Music is a big part of my life. It's the same for Kev. So it's not unexpected that our kids love music as well.
Daniel decided he wanted to take band sometime in fifth or sixth grade and decided his instrument would be saxophone. Two years ago Kev's dad passed on his old clarinet and before we knew it, Daniel was a two instrument kid. He is equally good on both and when I ask him which he would choose if he were forced to do so, he honestly doesn't know. He has spent this year splitting his time between the two instruments and part of the drama involved with his plans for high school have revolved around which bands he would be accepted into. All except the beginning bands involved an audition and he auditioned on both instruments not know where the band director would place him. Due to the fact that he has only been playing for three years (and only two for clarinet), I was honestly surprised when he was accepted into the advanced wind symphony and the advanced symphony orchestra on his clarinet and the advanced jazz band on his sax. There were definitely some hard choices involved. He finally decided on early morning seminary, wind symphony and jazz band so he could have one ensemble with each instrument. Oh, and if all that is not enough, he is teaching himself to play flute as well.
Nathan has known he wanted to play piano since he was four. He's been taking lessons for four years now and is good enough that he feels comfortable playing for choirs. In fact, he has gotten good enough that his piano teacher told me that his skill has surpassed hers and they have shifted their focus to organ. We have found a new teacher so he can continue to improve and will be able to reach the skill level that he desires. He sang with the elementary school choir until we switched schools and choir was no longer an option. This year he has been back in choir and has absolutely loved it. He is looking forward to having a full year of choir next year and one of his current piano goals is to get good enough at "The Maple Leaf Rag" that he will be able to play in the school talent show in the fall.
In addition to growing up in a musical family, I was involved in music all the way through school. I started playing violin in the fourth grade and sang in the elementary school choir. In junior high I was in the orchestra. In high school I was in choir, madrigals, orchestra and AP music theory. And as a music major at BYU, I was still eyeball deep in music. Since I got married, my musical involvement has differed depending on a variety of life circumstances. I’ve sung with a number of ward and stake choirs as well as having many (let’s face it, almost all) music callings. I’m currently the choir director (for the third time) and I don’t see myself being released any time soon…
But over about the past year, I’ve found myself longing to have more music in my life. Directing the choir is not the same as singing and I hadn’t played my violin regularly since high school. I'd love to sing with a choir again but with my kids' needs and the nagging migraines, I don't think I can commit to that yet. On top of that, I haven't had any serious vocal training in a long time and I'm not as confident as I once was. In spite of all that, a little thought in my head told me that getting my music back would help me be happier and so I pulled out my violin. I knew things would be pretty rough, not having played regularly for nearly 24 years, but my skills were even more lacking that I thought they would be. And my instrument was in desperate need of some maintenance.
Kevin took my violin to Summerhays for some touching up, and unfortunately, it was in worse condition than I thought. I knew it needed new strings and that the tuning pegs needed lubrication so they could turn, but the actual needs were new strings, new pegs because the current ones are no longer round, a new bridge and a new bow. And all that was going to cost around $300, far too much for how much the violin is worth. I was left feeling a bit glum and disappointed until Kev suggested buying a new violin instead-an entry level student violin, of course, but I honestly don’t need more than that. And you know what? When I picked up that new violin, I realized that my skills, although rusty, were not as abysmal as I thought. Having a violin in decent shape changed a lot. It was definitely a pick me up.
So for the past few months, I’ve been practicing as I find time and I’ve been playing with the boys. Piano, clarinet and violin is not a really common ensemble so finding music had been a challenge (and the fact that Daniel is better than both Nathan and I provides a challenge as well) but we’ve found a few things and are attempting to learn them. As a result, music time has become a more regular thing for me. It's not that I'm not busy anymore because if anything, my schedule is crazier. I may not be changing diapers or chasing toddlers, but I've become a carpool queen. The point is, my kids have gotten older and I'm reaching a point where I can think about what's next for me. While I don't have an answer for that yet, I do know that I want my music back. A lot of that has been set by the wayside while my focus was on raising the little folks. Now that they are more independent, I can actually sneak in some time for me (sometimes).
It has been fun playing with them. And it’s filling up a little empty part of my soul.
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