Back on February 9th, we posted a WNED Classical Blog called I Used To Play. The upshot was that most of us sang or played instruments at some point in our lives, but for whatever reasons, we stopped. Some of us lost interest. Others had poor quality instruments . . . or uninspiring teachers . . . or got teased for being in chorus or band . . . or couldn’t afford lessons . . . or felt untouched by talent.
We included an email address in the blog so that readers could tell us what they used to play, why they stopped, and if they’d consider singing or playing again. We also linked the blog to our WNED Classical Facebook page.
The responses ran the emotional gamut, from happy to sad, funny to serious, contentment to regret – all valid feelings. I’ve paraphrased a few of them below, removing all identifying information.
We used to sing, but we stopped... due to old age! Still, we love music, love listening to WNED, and have great memories of our singing years.
I played the violin. I was decent, but frustrated that little kids were playing concertos with ease at the age of four... Why bother?
Flute. I was terrible. It’s a good thing for the world I gave it up in 6th grade.
I started the piano around 7th or 8th grade. I wanted to quit after a few years, but my mother wouldn’t let me. Now, after 30 years, I’m ending a career as a music teacher! I’m still playing the piano.
I used to sing, but I stopped when people begged me to!
Piano and voice. Stopped lessons and choir and sadly regret this.
I have always loved classical music and dreamed someday I would be a great pianist! Unfortunately, I started playing piano . . . much too late. I found out I had a great ear... but couldn’t get my hands to follow. I sold my piano many years ago..., but to this day, I very much enjoy listening to those who can play well. I love to sing . . . and am not half bad!
I had eight happy years playing the clarinet... but quit my senior year. I was sixteen and woefully ill-informed about good decision-making... I walked down to the guidance office, unenrolled from music, and removed a part of me that only upon reflection do I see how much of a core part of myself it had been for all those years. Recently, I creaked open my old clarinet case. The familiar scent transported me back to the early 1990s. A mixture of sadness and joy followed – sadness that I ever packed that clarinet away, but joy that I had kept it . . . and that it was my children who got me to take it back out.
Aren’t these responses great?! I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did! Singing and playing instruments make life better - even if we’re not particularly good. The emotional, intellectual, physical, and social benefits of making music are well-documented – and not just for children, but for adults too.
If you’d like to add your story to the WNED Classical Blog I Used To Play Series, write to me at mwimmer@wned.org. We’d enjoy reading your response too!
