Care to re-visit a bit of childhood trauma or triumph? Willing to give a shout-out or get revenge on a well-intentioned parent who tried to cram culture into a child more interested in Barney then Beethoven?
This tone-deaf reporter – herself a survivor of years of the sonic torture better known as the Suzuki method (sorry all you Suzuki lovers) – wants to hear from you. Until I was 13, my classical-music-loving dad forced me to “play” the violin. A defiant and anti-authoritarian tween, I rarely practiced, hated the whole experience and tormented the neighborhood pets with my atonal screeches and sawings. To make matters worse, I was outshone by a 5-year-old virtuoso at my last recital.
Did you also suffer from the common childhood agony of being forced to play a musical instrument you were no good at? Or, alternatively, were you the 5-year-old virtuoso who found a lifelong passion while creating lifelong enemies among your less musically talented peers? Or were you musically somewhere in between?
Whether you were a star or a slacker, we’d like to hear your stories about your childhood experience with music lessons. Email Lena LaPierre at llapierre@sunjournal.com or call her at 207-689-2944 to share your melodious memories. Photos of you during those memorable times are highly encouraged.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Modify your screen name
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.