A child surrounded by music

I’m not too sure why I love music as much as I do since growing up it was never a big deal in my house. The memories I have of my father’s musical influence was being forced to listen to John Denver songs during summertime roadtrips up the East Coast. To this day if I hear Grandma’s Feather Bed I break out into hives.

But I am a crazy music freak. I play guitar and drums (and some piano, though not too much), and have an extensive music collection of albums, CDs, MP3’s and too many cassettes (yes, I have cassettes) to speak of. Oftentimes I sit in the sun room listening to XM Radio, buying songs on iTunes while reading books about music (the latest called Britpop, about the rise and fall of British music in the 1990s).

So it’s no wonder my daughter has been indoctrinated into my musical life (which my wife very much shares with me). Her first concert was at the age of three months, when we watched Athens band Timber play a set an in-store set at Schoolkids Records (no, it wasn’t loud at all, for you concerned parents). When my wife was pregnant, she went to see Modern Skirts, Robyn Hitchcock and The Lemonheads. No sure what that will translate to, but it will be interesting to watch.

As for musical toys, my daughter has a flute, a small electronic toy piano (to go along with my large electronic synth/piano and stand-up piano), an old bass drum and tom, bells and of course tiny tambourine-like rattle. She loves to sing (which is one aspect of music I have no aptitude for at all), and wants to have a pic in her hand anytime I play guitar. There are times, when the radio is set for XMU (yes I love indie-hipster music) she starts dancing as she plays with her large dollhouse which dominates a portion of the sun room.

After learning about the meaning of the word ’sorry,’ she asked one day, as So. Central Rain played in the room, “What did he do wrong?” She calls it the sorry song, as I imagine most people do.

As she gets older, I would love for her to develop a love of music and want to play an instrument – I know how much joy it’s give me over the years. But I promised myself not to push, I want it to be something she loves. Even if one of my secret dreams is to see her performing one day on the stage at the 40 Watt.

It's never too early for Yo La Tengo