I'm 14... and play grade 5 flute and grade 2 piano.

I was trying to explain time signatures to my mum yesterday (with no success) and realised how far back to basics I had to go.

Then I was wondering how I coped with learning about music for the first time.

My earliest memory was funnily enough in tap dancing, when I was four. My teacher was making up clap to a beat and told us about semibreves (which I thought was an amazing word), minims (which reminded me of a fish), crotchets (which I thought of as potatoey things), and quavers (which were crisps, obviously).

I think my earliest memory of music is probably getting muddled up about reading music after my first violin lesson and 'reading' the beams joining quavers together rather than the note heads. I think I was probably about 6 at the time. Another early memory I have is of colouring in the noteheads in my recorder book for while being taught about different rhythms. That must have been around about the same time as I started violin.

Hmm, if you're talking music making, that would be playing "Old Black Joe" and "Santa Lucia" on the ukelele and then having to regurgitate the damned things whenever we had a visitor I reckon I had a "pushy parent"

However, earliest memory of music would be lying on the settee, recovering from German Measles, listening to the "Cuckoo Waltz" (a 78, on our old radiogram).

Hearing part of a Bach orchestral suite on bbc radio for schools when I was 5 and thinking it was absolutely wonderful.

Singing - my first class in primary school
Playing - Buy a broom, Buy a broom, Buy a broom and sweep a room

Just checked to see if I could still play it. I can. Phew! RH: CDC- CDC- then LH: CBAG ABC-

My first recorder teacher doing a 'lucky dip' in my first group recorder session.

Ooh, what's in the box?

Ooh, it's a recorder!

Quelle surprise!

It's probably playing recorder at some point when I was little, on my mum's descant that she used when she was at school

When i was about 3and a bit ish, my grandad sitting me down at the piano, saying 'This is c, this is d etc' then putting a simplified copy of the entertainer in front of me, and showing me C on the staff, and me playing it.
We have a video somewhere, good times.

When I was 3 (ish) the Sally Army brass band was touring the streets playing carols (it was Christmas) and knocking on doors for charity. When they came to our door my parents invited them in for tea/coffee & mince pies or some such thing. It was snowing outside so they gratefully accepted. While they were in the house I was for some reason allowed to blow into the Tuba - it made a great noise, to everyones amusement. That's it - I don't remember any more.

Not mine but my daughter's. Recognised a piece of music I was playing and san along even though she didn't really know the words. When asked if she sung it at school she said "NO" and she didn't know where she knew it from. It was "Little Jesus Sweetly Sleep". Whilst pregnant with her the kids at school had been practising it for a christmas performance and so it was a regular in assembly. My daughter always used to move to that piece of music and after I used to play it to her (still unborn) at home on the piano. It was nice "Togetherness/bonding" for me pre-birth. After birth I used to hum it sometimes to her or sing "Little (insert child's name) sweetly sleep" but only when she was Soooo tiny.

When I sang it to her with the proper words she totally relaxed and a look of sheer peace came over her. (And my voice is not all that fantastic )

To think she remembered and recognised it enough to sing it in tune but with made up words was really moving and brought a tear to my eye as I remembered those special pre-birth moments.


I know this isn't about the technicalities of learning music but it was obviously one of her earliest memories of her experience of music. She was not quite 6 at the time this happened this Christmas gone.

That's lovely Dawn.

I can remember at the age of about 4, being stood on the table to sing "My Boy Lollipop".
I have a photo, Mum had permed my hair like Shirley Temple, and I had a very sweet fluffy looking dress on.
All the family were there at Christmas I think.
Bev

Being sung to and having rhymes recited to me from a very young age.

My mum singing around the house and my dad playing his repertoire of three pieces on the piano...

First piano lesson at the age of 6 - it terrified and mystified me right from the start .

My house was always filled with music so I had a lot of musical experiences from a very young age.

There was always a record on playing anything from Santana to Elton John, Johnny Rotten, Billie Holiday or Tracy Chapman and Mum used to play the guitar in the evenings with her brothers. Also, she used to tell us bedtime stories and they nearly always involved a song of some sort. And whenever we were with family there would be dancing and singing and traditional music on constantly.

But my first memory of myself actually getting involved with music is when we were walking along a street somewhere with my parents and there was a fiddler playing under a bridge. I was so enraptured by the sound that I stood there captivated for a few seconds and then started dancing wildly in front of him. He was really pleased and starting playing more intensely and stamping his foot to keep more of a dancing beat and was smiling at me the whole time. Everyone in the street gathered round to watch this totally un-self conscious 3 year old dancing for a busker and I swear they thought I was part of his act! My parents stood by laughing and clapping until I got exhausted and ran over to them to sit down. Thats still something I always think about when I see buskers on bridges over the Thames in London.

Another early musical memory is of my recorder class - everyone's recorders were the usual greens, reds, blues, creams and mine was yellow. I was so proud of it until some girl turned up one day with a transparent one; I was so unbelievably jealous and me and my friend tried all sorts of ways to try to play it, but she wouldn't let us touch it.

