I took the plunge. I signed up on Last.FM. As I was adding music to my library, I started thinking about who (and what) had influenced my taste in music.
When I was growing up, there was almost always something on the radio, stereo, or tape player. I remember summers most vividly, spending 8 or 9 weeks listening to the strains of Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach from my grandfather’s shop. He introduced me to opera, which I didn’t appreciate as a child, although I did grow to enjoy it. My grandfather knew the names of all the pieces and often who was performing. Sadly, like my mother, I often hear some piece of music and it sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Still, I love what most people loosely call “classical” music–both to play and to hear.
My grandmother had very little influence on my musical taste, although she did introduce me to some of my favorite country singers. Similarly, my father’s taste in music left little impression. My dad taught me to dance to the sounds of early rock ‘n’ roll: Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and the Comets, early Elvis. Other than that, I don’t recall that my father ever listened to much.
My mother, on the other hand, had as varied taste in music as I do now. She listened to everything from old-time gospel to folk music, opera to the Beatles. Like my father, she enjoyed early rock. But she also appreciated darker sounds of the 1960s. When listening with my mom, I might hear the Beach Boys, or I might be in for Woody Guthrie or the Weavers. Mom also enjoyed newer country music and through her I began to appreciate some of it as well.
My sisters both had an impact on my taste. The older of my two big sisters introduced me to CCR, the Moody Blues, Elton John, and Billy Joel. My other sister got me hooked on women’s folk music and alternative rock. My cousin liked bands such as Metallica and REM, and we spent a good part of each summer enjoying whatever tapes he had brought along.
I remember enjoying some of what was popular among my peers for a short time when I was in school, but I never really got into pop music. There are a few songs that I still enjoy from childhood, but very little has remained as a staple in my music diet. It wasn’t until high school that I found myself really interested in what my friends were listening to. Through my friends at church, I began to enjoy the likes of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Sandi Patti, and Twila Paris. Some of my friends had other interesting taste in music and through them I learned to appreciate Weird Al and They Might Be Giants.
I find myself now open to a wide variety of music. I don’t necessarily have favorite artists so much as favorite songs. I prefer songs that make me think and feel. It isn’t just background noise, it’s an extension of myself in some way.
So what does all that have to do with parenting? As I put together my library and recalled (mostly fondly) the people and the music that have shaped me, I realized that we now have the chance to do the same for our children. My son already has the same relationship to music that I do; it’s in his blood. For him, it is so natural to move to the music, to express with his body what he is hearing. It might be a ballet to Rich Mullins’ “Awesome God” or interpretive dance to Jars of Clay’s “Flood.” Watching him, I feel inside that intense longing that C.S. Lewis described as “joy.” My daughter is still very young, but for her, it seems to be the message, the words, that she relates to. Perhaps this is because she herself is already a proficient communicator. I wonder what she will use that gift for.
In the end, my hope is that my children will grow to appreciate a wide variety of music, rather than locking themselves into one genre. And I hope that, in some way, I will be part of that process.
