Any Musical Instruments passed down in your Family?

[Ptarmigan]

Does anyone here have a Musical Instrument that has been passed down in their Family?

 

My own family has no history of the Concertina, but there is a family Fiddle.

 

My Great Grandfather, was born in 1863 in Crichton, back in the days when they called it Edinburghshire!

 

He was a Fiddler & worked as a Ploughman & it's kind of neat to think of him playing the Fiddle in the old Scottish Farm Bothies. Anyway, when my Grandad was born, in 1888, he was working at Ormiston Mains in the Parish of Borthwick, but he ended his days in Tranent.

 

Like his father before him, my Grandad played the Fiddle & he also played the Pipes. I have no idea what happened to his Pipes, but I do have & play my Great Grandfather's Fiddle, which is a wonderful feeling. My Grandad gave the Fiddle to me when I was 23 & I've been scratching away at it, ever since!

 

As so often happens though, the music skipped a generation, for my own father showed absolutely no interest in music. However, my Mum was very musical & although she never had the opportunity to learn to play, it was she who spotted my interest in music & encouraged me.

 

Thankfully my son is also a full time musician & although he plays Jazz, he at least has a love of music & will, I am sure, pass the family Fiddle on down through the generations, till another Fiddler surfaces to make it sing!

 

In truth, it is not a brilliant instrument, but as you can imagine, I wouldn't swop that Fiddle for any money, not even for a Stradivarius!

 

Despite what the Donald Trumps of this World might think ....... money CAN'T buy everything!

 

Cheers

Dick

[Bill N]

Does anyone here have a Musical Instrument that has been passed down in their Family?

 

In truth, it is not a brilliant instrument, but as you can imagine, I wouldn't swop that Fiddle for any money, not even for a Stradivarius!

 

Despite what the Donald Trumps of this World might think ....... money CAN'T buy everything!

 

Cheers

Dick

 

 

Hi Dick,

 

I inherited an unusual "anglocised" German concertina which originally belonged to my Great-Great-Grandfather Ned Shaw, who tended the boilers in a woolen mill in West Yorkshire. He passed it on to his son, who brought it to Canada when he homesteaded in Saskatchewan before the Great War.

 

As you say, not a brilliant instrument, but I treasure it, and it did spark my interest in concertinas. I play it gently (it's a good accompaniment box) on a regular basis, but now do my heavy duty practice and playing on my Morse.

 

Bob Tedrow is currently building a couple of replicas of my concertina, albeit with a few more buttons, and "anglo" style innards.

[michael sam wild]

My Dad's old Hohner mouth organ that went with him in the Royal Navy and later through the Spanish Civil war and which he taught me in the late 40s. He fooled me for years by telling the story of how it was in his breast pocket aong with his pay book and saved his life when a bullet etc etc...

 

An old German fiddle that hung on the wall at home for anyone to have a go on, quite smokey but still plays

 

An old German 2 row Anglo in C/G which was played by my Grandmother Mary McGrail from Castlebar , Co Mayo and which she brought with her to Manchester in the 1880s. I played it a bit as a kid but went on to mouth organ , guitar and melodeon and at last the Anglo again

 

In the 1950s I asked my Dad to bring me a concertina from East Germany (GDR) when he went on a Trade Union Congress. He got a 2 row melodeon /button accordion in C/F which had a red perloid case like a tolet seat that smelt of ping pong balls but got me into Morris until they made me get a D/G Hohner. That's in some grandkid's toy box I think

 

My kids are musical but not too keen on the trad so I reckon I'll have them valued and flog them when I'm too old to play(the instruments not the kids! ) But I'll give them te option to hold on to them. They didn't want my clog dancing clogs so they went on eBay

 

This could end up like an Annie Proulx novel!

Edited March 11, 2010 by michael sam wild

[Lawrence Reeves]

Well, I am the youngest in my generation, so many of my cousins have the old instruments. I have a cousin who has my granny's old German concertina, and her brother a one row accordion. I was very fortunate to know a lovely fellow from Glendoan, Ardara, Donegal, who just passed away at 87 in August. His name was Eddie Keeney. A few years ago he had all of his grandchildren and great grand children to the house and gave away many fiddles, and other instruments. One grandchild who is already playing fiddle received a fiddle that was Eddie's older brother Charlie's fiddle. Charlie was born around 1905 and it was a fairly old fiddle then. Eddie called me down to the house and gave me one of his fiddles, that I am starting to play. It means a great deal to me, and as it turns out is a decent sounding German made fiddle, now it is up to me to learn to play it. He and I had a few tunes every visit, and a few times before his death I was brave enough to play it in front of him.

