Music And Family

 Hello Friends!

•   So, the person I interviewed on their personal history of music is my wonderful grandmother, whom I call Nanny:) Her name is Hope, which is also my middle name. Hits why my blogger name is Hope In Music

• Here is a Picture of her when she was younger, and a picture of us when I graduated high school. Fun fact, we graduated from the same high school 50 years apart from each other.

                                                                       

                                                                       Her In College

                                                                   

                                                                          Her In College

                                                                    Us When I Graduated

• I want to say how much of a pleasure it was to get to know my nanny on a deeper level. This assignment has opened up more personal conversations between us than we have had in a while. As grandchildren, we tend bypass who our grandparents were when they were in their prime. They just seem like "they never get it". As I gotten older, I have come to realize that my nanny and I are a lot like and asking her these fun/sensitive questions has made me a lot closer to her and her younger years. Thank you, KV!

Now On To The Questions

• How Would You Define Music? 

- " Well It's calming, moody depending on what the song is talking about, especially country music. They talk about real-life events. I think music is expressive overall." - Nanny

• What Is Your Ealriest Memory of Music

- "In Sunday school when I was around 4 years old, they taught us all aout he basic songs that kids would learn.  One example is Jesus Loves You.  Also, my momma would sing to us while rocking us to sleep, and she would sing hymns to us, too." -Nanny

• What Is Your Favoite Memory In Music

-  "One thing that stands out is when I went to Limestone. I was required to take a music appreciation class. I wasn't too fond of that class because at that point in my time, I thought it was going to be the really boring basic music stuff like kids' songs. In that class, you had to learn the definition and the history of music. One thing I really thought was amazing was that the cartoons had classical music in them, and I thought it was really cool to learn that these amazing composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach were these amazing composers in these cartoon shows." - Nanny

• What Is Your Favorite Genre Of Music When You Were Younger Vs. When You Were Younger?

- "I really like old country music, even in the 30s and 40s. In high school, I liked Rock n Roll, Michael Jackson, and now it's mostly Christian." - Nanny 

- " Did you ever like rap?" - Rebekah

- "Well, yeah i have heard rap that I liked" - Nanny

- Me in total shock " Ouuu nanny, what rap did you like?" - Rebekah 

- " Well ion know, I don't rap" - Nanny

-I just thought that was so funny and had to put it in there-

• Thriller- Michael Jackson

• Dream On- Areo Smith

• If You Had To Erase One Song From Your Memory What Would It Be?

  - " Well, I can't really think of any, but they have come out with some stupid songs Ive heard on the radio that I wish I never heard. One that I think is so dumb is Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer, gosh that's a dumb one"- Nanny lol

• Have You Been To Any Concerts?

- "I seen Hank Williams Jr., George Jones, George and Tammy together, and Alabama. I've also seen you in band concerts." - Nanny

• How Did You Start Learning Piano?

- " When I was a teenager, I did chores. We had to learn the key names of the white and black keys. I was trying to find a whole step and a half step on the keyboard." 

Side Note: She was trying to explain to me that she learned sycapation but didn't know that is what it was called that, so at this point she is trying to tell me by singing a sycapation rhythm to me. I just thought this was precious

-" So we learned stuff like that. My momma used to go to the church to clean up, and I would go to the piano and figure out fingerings. I would just sit there and pick stuff out. I knew where C was on the piano, and I knew how to read treble and bass clef. Anyway, I would just look at a hymn and start slowly playing. I then figured out there were certain notes that were flat, so I would just try to hear the note. So over time, I got the hang of reading music over time. I am not really good with sharps. The only sharp I can do is the one with one sharp. Anything over that I just convert it to flats in my head, mainly because I started on flats and never really learn the other keys, and learned that on my own. To me its esaier to play in flats. So, when I got really good at playin I started to play at churches and got myself known in the community, and they always needed a pianist, and I got more experience that way. eveually I got into playing the organ as well, and now I am the pianist and organist at my church." - Nanny

" I also sang in church. I grew up in the choir and was a soprano, and was the lead vocalist too. I used to be in a vocal quartet," -Nanny

Sad Fact- My nanny had a surgery about 6 years ago for a disk replacement surgery. Which is located on your neck and is kinda near your vocal cords. Well, in order to reach it, they had to cut a little bit of her vocal cords and lost the ability to sing. Which is really unforchate becasue that was one of her ways to express music for her. However, what her voice can't do, her fingers can!

• What Intrument Did You Wish You Learned To Play?

- " I really wanted to be in the band, but my parents couldn't really afford it, but I really wanted to play the clarinet." - Nanny

• Who Introduce To Music When You Were A Teenager?

- "Well, really, no one, I just listened to what was popular on the radio back then. When a new song came out, we had to go get the record. Sometimes I wasn't able to because back then, kids didn't have cars to drive. Everyone would have their license, but most familes couldnt afford cars for their kids, unlike today, most kids get a car when they turn 15 or 16." - Nanny

• Did You Have A  Love Song?

- " When I got married, we danced to Walk Through This World With Me by George Jones. I loved it. Before I got married, I had boyfriends, and we would go dancing to Big Country and used to do a lot of two-steppin, and it was a lot of fun." - Nanny

• Where Did You Listen To Your Music?

- " I would listen to it on record players, and when I got my first car, they had an eight-track."

- "What is an eight-track?" - Rebekah

-.....Nanny is laughing really hard

-" It was kind of like a VCR tape." - Nanny

• Did Your Parents Do Anything With Music?

- "Momma was in the choir, and Daddy could pick at a guitar and mess with the trombone some. But Daddy worked in the mill, so there wasn't a lot of time in his life to relax and enjoy life back then. Howver my daddy's momma could play the piano" - Nanny