Originally Posted By: jford
So far, the likes seem to win out.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

That's a really reassuring story. It makes me really happy to hear that you went after the instrument you really wanted to play.

My immediate family was not in any way musically inclined at the time, but my mom always had a passion for singing. Her step-mom had given her the whole speech about how singing would never lead you anywhere or pay the bills, so my mother just sang in school musicals growing up for fun instead.


Because of that, my parents always tried to encourage me to chase whatever I was interested in, no matter how fleeting it was. All throughout school I really wanted to learn how to play the saxophone. I was so excited to finally be allowed to take music classes through my school. It wasn't something we could afford, so while my parents would have loved to support me in that, financially they couldn't. But I remember specifically taking all the classes I needed in order to be able to choose music as one of my electives as soon as I got in to grade 9. On day one I was so jazzed to finally get to pick my instrument and chose a seat near the front of the class, because I heard that kids in the front got to pick their instruments first.

Except they changed the structure that year.

We weren't allowed to pick our instruments and they were now assigned to us to prevent kids from squabbling, and the only two saxophones that the school had were not allowed to be played until grade 12.

I was totally crushed. And got the clarinet. And proceeded to sound like a dying goose for many of the proceeding classes that followed, as my heart just wasn't in it. I got it eventually, though (much to the heckling of my school mates as we often had to solo for our music exams).

I never really lost that desire to learn how to play the saxophone. I learned how to play the ukulele when I was younger, and I've been wanting to pick it up again. I've also been gravitating towards folk music as I have been getting older.

I found out just recently that my mom's biological mother and her grandmother (whom she lost contact with many years ago) were folk artists. My mom finally decided to take vocal lessons a few years back (before she found this out) and was told that she had a very "folky" sound to her voice. When she learned about her mother's musical roots it all kind of clicked for her. When I think about it, my singing voice also has a kind of indie-folk sound to it as well. Funny how these things all come together in the end.

I'd still one day like to take up the saxophone, I think. And your story has definitely nudged me closer towards that eventuality. So thank you for that!

Last edited by Ember - PG Music; 04/11/18 06:34 AM.
Cheers,
Ember