Do you come from a musical family?

[Grangur]

I guess this thought comes from seeing other threads on the go atm. Others are asking "what were you doing when you were 11?
What was the first bass you had GAS for? etc.

I've just watched a video with Tony Franklin, where he says the first bass he had used to be his mother's. His family were in a band.

By contrast I had no music in my family. I had a borrowed bass at the age of about 16. The prospect of buying one, on a £2 a week paper round, was non-existent. The prospect of buying an amp was an idea that was up with the fairies. Owning all that kit was science fiction.

Ok, I envy those who got support and help from Mum & Dad, even if it was birthday or Christmas pressies. But out of interest, who here did get some kind of support? Did it help? Did you like it or was it like having awful piano lessons likely to kill any love you had for the instrument you really wanted?

Or, was my family more the average we all grew up with - liked the music on the radio, but their idea was that "music is done by other folk, we don't do that".

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7yYHH9SA54[/media]

Edited September 29, 2016 by Grangur

[Cat Burrito]

My Great Uncle was a pro trumpet player who played with Mantovani in the 50s and my Dad was a professional drummer in the 60s. Ironically my tastes come from my Mum's old LP records.

[Ghost_Bass]

I can't vote because there's no answer for my situation. Nobody in my family played an instrument or was a music buff. My parents did buy me an accoustic guitar on a trip to spain when i was 5 or 6 years old but the intention was to be a toy and a decoration piece.

It was only when i was 15 that i saw my friends learning guitar so i had mine strung up and tuned and i learned the basic chords whith my friends. Everybody in my family encouraged my learning of guitar but there was never a talk about following music professionally and i never felt that calling either so i took my degree in engineering and keept playing bass as my main hobby (a well paying hobby in wich i try to be as professional as i can).

If i had taken theory lessons sooner in my life i could have taken the music route but i still think that i made the right choice as i was a late bloomer in music and would have struggled a lot to get to a high-end/pro level. It also helped that at that time there were no internet or music schools anywhere near me (only philarmonic orchestra and the nearest music school was +30km away).

Kids today have it much easier to get the information and can learn a lot faster. I'll make sure i'll try to interest my children in music as soon as possible (first i need to make them ).

[cheddatom]

nobody in my family played, but my parents did give me a LOT of support, so I went for the middle option

[ras52]

My parents both sang in amateur choirs - and were Methodists "Methodism was born in song" - so there was lots of musical exposure. We had a piano although neither of them played it, but my sister and I both had lessons.

I recall buying a book on how to improvise lead guitar which proclaimed on the front "You do not need to read music to use this book" and my mother was horrified!

[PaulWarning]

my parents refused to buy me a guitar, just a passing fad they said, you'll never learn to play it, I eventually bought my own in my twenties and did learn to play it before moving on to bass, who knows what would have happened if I'd had their support in my teens?

[Conan]

My mother plinks a bit on piano. My dad used to own an ocarina and a tin whistle, but couldn't really play them. They were supportive of my musical endeavours though, despite not liking the types of music I played or listened to. I never had any lessons at school, but some piano lessons privately (which I hated!). I am completely self-taught.

Interestingly, although I have never pushed my own kids into lessons or musical activity of any kind, all three of them play instruments and love music. My son is far more talented than I am and can play a number of instruments as well as being good at the engineering/production side of things.

None of the above categories really fit my situation, so I haven't voted.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Conan

[bartelby]

My dad used to play bass in a band when he was in school in the early - mid 60s, they were set to sign to a film studio for session work when the drummers mum decided there was no future in it.
He kept he bass and amp/cab until about 2 weeks before I was born.
The amp was a custom made valve head built by an electronics bloke up the road from his house and the cab was a custom made 2x18".

His bass was a '62 P in "some kind of reddish pink colour". He sold this for £70 in 1972... the swine!



My mum played the violin, but always wanted a piano accordion...

Edited September 29, 2016 by bartelby

[Grangur]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1475158037' post='3143554']
I can't vote because there's no answer for my situation. Nobody in my family played an instrument or was a music buff. My parents did buy me an accoustic guitar on a trip to spain when i was 5 or 6 years old but the intention was to be a toy and a decoration piece.

It was only when i was 15 that i saw my friends learning guitar so i had mine strung up and tuned and i learned the basic chords whith my friends. Everybody in my family encouraged my learning of guitar but there was never a talk about following music professionally and i never felt that calling either so i took my degree in engineering and keept playing bass as my main hobby (a well paying hobby in wich i try to be as professional as i can).

If i had taken theory lessons sooner in my life i could have taken the music route but i still think that i made the right choice as i was a late bloomer in music and would have struggled a lot to get to a high-end/pro level. It also helped that at that time there were no internet or music schools anywhere near me (only philarmonic orchestra and the nearest music school was +30km away).

Kids today have it much easier to get the information and can learn a lot faster. I'll make sure i'll try to interest my children in music as soon as possible (first i need to make them ).
[/quote]
I've edited the centre option and added another.

