Musical Generations

[NickelCreeker]

I was just thinking about my Moms side of the family, they've always been very musical. I was Just curious who else has a Musical Family. Its actually a very interesting topic, almost, ledgendy.....I dont know! But do You get what Im saying? Whats the word, ahh yes, Ancestry! Ha.

#Heck, somehow In my family,(this is weird) Im related to George Washington on my moms side, and on my dads side Im Related to King Fredderick the 7th of Dinmark. I wonder if that makes me Royalty! Ha! Somehow they're my great beyond great grandfathers.

But Anyhow! Anyone related to any Musicians or anything? #

Heres a Picture of My Moms Dad, AKA, My grandpa Roeben, When he was in the Army/War...(one of those lol) Holding his First Guitar, which was a Gibson. Im not sure when It was taken though!! Sorry if its kinda small!

[Christine W]

My grandfather on my Mom's side played the the trumpet in the german army during world war II (dare I say that). He also played the fiddle and harmonica. My mom used to say he could play anything he heard. I wish some of that would have rubbed off on me. I do believe that is where I got my desire to play, is from him. I remember growing up in germany and listening to him play at that time he mostly played the harmonica.

My father played the accordian and I remember him playing when I was a child. He used to play and do that Russian, kosac (sp?) dance at the same time, you know where they squat down and kick thier feet out. That still baffels me.Thats about as far as the musical ancestry goes in my family.

Thanks for bringing this up it made me think of fond memories.

[John Flynn]

Great topic! Sadly, there is not much musical history in my family. My dad used to sing a little and my sister played the piano a bit, but was neither one was really serious about it. That's it. They are generally a very supportive family, but strangely, they have never been very supportive about my music. They don't put it down, it's just like it's something that is not on their emotional radar at all. I am really the first and only person in the family to be really serious about music. Go figure.

[Mike Crocker]

Mom plays piano and sings. Her mother played piano and her father played the fiddle (which I now have).

Dad played piano, sang, composed church music and children's songs, directed choirs, and could play just about anything. His mother played piano and would sing a bit.

My sisters play piano and sing, my brother sings and used to play piano flute and percussion.

Beyond that I don't know.

I was raised to put music ahead of most other things in life, except maybe family, food and housing, so it's little wonder I make most of my livelihood from music.

Peace, Mooh.

[Russ(String-Alley)]

I wish I knew where my interest came from...seems I just woke up one day at age 10-11 and said " hey its a great day to play music".....I don't think anyone in my family played...not even the triangle. My 4 little cuz's play now so that great. we got em' started young. the greatest thing is the look his mom gave me when he unwrapped his gift and a strat came out.....muhahahaha now that is priceless. she since has forgiven me. now if I could just get one of them into mando.....hmmmm


cheers all

[jeffshuniak]

my father plays guitar and accordeon. his father plays guitar. my older sister took classical training for several years, she was probably the best of all of us, but she quit in junior high sometime

[Mando4Life]

My dad used to tell stories about his Uncle who could play anything you put in his hands. My mom gave my brother the guitar and fiddle he built. Somewhere in my mom's attic is a great banjo neck he built as well. He passed away in the 60's. Not real old heritage but kind of neat, wish I could have met him.

[MOP]

My sister plays piano very well and she has (I not) "l'oreille intégrale".It means that she can say what note it is when she hears a note or a noise(because,as you know,each noise is a note). thread

[BenE]

My Greatgrandmother played and taught piano. She also went to college long before that was the norm. Someone in the family still has her old music stand. It was a really nice stand that had a marble top and a storage area underneath for additional sheet music. She taught my Grandmother how to play piano as well...but the buck stopped there...My parents could barely play the radio! Lucky for me they were/are very encouraging with my musical pusuits! Thanks Mom for those few months of guitar lessions when I was around ten years old....Started my journey there!

[ash]

My mom has played classical piano all her life and her mom plays organ. I wanted to start playing violin so I started classically. When I changed teachers my new teacher also taught fiddling and mando. Now I've gone off on my own and I'm learnin everything else.
My dad picked up bass when I started goin to fiddling contests to back to me up and my mom picked up guitar. My bro picked up guitar and we had a family band goin for awhile, but it died quickly (good thing). Now I've joined lotsa other bands and I play and jam with my bro all the time still.

[pklima]

At least two of my greatgrandfathers were musical. One played fiddle and hammer dulcimer, and even built some sort of foot pedals for the dulcimer so he could do both at the same time. He wasn't a professional musician, but played a lot of village weddings and dances. The fiddle he made (and later modified into an 8-string) is still owned by a distant uncle of mine, though I'm not sure if he plays it.

One of my grandmothers is a very good singer and remembers all sorts of old songs that nobody else knows. My father played drums and bass at folk dances and later guitar in rock bands, but mostly just messes around with piano these days. One of his brothers used to play bass and mandolin, but that must have been before I was born. My brother plays guitar, bass guitar and piano.

Not really a "musical family" - nobody played music for a living, nobody had any formal training - but a good history of amateur noisemaking.

[GBG]

My mother used to sing a little when she was a kid. My dad played a little tater bug mandolin and harmonica many years ago.My grandfather's brother's grandson is Byron Berline.I don't know if any of this helps my playing, but I know I inherited the love for the music.

