“My mother playing the violin and my father and grandfather playing the piano, classical stuff.” MotherFatherStuffPianoGrandfatherViolinFathers And Grandfathers Author:Pete Seeger
“My father urged Alan [Lomax] not to repeat the mistakes of the European folklorists who, a century ago, had collected these peasant songs and then arranged them for part choir and accompanied them on piano, and then told the young people of their country, "Don't change a note, this is our sacred heritage." Father said, whether it's a fiddle tune or a gospel song, learn it right off the record from the people who grew up with it. Don't just learn it from a piece of paper.” PeopleSaidCountryYoungSongFatherMistakeRecordsPiecesCenturyGrewPaperGrew UpSacredNotesPianoRepeatsTunesHeritagePeasantsDon't ChangeChoirFiddleGospel Songs Author:Pete Seeger
“My mother wanted me to learn how to read music. She'd given fiddles to my two older brothers, but they'd rebelled. I came along and my father said, "Oh, let Peter enjoy himself." What she did was leave musical instruments all around the house. Whistles, marimbas, squeeze boxes, a piano and organ. By age six or seven, I could bang out a simple tune on almost anything. I developed a good ear, so I didn't learn to read music until I taught myself at age eighteen, 'cause I was hearing so many good songs I couldn't possibly remember them all.” SaidTwoAgeWantedRememberMotherSongFatherHouseGivenCausesEnjoySimpleTaughtBrotherSixEarsInstrumentsSevenMusicalBoxesHearingPianoTunesPeterOrgansBangsEighteenFiddleOlder BrotherMusical Instruments Author:Pete Seeger
“I believe I inherited my sense of music from my father. My father was an ear piano player; he could just hear something and play it.” BelievePlayFatherI BelievePlayerHavensEarsPiano Author:Richie Havens
“I grew up in St. Louis in a tiny house full of large music - Mahalia Jackson and Marian Anderson singing majestically on the stereo, my German-American mother fingering 'The Lost Chord' on the piano as golden light sank through trees, my Palestinian father trilling in Arabic in the shower each dawn.” LightMotherFatherHouseLostTreeGrewGrew UpSingingTinyGoldenDawnPianoPalestinianShowersChordsHouse MusicGolden LightTiny Houses Author:Naomi Shihab Nye
“One encounters very capable fathers abashed by their piano-playing daughters. Three measures of Schumann make them red with embarrassment.” CultureThreeFatherCapableDaughterRedPianoEncountersEmbarrassmentPiano PlayingSchumann Author:Alfred Doblin