Responses to a previous discussion got me wondering how many people here play as a group with your family. Also, does it bring you together or is it a source of heated battles?
To start this off, my wife (hammered dulcimer, whistle), daughter (harp, guitar, voice) and myself (bouzouki, guitar) play together. We play mostly in churches and nursing homes, but sometimes in other venues. We thoroughly enjoy doing this and it has been a great way to do something together.
I play in nursing homes too, once a week, with sisters. It is indeed a great excuse to do something together.
Incidentally, I'm often surprised how many people think that because we all play music in the family, we must have regular sessions at home. We very rarely play together at home at all.
Me and wife play together, she is a pretty good fiddler, and has more musical talent than I will ever have, I envy her.
I am more into The Music than she is, and for a while, because of my enthusiasm, I was inadvertently pushing her into more musical events than she enjoyed. She took about a year almost entirely off, and now we are starting up again, on what I hope is a more even footing.
We are pretty sympatico on what we like and how we view the music, and recently the two of us got hired to provide some folky touches (fiddle, guitar, banjo, harmonica) for a local community chorus that is doing a concert of American folk songs.
I have a son (guitar, bodrahn) and daughter (fiddle, harp, singer) who love to play almost every night. It beats TV. I play flute/whistle. We're always working on something. I never pushed them to do it, just was always playing around with it when they were very young. Also played Irish music and bluegrass CD's as long as they can remember. I think it just sunk in and now they're hooked!
Aww, that's so nice!! I wish that I could do that too, but my brother isn't so much into this kind of music, and my Mom is convinced that she can't play anything...so I guess my way of compensating is trying to play everything that I can! ^_~
I just counted about a dozen couples who play together in the Indiana/Ohio/Kentucky area, and I'm sure that I could come up with a bunch more. Most of the couples play both in bands and sessions, too.
Just offhand I can think of about half-a-dozen families in which the kids play also... Nice... And I can think of a number of families in which the parents and children all play, but play different stuff. One ITM couple have two kids who are pretty successful in pop and hip-hop music... And with a huge university music school here, all kinds of people and musical stuff crosses over genres.
Musical families are pretty common in this area, in Bluegrass and Oldtime music as well. Perhaps even more so in those musics than in Irish music...
I don't know about the dynamics of the musical relationships... I've not been a party to hardly any musical arguments among family members, if any. Min and I don't argue much, we're too lazy... <GGG>
My family used to play out lots together, when my siblings and I were young. Now, I"m the only one that plays at all anymore. My brother got kicked out of the band when he was 14 or so...showed no interest whatsoever, so my mom told him to get lost. Seemed pretty harsh at the time, getting kicked out of the family band, but now we can laugh about it to no end.
Everyone in my family except my mom played at least one instrument when I was young. But we never took them out and played them together--just played in school bands and such. I wish we had--one of my fondest memories is playing 'Just a Closer Walk With Thee' with my dad and a brother in church one Sunday, trumpet, cornet and clarinet, swapping off the lead in true Dixieland style.
I play in a band with my brother-in-law. My husband sound engineers for us. There is occasionally friction between brothers!! - but then there's friction between all the band members at times so I think the family connection is just co-incidental!!
My mom and I both play, but not in a band or anything, unless you count the St Paddy's Day assembly we did at the school we both teach at. She technically got me started into music when I was a young child, but as I moved away from classical and into Irish, she took up an interest in the Irish as well. You might think that having your mom at most sessions you attend would cramp a 23 year old's (me) style, but we've always gotten along great, so it's not a problem. Also gives a person to vent to on the carride home. So yeah, not a problem having mom around in my case.
Ms. Wife and I have been doing music together since 1964, but we haven’t done many gigs in recent years. Our son never really wanted to play with us while he was growing up, but he’s 26 now and lately has hinted that he might want to try it. That would be cool.
The music has almost never been a point of friction. I just wish we’d do more of it.
my almost two year old granddaughter is totally guitar obsessed. She makes me take them out one by one and she sits on my lap and strums nicely. Oddly she's picked up the alternating thumb and finger thing I do and is trying to fingerpick. One can hope she stays with it...I got her a Uke for now.
Her dad is a drummer of many styles, tours with a well known rock band for a living, but was also a drummer in Riverdance while they were in NYC. She will become a girl drummer if he has his way, though she is only interested in guitars for now.
Get them young and they seem to learn more naturally.
I'm working on my 2-year-old nephew. Before he was born, I recorded a few tracks on a 4-track recorder for him to 'listen to' in the womb. When he popped out, it was the only thing (besides his mother's milk) that would keep him quiet. Now he asks to listen to it every morning, so my sister tells me. I hope his musical taste broadens over time, or he'll end up learning all my habitual fluffed notes and less-than-perfect timing.
Even at his tender age, he's showing irrefutable signs of genius - he's a dab hand at dropping plectrum into a mandolin.
My two daughters and I routinely played sessions while we were all together. Now that we've moved, one's in a different city and the other's at college, it's a lot tougher to get us all together. Still, we play on the few chances we can, even if it's a meeting of two plus others versus all three plus others. Odd, but seldom would we just spontaneously play together on our own, other than to practice a certain song.
