Music and Family

I grew up with two families. Having divorced parents broadened my musical tastes and experiences with music. My father and my mother a have more than a 15 year age difference, come from different states, and attend churches of different denominations. My mother is the younger of the two, and both she and I are from Athens, Georgia.

When I was a child, she would play a very successful band that formed in our hometown named R.E.M. When I was with her, music was played mostly in the car and when we were cleaning. In the car she taught me how to clap the beat, and when I was cleaning I moved the vacuum in time with the music. She would usually play rock or pop from the 70s to the present day.

She is a Methodist, and when she still lived in Athens we attended Athens First Methodist Church. At our church the major instruments are the pipe organ, piano, and hand bells. The hymns are read from a hymnbook. Most of the prayers are spoken, but some of them are sung. The congregation doesn't move when singing, besides standing. Sometimes we would walk across the street after Sunday school to the Morton Theatre, which had a service popular among college students. The Morton theatre service was called "Sundays at the Morton." The new, popular praise music was played by a live band, and many of the songs the involved clapping. The music was learned by ear, and the lyrics were projected on large screen.

The music with Dad was different. Although dad was born in the late 1940s, Dad listens mostly to rock from 1960s to the early 1970s. He would play this kind of music on the car rides to his home when visitation weekends rolled around. I associate my dad with psychedelic Pink Floyd, and my stepmom with funkier Stevie Wonder. At home when cooking or just relaxing they'd play folk music like James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, and Simon and Garfunkel, as well as blues artists like Keb' Mo', Eric Clapton, and the Allman Brothers. I was also exposed to world music that usually had a new age vibe.

When music making and family is mentioned, I think of shakers, dancing, and singing. As a little girl my dad and stepmom bought me little plastic maracas and a tambourine. Other noise makers we had were hand painted maracas, as well as bean pods that dad found when he was visiting his first home, Miami, Florida. For fun, I would dress up in scarves, and we would dance around the house shaking our noisemakers.

When I'm with Dad, I attend the Catholic Church. Our Catholic church is very small, and two women compose the cantor music and play guitars. Their interest in country music affects the style of the music. The choir, unlike in the Methodist church, sings without formal diction in a very low key. The music leaders compose their own responsorial melodies, and they sing it to the congregation who learn by ear. We stand while singing, and many of our prayers are sung.