2nd half of the 5th grade my parents allowed me the opportunity to change from violin to trumpet. My cousin had an old trumpet that had seen better days, but it was free and and also offered my freedom away from the bow swingin', key throwing biddy.

My astute band teacher Mr. McPherson soon noticed that the shape/form of my lips were probably better suited for the trombone. Besides, trumpet players were aplenty and t-bone players were few. My destiny was now settled. My trombone and I soon became close friends and my journey to musical snobbery had begun.

Part Two Tomorrow

7 comments:

Curious Servant said...

Nice style to your writing!

I dropped by to say "Hi" and thanks for the visit to my blog.

Let me lend a hand here and show you how to link text in your post.

1. highlight and copy the URL of the site you wish your text to link

2. Highlight the text in your post that you want to have a the clickable link.

3. Look for the icon that shows a tiny picture of the world with a chain link on top and click it. A window will appear. (The icon is between the text color icon and the justify text left side icon.)

4. Paste.

Voila!




I wish I was musical... but not very hard as I am grateful for the many other skills and blessing He has given me.

Merry Christmas!

Whistle Britches said...

Thank you cs for your kind words and your help. May God bless you!

Suzy-Q said...

Joe, I don't think you are a musical snob. You have shown me an eclectic combination of music. It is all good, especially when we are listening to it together. (too mush for blogland?)

Hey I always heard that brass players have the best lips. I think they were right. (oops I did it again! Sorry)

You are a musical genius, but can you play the cowbell like Will/Gene? :o) You have the beard, so lets just work on that bell and some fluffy hair.

Thanks Hun. :o)

PrayerfulMom said...

Ohhhhh my eyes, I'm blushing at all the mushy stuff ;o)...J/K
PrayerfulMom

Suzy-Q said...

I figured out how to link yesterday Joe, all you had to do was ask.....

Anonymous said...

listen to auntie jo on how to link. or go to foo
here
and check the instructions on his comment to 5 random facts. i found that easy to follow, so that means it's really easy.

now somehow, i'm wasn't thinking you were old enough for skeleton key days? the old biddy must have been really old.

good luck learning the cowbell. it is right up there with the finger cymbals. too sexy.

Jamie Dawn said...

My hubby played the trumpet from boyhood on.
He's still very good at it. But, he always beat up the trombone players... sorry.

King Kong is a great movie. There's one thing I don't like that they changed from the original movie, but I won't say what it is.
Spiritual lesson learned: Big gorillas are of the devil.