I accompany my wife to her retirement home / nursing home gigs about 3 - 6 times a month. We both play guitar, she sings - wonderfully. We frequently perform "oldie" pop favorites, nearly all from 1900 - 1960. We also seasonally give theme programs: Irish music in March, Hispanic in May, patriotic music around Memorial Day, Independence Day & Veterans Day, and Christmas music in December. On rare occasions our 2 older sons join us, on drums and bass. They are more into youth music and have their own groups that they play in.
my husband & I play together, or at least at the same time. we don't always work on the same tune at the same time (thank heaven we live in the country where there' s no one to listen to a mando playing Libery, while a flute works on Silver Spear which is not so say that we don't also play in unison when the mood takes us and whenever we get together with his fiddle playing sister, a little music is always in order
We've played together (not trad) for about 23 years.
When you grow at different rates and have musical interests outside stuff you can play together, whether it works or not depends on respect for each other's right to determine their own musical path. (And how much music is seen as "belonging" to the relationship rather than something that can exist outside the relationship.)
It's had it's moments, particularly in earlier years when we had a policy of "championing" student players who needed money and some of them became like family and we all had a lot of fun playing together.
I'm not so sure I'd miss it if it stopped now, though, partly through time-to-move-on stuff and partly because of some of the internal stresses. A personal relationship is in no way a guarantee that a true musical relationship can develop between you.
Alan Ginsburg here in North Wales plays Uillean pipes and his wife Joan, the fiddle. I love visiting their house for a tune. Alan makes pipes and there's always friends from Ireland and London popping over there for a tune or discuss pipes.
Families that play together
Families that play together
Responses to a previous discussion got me wondering how many people here play as a group with your family. Also, does it bring you together or is it a source of heated battles?
To start this off, my wife (hammered dulcimer, whistle), daughter (harp, guitar, voice) and myself (bouzouki, guitar) play together. We play mostly in churches and nursing homes, but sometimes in other venues. We thoroughly enjoy doing this and it has been a great way to do something together.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by rob zouk
Re: Families that play together
I play in nursing homes too, once a week, with sisters. It is indeed a great excuse to do something together.
Incidentally, I'm often surprised how many people think that because we all play music in the family, we must have regular sessions at home. We very rarely play together at home at all.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by ButtonBoxer
Re: Families that play together
Me and wife play together, she is a pretty good fiddler, and has more musical talent than I will ever have, I envy her.
I am more into The Music than she is, and for a while, because of my enthusiasm, I was inadvertently pushing her into more musical events than she enjoyed. She took about a year almost entirely off, and now we are starting up again, on what I hope is a more even footing.
We are pretty sympatico on what we like and how we view the music, and recently the two of us got hired to provide some folky touches (fiddle, guitar, banjo, harmonica) for a local community chorus that is doing a concert of American folk songs.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by AlBrown
Re: Families that play together
Meself and the lad play together at home most days, and go to sessions together.
It's never a source of heated battles, but is something a father and son can do together that doesn't involve running or kicking a ball.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by showaddydadito
Re: Families that play together
I have a son (guitar, bodrahn) and daughter (fiddle, harp, singer) who love to play almost every night. It beats TV. I play flute/whistle. We're always working on something. I never pushed them to do it, just was always playing around with it when they were very young. Also played Irish music and bluegrass CD's as long as they can remember. I think it just sunk in and now they're hooked!
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by O'Lehane
Re: Families that play together
Aww, that's so nice!! I wish that I could do that too, but my brother isn't so much into this kind of music, and my Mom is convinced that she can't play anything...so I guess my way of compensating is trying to play everything that I can! ^_~
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by WildIrishRose
Re: Families that play together
I just counted about a dozen couples who play together in the Indiana/Ohio/Kentucky area, and I'm sure that I could come up with a bunch more. Most of the couples play both in bands and sessions, too.
Just offhand I can think of about half-a-dozen families in which the kids play also... Nice... And I can think of a number of families in which the parents and children all play, but play different stuff. One ITM couple have two kids who are pretty successful in pop and hip-hop music... And with a huge university music school here, all kinds of people and musical stuff crosses over genres.
Musical families are pretty common in this area, in Bluegrass and Oldtime music as well. Perhaps even more so in those musics than in Irish music...
I don't know about the dynamics of the musical relationships... I've not been a party to hardly any musical arguments among family members, if any. Min and I don't argue much, we're too lazy... <GGG>
stv
The Culchies, Irish traditional music
CD, "Bruscar Bán" now at
http://www.OSSIANUSA.com
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by stv culchie
Re: Families that play together
My family used to play out lots together, when my siblings and I were young. Now, I"m the only one that plays at all anymore. My brother got kicked out of the band when he was 14 or so...showed no interest whatsoever, so my mom told him to get lost. Seemed pretty harsh at the time, getting kicked out of the family band, but now we can laugh about it to no end.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by irishfiddler32
Re: Families that play together
It's interesting, Rob Zouk, that none of your family plays a real ITM instrument! Maybe someone should try learning one!
