Personal History #10
Did you grow up with music in your family?
Yes! Steven has told me that being around my family is like being in a musical; people have a tendency to break into song at the least provocation. We are a very musical family. My Mom plays piano. Both of my parents always sang in the ward choir at church, and my mom has conducted the choir at times. My mom taught me and most of my siblings how to play piano. Some of my favorite memories are of standing around the piano while my mom played, singing songs - especially the ones where we could split into parts. Frequently we would be working in the kitchen to clean up after a meal and someone would start, "I've been working on the railroad..." and before they got that far, everyone in the room would have joined in, some even making up their own harmonies. I loved it!
My children sometimes wonder how I know so many songs, because I still like to sing while I work. Sometimes they are songs that they know, like the Railroad song, Hymns or Primary Songs. Sometimes they are songs they have heard on tape or CD, like "I'm a Mormon" or "My Turn on Earth". Some times they are songs they have heard me sing so much they are used to them and can sing along, even though they don't often hear anyone else sing them, like some of the Joy School Songs ("Doodle Caboodle" and "Fred, Fred" are a couple of my favorites). Other songs I sing I don't even know where they came from originally except that I heard Mom sing them - like "Bill Grogan's Goat" and "Sweet Violets".
I don't think my parents were the originators of the love of music in my family. I imagine my grandparents must have had music in their homes as well. I remember one time at my Grandma and Grandpa Asay's home when I was playing their piano, I played "High on the Mountain Top" out of the hymn book that was there. When I was finished, my sweet Grandpa called me over and thanked me for playing that song because it had special meaning for him. His Great Grandfather, Joel Hills Johnson, had written the words to that song. I love the heritage of music that I have received and I'm glad that I can pass that on to my children.
Yes! Steven has told me that being around my family is like being in a musical; people have a tendency to break into song at the least provocation. We are a very musical family. My Mom plays piano. Both of my parents always sang in the ward choir at church, and my mom has conducted the choir at times. My mom taught me and most of my siblings how to play piano. Some of my favorite memories are of standing around the piano while my mom played, singing songs - especially the ones where we could split into parts. Frequently we would be working in the kitchen to clean up after a meal and someone would start, "I've been working on the railroad..." and before they got that far, everyone in the room would have joined in, some even making up their own harmonies. I loved it!
My children sometimes wonder how I know so many songs, because I still like to sing while I work. Sometimes they are songs that they know, like the Railroad song, Hymns or Primary Songs. Sometimes they are songs they have heard on tape or CD, like "I'm a Mormon" or "My Turn on Earth". Some times they are songs they have heard me sing so much they are used to them and can sing along, even though they don't often hear anyone else sing them, like some of the Joy School Songs ("Doodle Caboodle" and "Fred, Fred" are a couple of my favorites). Other songs I sing I don't even know where they came from originally except that I heard Mom sing them - like "Bill Grogan's Goat" and "Sweet Violets".
I don't think my parents were the originators of the love of music in my family. I imagine my grandparents must have had music in their homes as well. I remember one time at my Grandma and Grandpa Asay's home when I was playing their piano, I played "High on the Mountain Top" out of the hymn book that was there. When I was finished, my sweet Grandpa called me over and thanked me for playing that song because it had special meaning for him. His Great Grandfather, Joel Hills Johnson, had written the words to that song. I love the heritage of music that I have received and I'm glad that I can pass that on to my children.
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