[keymandoguy]

Good thread ! All my uncles on my mothers side were musicions.. Auditioned for the old Renfro Valley Barn Dance When told thye were hired they said Oh We dont want the job we just wanted to see if we were good enough ? lolGrandmother on my fathers side also played piano.

[mandowannabe]

According to some genelogical research done by one of my aunts, my great-great grandfather fiddled his way over from Wales. #I have always been interested in music. #I play several instruments, unfortunately, rather poorly.

[kvk]

Mom plays piano and used to played sax in a band back in highschool, retired kindergarten teacher. Gotta be able to play piano to teach kindergarten.

Dad played sax and clarinet and was a semi-professional piano player, played boogie woogie, blues and such in bars when in the Army before college. Entered college as a music major and then decided he didn't want to be a starving musician and transferred to education, was a math profressor for 30s or so and then retired. Now he's back into music and is perpetualy registered in a night class at Juliard. Spends one whole day a week there listening to recitals and hanging out before his night class. Not a bad retirement.

[Greenmando]

Elvis was my second cousin. You know how it is in that part of the country - everyone is related.

[Keith Wallen]

Just about my entire family on mom's side has played and a few on my dad's side. There are really to many to list. At one time there were 5 bluegrass, 1 country and one rock band that my familiy was in on just mom's side within immediate family. I am a third generation picker and now my generations kids are starting to play. The way we all socialize when we get together is by picking. Its a blast and a lot of fun.

[Jim Garber]

Heres a Picture of My Moms Dad, AKA, My grandpa Roeben, When he was in the Army/War...(one of those lol) Holding his First Guitar, which was a Gibson. Im not sure when It was taken though!! Sorry if its kinda small!

Sorry to inform you, nickelcreeker, that that guitar is not a Gibson. Gibson rarely made guitars with slotted headstocks if at all and not ones that looked like that. It looks more like a mailorder guitar, Sears Supertone or Montgomery Ward, maybe.

Nice topic, tho... my family had little music in it. Rumor had it that one of my great aunt's played the mandolin but no one of the previous generation ever recalled having heard her play.

Jim

[french]

dad played trumpet during wwii with the swing band "flying yanks". he taught me trumpet when i was eight. played it until i was thirty. hung it up to make a living. dabbled with harmonica. picked up irish whistle and flute about two years ago. mandolin in apr 03. currently: having a blast after a long hiatus.

music (i have discovered) is very important to me!

- tom

[KYGirl]

The only musical ability my Mother had was her voice. #My Father had none, (but he comes out to the jams and supports me) I grew up attending Old Regular Baptist Church's where they focused on call and response and acapella singing. #They didn't believe in playing instruments. #I received my mandolin as a gift about 3 years ago, and that is where my musical journey began


Michelle

[NickelCreeker]

Sorry to inform you, nickelcreeker, that that guitar is not a Gibson.

Oi, sorry about that, My bad. Thats just what Iv been told..eep. Sorry!

Its weird how everyone on my dads side cant play any instrument, yet their all such huge bluegrass fans. My Grandma is moving to California soon and wants to sell her Banjo, YES BANJO. I was gonna ask her if she could pass it down.

#My mom has been playing Guitar for like, about 25 years. She always tried to find me a instrument to play. She tried Paino when I was really little, then guitar, didnt work. Then my sis got a violin. She didnt let me touch it!
Then When we moved from Texas to Washington, I got put in this..stupid..fancy private school. For Band I got a darn Trombome. That didnt last long! Then the Harmonica story, I wont go into that.

So My Grandma came to visit telling me about how she loved bluegrass and everything. We were driving around and I heard some mandolin music on some radio station and I asked my mom what it was. I completley fell in love with the sound. Before I knew it I was up all night picking away on my very own mandolin, annoying the heck out of everyone! Ta da! ......now im tired

[Bob DeVellis]

My father played violin in dance orchestras before he and my mother married. A great uncle on my mother's side apparently played madolin very well (something I never new during his lifetime). I have a cousin who's a professional saxaphonist. My nephew has a degree in music, is a music teacher, plays concerts internationally (sax), and has composed a number of pieces. His brother is a drummer. Their father (my brother) can't carry a tune in a wheelbarrow (although he has many other outstanding qualities, for sure). Several of these relatives (father, great uncle) were born in Italy and others grew up in Italian-American households. Music traditionally has been an integral part of the culture and was seen less as a special talent than as a normal activity. Unfortunately, this was much more true among my parents' generation than mine. I think I'm the only one of my generation (siblings or cousins) who plays. Happily, the next generation -- the grandchildren of my parents, aunts and uncles -- have lots of musicians among them, despite being farther removed from their cultural roots. I'd like to think that through my musical relatives (especially my father), I might have a gene or two that give me a slight edge -- heaven knows I need it!

[mandoJeremy]

Well, on my dad's side: my uncle plays ba*(@o, my other uncle plays electric guitar, other uncle plays acoustic guitar, my cousin plays acoustic, and my dad plays acoustic. On my mom's side: my uncle (now deceased) played acoustic guitar and my mom is completely tone deaf. Which one did I get honestly?

[NickelCreeker]

One question, Iv always wonders why people on the Cafe cannot spell B A N J O. Its not that hard! LOL!

[BigJoe]

My father played the guitar and harmonica. I play just about anything with strings to some degree and had the mandatory piano lessons of my youth. Part of my youth not well spent . Two of my kids play and quite well at that. On my mom's side they tried valiantly to no avail. At least they enjoyed it.