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by Dogboy
Re: Families that play together
Whistle, harp, voice? None of these represent an Irish Traditional instrument? Most interesting perspective!
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by rob zouk
Re: Families that play together
Everyone in my family except my mom played at least one instrument when I was young. But we never took them out and played them together--just played in school bands and such. I wish we had--one of my fondest memories is playing 'Just a Closer Walk With Thee' with my dad and a brother in church one Sunday, trumpet, cornet and clarinet, swapping off the lead in true Dixieland style.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by AlBrown
Re: Families that play together
I play in a band with my brother-in-law. My husband sound engineers for us. There is occasionally friction between brothers!! - but then there's friction between all the band members at times so I think the family connection is just co-incidental!!
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by Tarrantella
Re: Families that play together
My mom and I both play, but not in a band or anything, unless you count the St Paddy's Day assembly we did at the school we both teach at. She technically got me started into music when I was a young child, but as I moved away from classical and into Irish, she took up an interest in the Irish as well. You might think that having your mom at most sessions you attend would cramp a 23 year old's (me) style, but we've always gotten along great, so it's not a problem. Also gives a person to vent to on the carride home. So yeah, not a problem having mom around in my case.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by Jason G
Re: Families that play together
Ms. Wife and I have been doing music together since 1964, but we haven’t done many gigs in recent years. Our son never really wanted to play with us while he was growing up, but he’s 26 now and lately has hinted that he might want to try it. That would be cool.
The music has almost never been a point of friction. I just wish we’d do more of it.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by Bob himself
Re: Families that play together
I play with my dad more than I play with anyone else.
# Posted on May 9th 2006 by Zazzaliss
Re: Families that play together
my almost two year old granddaughter is totally guitar obsessed. She makes me take them out one by one and she sits on my lap and strums nicely. Oddly she's picked up the alternating thumb and finger thing I do and is trying to fingerpick. One can hope she stays with it...I got her a Uke for now.
Her dad is a drummer of many styles, tours with a well known rock band for a living, but was also a drummer in Riverdance while they were in NYC. She will become a girl drummer if he has his way, though she is only interested in guitars for now.
Get them young and they seem to learn more naturally.
# Posted on May 10th 2006 by irisnevins
Re: Families that play together
I'm working on my 2-year-old nephew. Before he was born, I recorded a few tracks on a 4-track recorder for him to 'listen to' in the womb. When he popped out, it was the only thing (besides his mother's milk) that would keep him quiet. Now he asks to listen to it every morning, so my sister tells me. I hope his musical taste broadens over time, or he'll end up learning all my habitual fluffed notes and less-than-perfect timing.
Even at his tender age, he's showing irrefutable signs of genius - he's a dab hand at dropping plectrum into a mandolin.
# Posted on May 10th 2006 by ragaman
Re: Families that play together
My two daughters and I routinely played sessions while we were all together. Now that we've moved, one's in a different city and the other's at college, it's a lot tougher to get us all together. Still, we play on the few chances we can, even if it's a meeting of two plus others versus all three plus others. Odd, but seldom would we just spontaneously play together on our own, other than to practice a certain song.
# Posted on May 10th 2006 by pn5jn
Re: Families that play together
I accompany my wife to her retirement home / nursing home gigs about 3 - 6 times a month. We both play guitar, she sings - wonderfully. We frequently perform "oldie" pop favorites, nearly all from 1900 - 1960. We also seasonally give theme programs: Irish music in March, Hispanic in May, patriotic music around Memorial Day, Independence Day & Veterans Day, and Christmas music in December. On rare occasions our 2 older sons join us, on drums and bass. They are more into youth music and have their own groups that they play in.
# Posted on May 10th 2006 by ceciltguitar
Re: Families that play together
my husband & I play together, or at least at the same time. we don't always work on the same tune at the same time (thank heaven we live in the country where there' s no one to listen to a mando playing Libery, while a flute works on Silver Spear which is not so say that we don't also play in unison when the mood takes us and whenever we get together with his fiddle playing sister, a little music is always in order
# Posted on May 10th 2006 by KateG
Re: Families that play together
We've played together (not trad) for about 23 years.
When you grow at different rates and have musical interests outside stuff you can play together, whether it works or not depends on respect for each other's right to determine their own musical path. (And how much music is seen as "belonging" to the relationship rather than something that can exist outside the relationship.)
It's had it's moments, particularly in earlier years when we had a policy of "championing" student players who needed money and some of them became like family and we all had a lot of fun playing together.
I'm not so sure I'd miss it if it stopped now, though, partly through time-to-move-on stuff and partly because of some of the internal stresses. A personal relationship is in no way a guarantee that a true musical relationship can develop between you.
# Posted on May 11th 2006 by Tish
Re: Families that play together
The O/Ni Mhaonaighs of Donegal play together, and it sounds amazing, even with the little two year old on the fiddle.
# Posted on May 11th 2006 by m
Re: Families that play together
Alan Ginsburg here in North Wales plays Uillean pipes and his wife Joan, the fiddle. I love visiting their house for a tune. Alan makes pipes and there's always friends from Ireland and London popping over there for a tune or discuss pipes.
# Posted on May 14th 2006 by wendyann