Dad,s Ear

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

We are artfully tailored conversations with two sisters. Hi, Melody. And I'm Penny. We're one heart and endless creativity. Welcome to our little corner of the world. Welcome.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Today we're gonna talk about the music of our lives. I was gonna say the magic of our lives, but it was kind of magical music. Yes. So we want to talk about our dad, I guess, and our mom too. They were very musical, and um we just wanna touch on the things that we remember.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

What is what would you say is your first memory of music, Melody?

SPEAKER_02 0:44

I don't know if I can say that it's my first memory of music, but it's the one that I remember when I think about dad and music because he played the guitar a lot. A lot and he took it with wherever he went as well. Yes. But there was one song that he played by the sea, by the sea. By the beautiful sea.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea. You and I, you and I, we're all happy it would be.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

And it goes on and on and on and on. And when he pulled that guitar out and started that, we would come a running from all ever wherever we were in the house. Yes. And he'd be sitting there smiling. I'm trying to think. Did he did he have a pipe in his mouth?

SPEAKER_01 1:32

No. Sometimes. Yeah. Because he never sang it, he just played it. That's right, he did. Sometimes he did. But he'd had he always had the grin and his eyes twinkled. Yeah, yeah. I remember that. Because he he was gonna pull something.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Yeah. And it was and he always started slow. Yes. And so we'd just come in and we'd be like sing we'd sing. Yeah. And then um we'd be swaying kind of back and forth, and he'd ratchet up and ratchet up faster and faster and faster and faster and faster until we were whirling dervishes all over the living room floor. And then fall down in gales of laughter. Yes. And then he'd do it again. Yes. Over and over and over until either he was tired or we were tired.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

I think it was on purpose. I know.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

I think that's interesting.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

I think we just got such a hoot out of it. Uh-huh. Actually. And um he just yes, I hadn't remembered that melody, honestly. And now that I'm thinking back on it, the memory is very clear of seeing him sitting there in the living room. It's very clear. You know, he really he enjoyed doing that because we we got so silly.

SPEAKER_02 2:42

And he played that for my kids when they were little.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Did he? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

At their house in the lake on the lake. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

I think I have a recording of him doing that. The last time he played the guitar before he had a stroke. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Wow. Well, and he used to play too when we we'd kind of play a little bit of dress-up kind of in a way. And that was back in the day of crinolines. Um, for those of you um who don't know what they are, they were um slips that you wore with skirts and dresses, certain skirts and dresses. They were a little bit uh stiff in formation so that your skirt would stick out a little bit. I don't remember them.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

I mean I remembered slips, but not the sticky outy kinds.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Yeah, yeah. And they were so fun because it made your skirt just kind of when you walked, it moved with you. It just swung with you. Well, watch some old movies, you'll see them.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

That's true.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

And um, so we would put them on, and sometimes we would just put them on over our, you know, shorts, bermuda shorts, whatever, you know, pants we were wearing, and just start twirling around in them because they were just so girly cute. And and when dad would play that, do that kind of playing, and we would come up and dance. Um, a lot of times we would be wearing our crinolines because we just we just loved it. What did it be so girly?

SPEAKER_02 4:01

We did we just go in our bedrooms and and grab our slips and put them on.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Yes, yes, because it's like, oh god, it's time we're gonna dance. Okay, quit just get your quinoline on. Oh gosh. Yes, yes. He loved it.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

And our our mom, she played piano, but maybe we should continue with dad. He had an ear for music. He did. He had, like you said, perfect pitch. He had perfect pitch. Yeah. And so, but which was good and bad, because if there was music that was not good, like if if it was off or I don't know. He just yeah, he couldn't handle it.

unknown 4:38

We couldn't.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

Or, you know, if we were singing and together or something. And we weren't quite quite on key. Oh yeah, we were told. Not in a bad way, just because we really weren't. We just did it for fun, it wasn't all professional, nothing, but he sang semi-professionally. And then mom played the piano, and she, well, you can tell you.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

She had perfect pitch too. And she her piano playing was what really brought us actually singing in the home because she could she played by ear. She could read music, but she liked to play by ear because she could hear anything and then started tinkling the ivories. And so we we sang a lot when she played the piano. Um, I remember particularly around the holidays, around Christmas, we did a lot of singing. Yeah. Both secular Christmas music and um Christian um Christmas music. And so we grew up with all kinds of music. I mean, our parents played, I remember them putting putting on or turning on the the radio or putting on a record of you know, country music, opera, symphonic, um, the standards of the day.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

I mean, you name it. Um they they loved it. Um they just really, really loved music. And we um became the beneficiaries of that because they instilled that love of music in all five of us.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

And they were both kind of I don't know, they had showmanship because dad was a barbershopper, sang quartet, yeah, um, four-part harmony, and mom was um sweet Adelines. And she and that's I think is that four part or is it more than four part?

