The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: MUSIC LESSONS

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.

I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?

For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above. 

This month's prompts include: mail, moon, mouse, moving, museum, music, music lesson, name, necklace, neighbor, nightgown.

MUSIC LESSON

You can read an ARTSPEAK! "Music Lesson" poem here. Another one called "The Guitarist" here. And a "Cello Love" poem here.

Irene as a young pianist :)

I've had a number of music teachers over the years: Judy Bruce, who was the church pianist at our church in Louisiana, and taught me and my sister in her home. For whatever reason, I remember my sister as being her favorite, and that's about all I remember!

Next up was Vona B. Gay, who was an elderly church organist in Birmingham, and also taught me in her home. I remember how she would endorse and scrawl “for deposit only” as soon as I gave her my mom's check – and then she would tuck it in a little box that sat on top of the upright piano. For a while a cute boy from another school took lessons right after me, and we planned a duet for the coming recital. I can't for the life of me remember the piece we played, but I do remember how nervous I was about sitting and playing next to this boy! Interestingly I can't remember what the boy looked like or what his name was... probably was so self-conscious... or I've hardwiped that awkward memory. I stayed with Vona until the end of high school.

Andrew and Eric
at piano recital

And then, after marriage and motherhood... I spent a lot of time taking my KIDS to music lessons. Andrew and Eric started on piano with Rosamund Black, who was – you guessed it! – a church pianist! My boys even played a duet for a recital, which still warms my heart to recall. Then Eric started drum, percussion, xylophone, guitar, voice, insert-name-of-instrument-here lessons. His most consistent teacher was Jay Burnham, percussionist for Alabama Symphony Orchestra. They had a lot of fun together, and I'm so grateful for impact Jay had on Eric's life. He also was hugely impacted by Laura Doss, then-choir director at ASFA. She's the one who convinced Eric that he could sing!

Daniel on cello

Somewhere in there Daniel took a couple of years of cello lessons from Craig Hultgren, who was then part of ASO. So many times I was just in the other room, writing a poem and halfway listening to the lesson. So I heard a lot about cello long before I ever decided to pick it up and play it myself.

When I did finally decide to play an instrument, I started on violin. The instructor I picked (off the internet) was not a good fit for me, and neither was the violin, though it's portability was a big reason I chose it. After just a few months I switched to the moody, more introverted cello. I took my first lesson with Craig Hultgren. It was terrifying! His studio was located at the back of the house, kind of like a porch area. It had a tiled floor and tall ceilings – there was a loft up there as well, and sometimes I'd wait there for another student to finish before my lesson would start. (Craig was so generous with his time! I remember our half-hour lessons often stretching to an hour. He never charged me a penny more – he was just that kind of guy.)

The most intimidating thing about Craig's studio was the wood platform stage in the center of the room, at the end of which was a giant mirror. (Seeing oneself play can really help identify solutions to cello problems!) The comforting thing was how Craig's black lab retriever would stretch out and sleep through the whole lesson. :)

I've written A LOT about my first lessons with Craig, because they kind of changed my life. And so many of the lessons I've learned through cello have impacted other areas of my life. For a while I was pursuing publication of this work, but have since abandoned it.

Which brings me to my current teacher Laura Usiskin. I started lessons with her about 4 years ago, when Craig moved away from Alabama. She's currently on maternity leave, and I think a great testament to how much I've learned from her is that I've been teacherless now for 2 ½ months, and I am still managing to work and learn new pieces on my own. I can hear Laura's voice, and I have an arsenal of tools and techniques to help get through the trouble spots. I am quite excited, however, to get her back! Though of course she is doing THE most important work of her life right now with that brand new baby girl. What a sweet time! Her studio is intimidating in a different way. There's a plush carpet (great for cello end-pins) and a gorgeous baby grand piano. Laura sits across from me during the lesson, her eagle eyes and ears catching all the goofs. She's an amazing teacher, and keeps things encouraging and positive. I'm so grateful to have landed in such good hands!

I'm the cellist just below and right
of the conductor Joe Lee

I've also benefitted from group music lessons – Laura does an adult-student group, and for the past couple of years I've participated in the Adult Strings Weekend in Tuscaloosa. This past spring I participated in an ensemble workshop, and this summer I joined a string orchestra. The music director has a great way of explaining things and working with us. Our concert is coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm excited. :)