Assuming we're all similar ages, I guess parents in the 60s had it tough and there simply wasn't the cash about to invest in instruments for amusement, where these days we as parents go buying games consoles just to keep kids up with their peer group. Maybe this is a way of making up for what we never had?

[RhysP]

Nobody musical in the family, and no support whatsoever from parents.
The only time my mother ever referred to me starting to play an instrument was when she said "I don't know why you bother, you'll never be any good".
She was equally supportive of everything else in my life. I was glad when she died.

[Funky Dunky]

Mum was a pianist, Grade 7

Dad played trumpet and drums semi-pro level

Grandfather played piano and sang in the church choir, brilliant pianist but the voice had gone by the time I heard him sing.

Sister farts like Louis Armstrong soloing.

[Hobbayne]

My Mum used to play the guitar and my Gran used to play the old Joanna down the Rub a Dub when I was a kid.
The rest of my family is tone deaf. Although my Nephew is doing quite well on his violin at school.

[LewisK1975]

No previous musical aspirations by any of my family members, but I wasn't discouraged, apart from having the Bass too loud when practising in my bedroom..!

[bubinga5]

My dad was musical director for Hastings, City orchestra in New Zealand. Great great pianist and violinist.

[leschirons]

Our Dad hated the thought of us being in a band (brother was learning guitar and I wanted to be a drummer) There were many band name suggestions from him such as the remarkably clever offerings of "The Hairy Nits" and "The long haired layabouts"

That was, until the neighbour complained whom he hated with a passion. Then, it was all systems go. Even suggesting that we have full band rehearsals in the front room, on a Sunday

[machinehead]

On my father's side, (where the music comes from) there have been several full-time professional musicians, including one who played in a large London orchestra, a cousin who played in a jazz orchestra, music teachers and loads of amateur musicians.

My own children (not really children now, all in their 30s ) play in bands and one sings in a choir.

I was sent to music lessons on guitar where I learned to read. The theory has been very useful (I don't know how people get by without knowing some theory) but I haven't read the dots for years.

Frank.

[IainS]

My dad and older brother played guitar and I wanted to be everything my brother was but slightly different/better so I saved up from my paper round and went and became the owner of a bass guitar. Dad was awesome and went with me to buy it as I was a painfully shy teenager and would never have done it on my own. He still comes to gigs to watch whenever he can now.

I think the fact that there was almost always music playing at home, rather than having the TV permanently on, could only have been a good thing. It was all rock and roll (Dad) and country and western (Mum). It was all about the roots and fifths!

[razze06]

Nobody in my family is significantly musical at all (myself included ). Luckily they were supportive of me taking up the bass as a hobby as a young teenager. My mom bought me my first bass and amp for my 16th birthday, followed by a better one for my 18th. She is surprised by quite happy that i'm still doing it in my 40s

[Cato]

My sister reached grade 8 on the flute, but gave it up when she went to uni

My parents really weren't that keen when I started teaching myself guitar, but I've been going for 25 years now and even made a bit of money from it along the way, assuming you don't offset money earned against equipment bought.

[Twincam]

There's a fair few instrument players in my family past and present.

But there's a pattern of having natural musical ability or not. Unfortunately I'm a definitely not a natural and really had to try very hard, even to play at a low level.

[Oopsdabassist]

My dad had a banjo that I plonked about on when I was about 10-11, he taught me the easy part of 'duelling banjo's' as I recall, but then sold in soon after to pay for Christmas, (it was early 70's, 3 day week and power cuts blah blah) Apart from that, nada.

[miles'tone]

I voted "get a proper job" because I had to buy my own bass at the age of 19 as no one else in the family played an instrument or even played records in the house. I knew I needed to do it so I did. I actually hid my bass and amp at a mates house for six months as the money used was supposed to pay for driving lessons!
Turns out that I actually had a Grandfather who was a singer and quite tasty with a ukulele. Also an uncle I never saw is a great classical guitarist.

I felt 'The Quickening' in my veins and had to obey! 😄

[bassace]

I changed my name from Von Trapp when I was in my early teens.

[Yoda]

My Father was an extremely good piano player and both my parents sang in a choir for years, so my early year were all classically influenced. Learning an instrument (first piano, then trumpet) was actively encouraged although I didn't stick with either instrument as the music I listened to was all 'electric'. I took the bass up some years afterwards in the late 80's. Put it down for over 20 years, and started up again about three years ago. My decision to take up the bass initially was purely my own as it was the instrument I'd always [i]listened [/i]to.
I'm not really a natural, I can't read a note of music and have no idea what notes I'm playing...but I do this for my own enjoyment. That's it really

[Dad3353]

Not much socialising in our (large...) family, and scant interest in music generally, excepting Kathleen Ferrier (my Mum was Scottish, and liked the pathos...) and a South Pacific LP. No encouragement, but, to be fair, my Dad [i]did [/i]lend me the difference I needed to buy my first decent Camco kit (which I still play...).