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Well, a quartet, yeah, and then the chorus.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Yeah, but even the chorus is four part, right? Oh yes, that's just four part. Yes, yes. Um, and we just none of us girls ever followed suit with that. We we all can can carry a tune, but we didn't we didn't go into any semi or professional nothing.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

We just we just sang or and sing still sing together when we were together. Right. Right. Because we like to sing. We love music. Yeah. But our parents, both of them, were absolute hams.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

I think both of them were very frustrated actors and actresses. I have pictures, I have proof that they were they could get pretty silly in their in their when they got together, especially with their fellow uh barbershoppers or sweet Adelines. Oh my gosh. They would come to our house sometimes and um in an evening, and we could sit um with our feet dangling through the railings upstairs. The banister. Yeah, and listen to them. And the singing was absolutely wonderful. I'm sorry that there wasn't a way that we ever could have recorded it because they all had beautiful voices. Yeah. But we were very fortunate, very fortunate. We heard it. Yeah, we heard it. But one of the also one of the side benefits to especially dad having a good ear was his choice of system to play the records.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Yep. Yeah, it really started out with his high-fi stereo, which I don't know how stereo it was compared to today. Right. But it was pretty good. Yes. You know, that's all we knew.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

But he did a lot of research and he did a lot of hunting before he bought anything.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Yeah. Yep. And then um once the components, stereo components came out, which a lot of you probably don't even know what that is anymore because we don't have it anymore. Right. Well, we do, but it's vintage. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 8:26

Anyway. Carry on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

That was I went with dad when he bought our the first components in the it was um in the Radio Shack show, um not show, Radio Shack store. And that was really something. And then you know what's really funny is the Hi-Fi stereo that we had was kind of like a big cabinet.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

And he put that out in at the cabin, and that cabin was even smaller than a postage stamp. And but he had to have that stereo out there.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Yeah, he had to be able to play his hear good music.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

We could barely get around the dining room table because we had the stereo system, you know, cabinet there. That's right. Oh, so funny. So then, let's see. Hmm, what should we tell them? Should we tell them about sweet or sound of music?

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Well, I think we have to include that when we talk about music. Our church decided to do a uh talent show. And I don't know if mom and dad volunteered, I don't remember. Probably so they did because they wanted us to sing as a family. And of course, with dad playing guitar, he could be Baron von Trapp, and mom could be Julie Andrews, Maria, and we were the the kids. We were five of how many investing boys. And mom made our outfits, we had uh little uh dresses with pinaphores and white blouses underneath, and of course, did our hair and everything. And I'm trying to remember, I think Kathy and I were probably in junior high, so um it went down from there until Peggy was the little one. Yeah, and Dad, I remember walking out on the stage, and I remember my knees knocking and my lips quivering, and I was so afraid I wasn't gonna be able to remember. Because I think we all were yeah, because we were really terrified. We had it's one thing to sing in choir. Yes, when nobody's looking at you. Yeah, exactly. And here everybody, and we were, I mean, we looked anyway.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

And we sang two songs, I think.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Edelweiss and then the the one Goodbye. Yeah. When they were putting the kids to bed. But uh the Edelweise was I remember though that that was really beautiful because dad played the played it on the guitar. Right. And it's such a lovely song, it truly is. But not of us not all of us have have fond memories because we were so terrified. Yes, we were really scared. And whenever we we get together as sisters, and one of us will say, Oh, I think we should watch Sound of Music as well sisters, absolutely not, she breaks into a cold sweat.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

Well, I remember, well, this is probably weird or not good, but anyway, we had to wear pads under our arms because we were sweating so much. And it made great big rings under our sleeves. And so, yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah, we were terrified.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Yeah, we did it, we did it, we did it. Yes, we did, and that was the first and last time. We said, never again, don't ask, we're never doing it again.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

And you know, um, they also exposed us to uh music, just live music, like I remember they took us to to listen to the Minnesota marching band. And it was in the Northern Auditorium. Yes, and we were sitting in the seats and didn't did not know that they were gonna come marching in behind us and scared the bee jeepas up. And the um the drum major was flipping, making flips and jumping and all the way down, leading them, yeah, leading them down the aisle. It was fantastic. Yes, and if you ever get the chance to go to and see one of those, go. Take your kids, take your grandkids, take everybody. It's it's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Yes, everyone was screaming and hollering, and it was it was just well, and they're it I mean, it was just incredible. It really was. It was a magical magical afternoon for us.

SPEAKER_02 12:38

They they left us a legacy, and Penny can play the piano. Um, Kathy plays piano. Yeah, a little bit. And I think they're the only two that play any instruments. But it and it's it's dwindled down into the grandchildren. They have we have some pretty talented grandchildren with voices and and being able to play musical instruments. Well, actually, our children too, yeah. When I think about it. Sorry guys! Oh I forgot about you. I can just hear them now. Yeah, mom.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

No, I mean we've I mean, really what everyone has done is they've they've um nurtured that love of music. And wherever the kids want to take it, it's you know, it's their lives just like ours were. But we've we've exposed them in the same way that we were exposed so that they can choose if they want to, you know, do anything with music. But they certainly all love music, and we know it is in their homes all the time, like it was for us. Yeah, and it's and it really makes me feel very good that we were raised with that, and the memories are sweet and wonderful, and um, I'm glad that we have those memories. They're beautiful memories for us. And uh we will always I know I speak for myself, but I think I speak for my sisters, that we will always be grateful to our parents for giving us that joy. It brought a lot of joy into our lives. It still does.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

Yes, still does. We we still play music every day. Yes, very grateful. In the car, out of the car.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Yes, at home. Singing. I'm singing all the time in the car, so is everybody else. Singing at home, but in the car. My head's bopping up and down.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

Yeah. Yeah, that's one requirement with a vehicle. Doesn't matter really the age or anything, but it's gotta have good tunes.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Yes, yes, good sound system. Gotta be able to rock in my car.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

So, anyway, that kind of wraps up this little session. Um we hope you enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

So I'm so glad you um came and shared this time with us. And um, we wish you God's blessings for the week. Yes. And we will visit with you next week. Yeah, and enjoy some music. Yes, enjoy some music. Alrighty. God bless. God bless. Bye.