I didn’t grow up in a musical family.  When I was about 12 years old my family obtained a hand-me-down piano from my grandparents and ended up taking about one year worth of piano lessons, which I hated, mostly because I was on the same level as the eight year olds around me.  My other siblings took some piano, but it was never really something my parents insisted on.  Despite my lack of musical training I have always loved music and as I got older I regretted not sticking to piano and learning how to play.  I decided that my children would be musically trained, that was something that was going to be important in our family.

About five years ago Dadzoo’s parents offered to give us their piano and I jumped at the chance and promptly enrolled our oldest in lessons.  As of now our four oldest are taking piano lessons, and I have been firm on insisting  on a fair level of proficiency before I will allow them to quit, despite the fights, the crying and the questioning.  I worry a lot about those lessons, am I supervising enough, making sure they are doing their lessons properly, are my kids learning, am I forcing them to do something they don’t really have talent for?  I am terrible at recitals, I compare their progress (in my mind, never to them) to other children their ages.  I wonder, will they ever be proficient?

Well this week our family jumped into the realm known as “band”.  Yes, my two oldest joined the middle school band and have now added another instrument to their musical training (I won’t let them quit piano just yet).  Today as I was walking past, what has become our “music” corner in the living room, it occurred to me that we just might be a musical family, just maybe.

Interesting.

Our music corner

Punk #6 is always very interested when the older girls play the piano. She either joins them by pounding on the keys, or sits on the floor and "dances" to the music.

It is looking as if she will be equally interested in the other instruments as they come into the house.