Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A Year of Blogging: December 13, 2011

December 13 is 'Violin Day'. I appreciate music, and I was in band, but I don't know a whole lot about violins. I know they are part of the string family. Erich would probably know more, since he played viola in school. I'm amazed that his school had a string section, and then I think of how big Middletown's high school is compared to my little school in New York. We didn't have a string section. The only people I knew who played violin were people who took private lessons. And they were considered a bit snooty. But Erich doesn't talk very fondly about his viola days. The only reason he took viola was because it was the instrument his sister had played. They are seven years apart in age (even though they basically have the same name, which causes everyone to think they are twins). When Erich wanted to take up an instrument, his parents told him 'we have a perfectly good viola sitting here'. So the decision was made for him. I guess, in that regard, my sister and I were much luckier. We could start music lessons in sixth grade. I chose the flute. An instrument that became very challenging to play once I got braces, but I still played it. Mom and Dad bought my flute, rather than have me lease one from the school. Two years later, it was Laura's turn. When my parents repeatedly denied her request to take up drums, she settled on the clarinet. In high school she bought herself a saxophone and played it as well, although not in band (there were too many people already playing saxophone). So even though we were both playing woodwinds, they were very different. As concerts approached, we grew tired of practicing. Yet, we had to practice. I got tired of 16th notes (a popular thing for flutes). I don't know what Laura got tired of. I just remember on Saturday mornings, we'd both be in our rooms sitting in front of our music stands practicing our respective pieces. Eventually one of us would migrate, with her instrument, into the other's room. And while my flute piece had bored me to sleep, her clarinet beckoned. I have always loved the sound of a clarinet. Probably, if I had it to do all over again, I would take up the clarinet. She always had extra reeds, so I put in my own reed and started playing. As appealing as her clarinet was to me, my flute held the same appeal to her. I had showed her how to hold her lips to play the flute shortly after I started playing. So I'd play her clarinet, squeaking my way through the piece. She would play the flute, blowing air through the high octave but never achieving a note. It never took long before Mom came to the bottom of the stairs and yelled 'Get in your own rooms and play your own instruments or put them away!' I wonder how Mom would have reacted to hearing us attempt the violin!

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