I have lovely memories of my Dad. I remember him giving me a 'penny whistle' and teaching me a little jig that I can still play today. I remember him teaching me to draw the treble clef and having immense patience while I tried to do it with my crayon in my fist. And I remember learning the notes on the stave and ledger lines that he had written on flashcards - this was about the same time as learning the alphabet so pre-school.

This was all before I was five so I guess it was a bit of hot-housing but it was fun. My first public performance was on the recorder at school when I was six.

Unfortunately I was no prodigy! I think my Dad was ultimately disappointed



But I must tell him when I see him this weekend how much I appreciate that part of my music education

I started piano lessons at the age of 6 and I learned from a beginners book by Diller and Quayle (probably only those born like me in the 40s will ever have heard of them! )

I can still see the first tune on page one, sung to the words of "Fun, fun, oh what fun, music lessons have begun".

It starts on the middle finger right hand and goes C-D-ECD-EDCBABC and I can still play it

Two years ago my brother was nagging me for 3 months to get myself a flute teacher, and I did so without telling him. After my first lesson, I sent a text just containing the words of the song - he knew exactly what it meant as he had learned from the same book .

In the early 50's, when I was pre-school 'Listen with Mother' began with the Pavane from Faure's 'Dolly;' Suite (Piano duet)

Singing 'Run rabbit run', must have been around 1937!

My Mum sings a song about Ovaltinies. Anyone else remember that one?

[quote name='gedall40' date='May 14 2009, 11:10 AM' post='826292']
I started piano lessons at the age of 6 and I learned from a beginners book by Diller and Quayle (probably only those born like me in the 40s will ever have heard of them! )

I can still see the first tune on page one, sung to the words of "Fun, fun, oh what fun, music lessons have begun".

It starts on the middle finger right hand and goes C-D-ECD-EDCBABC and I can still play it

I found the beginners book by Diller Quayle in an antique auction a few months back along with another pile of old music I bought.... I think it was called 'Off We Go' or something.... I use a few of the pieces for variety with my smallies... (plus I can never say no to old music)


My Mum sings a song about Ovaltinies. Anyone else remember that one?
[/quote]

We are the Ovaltinies, happy girls and boys.... know the tune as my mother was always singing it... (in fact she never stopped singing... I always used to say to her she had an appropriate song for nearly anything that was said...

Our house was always filled with music and one of my earliest memories is dancing around our sitting room table with the Emperor Concerto blasting followed by the Triple concerto and going between total elation to actually bawling my eyes out 'at the slow sad parts'. I was about 3 and a half

My mother came up to me with a tissue and tried to get me to stop but I said (apparently).. NO, I'm enjjoying it too much.. don't stop me...

[Sigh] 'fraid so - I used to sing it . Still do sometimes when I make my bedtime drink of Ovaltine not Horlicks.

Very exciting at your house then

My mum taught me the Ovaltinies song as we always had a mug of it before bed. She also used to sing "Red River Valley" and "Clementine" around the house.

My dad always played LP's when I was growing up. My favourite piece of music at the age of seven-ish was the 1812 Overture. I did a little project for school about Tchaikovsky too when I was around 10.

My love of Beethoven music came about in the early 70's when my mum used to wear 'Tweed' perfume. The advertisement on television used the opening bars of the last movement of The Pastoral Symphony as the background music. The 'pure new wool' advert used Fauré's Pavane which is another favourite of mine from a young age.

I have to confess that my parents sang this too!

My earliest memories are of my mother's singing. She always sang me to sleep when I was little, and I particularly remember one which ended "great big moon is shining, stars begin to peep; time for little piccaninnies to go to sleep". It was lovely to read Dawn's post about her daughter remembering "Little Jesus sweetly sleep" and reminded me of my own mum's singing.

I used to be sent to ballet and tap lessons when I was about 4. I absolutely hated dancing, but because I was awkward and clumsy, Mum thought it might help; it didn't - being alongside truly graceful children just made me look even worse! I do remember "When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbing along" from those days, although I hated having to dance to it!

"Tales of the Riverbank" is an early memory. I don't know if it's the earliest. It was Late 60s.

I forgot - I too went to dancing classes from the age of 3 but I don't remember much about the actual MUSIC...

Oh, yes, the songs in Andy Pandy were a very early influence (sadly, I found myself working out the solfa for 'Time to Go Home' the other day ).

I hated (and still do) the theme from Peter and the Wolf which was used for something Way Back When (the Potter's Wheel???? ).

Under no circumstances are you teaching me that tomorrow C...

Would I do such a thing to you???

Nah...EXAM STUFF FOR YOU TOMORROW, MY LAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can I book my hotel in Sudbury for a day earlier?....

Singing "Hear the pennies dropping, l
Listen while they fall
Every one for Jesus
He shall have them all"
and similar things in the Beginners Classof the Methodist Church Sunday School. Must have been about four years old.

Having a set of little cards with note names on to place on the piano.
A long lost piano primer which had an 8 bar piece in it called "On the Lake

The "Dolly" generic used for "Listen with Mother"
The signature tune of Toytown.
My first descant recorder - around nine years old. It was a Schott and I taught myself using "The School Recorder Book"

Sudbury.. nice bells there!

I'll have left at silly o'clock on the Sunday morning for Colchester, so no time to see/hear bells...

What're you doing in colchester?