[Larry Stout]

I play the fiddle that my grandfather played for dances when he was a student at Purdue (he graduated in 1916). He got the fiddle from his father, who got it from a great uncle. Or at least that's the story I got---it probably traces the fiddle back further than its likely date of manufacture. My father played stride piano, not fiddle. So it skipped a generation. I'm the first concertina player in my family.

 

I have one son who is a punk rock drummer and another who plays no instruments, but is married to an opera singer. No grandchildren yet, but I hope to pass on my fiddle, concertinas, mandolins, viola d'amore, and lute to a later generation who will play them.

[CaryK]

No musical antecedents that I am aware of . . .and hence no musical intruments passed down to me, gov.

[Devon Hare]

How about the other way around? I have four very good concertinas and numerous other squeeze boxes - and I would like to think of them (the concertinas particularly) staying in the family when I pass on. I have got four children and three grandchildren (so far) but - in spite of gentle encouragement - not one of them shows any interest in the instruments whatsoever! In fact, quite the reverse. Some of them are musical - in other ways (classical, jazz, brass bands) but they tell me that the constant exposure to squeeze boxes and folk music generally while they were growing up has put them off for life... So sad to think that they could inherit some very fine instruments but won't appreciate them.

[hjcjones]

My grandfather played in a jazz band in his youth, but according to family legend he sold his banjo to pay the deposit on a house when he got married, so no musical legacy. Any musical talent seems to have skipped a generation to me, and now appears to have skipped the next, as my son shows no interest in playing any instruments.

[Bill N]

... So sad to think that they could inherit some very fine instruments but won't appreciate them.

 

I would be a good candidate for adoption

[Chris Drinkwater]

... So sad to think that they could inherit some very fine instruments but won't appreciate them.

 

I would be a good candidate for adoption

 

And me too!

 

Chris

[Chris Drinkwater]

Well, my mum and dad played the recorder a bit when I was very young. They gave me one to hold when I was five years old and all I could get out of it was toot toot. Years later, I bought a metal-keyed flute, because I like the sound of the flute, but got nowhere learning it. Wind instruments obviously aren't my thing. As far as I know, my parents' recorders still exist, so perhaps I should ask my mum to pass them on to me for another attempt to play one.

Chris

[JimLucas]

... So sad to think that they could inherit some very fine instruments but won't appreciate them.

I would be a good candidate for adoption

And me too!

 

Thanks for the offers, but I'd rather adopt one of those concertinas.

[Devon Hare]

It's very comforting to know that I could have such a doting extended family to see me through my senility!

[michael sam wild]

How about the other way around? I have four very good concertinas and numerous other squeeze boxes - and I would like to think of them (the concertinas particularly) staying in the family when I pass on. I have got four children and three grandchildren (so far) but - in spite of gentle encouragement - not one of them shows any interest in the instruments whatsoever! In fact, quite the reverse. Some of them are musical - in other ways (classical, jazz, brass bands) but they tell me that the constant exposure to squeeze boxes and folk music generally while they were growing up has put them off for life... So sad to think that they could inherit some very fine instruments but won't appreciate them.

 

 

My kids are the same! Musical but not struck! Mea culpa, I put my hand up

 

Little Lady Harriet Greatorex ( she owns a square foot of Scotland with a title, a present she was given by her Uncle ) our 19 month old grandaughter is however fascinated by the 'tina and does 'dance dance' all the time and wants to push the buttons.. She's not spent years on the sidelines in the cold like the generation before though!

Edited March 13, 2010 by michael sam wild

[Fergus_fiddler]

I was thinking about the opposite some days ago.

 

My wife plays lovely piano - Scott Joplin rags and such - but couldn't be dragged to the dark side of the force - it is, the oom - pah to back my playing -.

 

I'm the first - and only - musician in my family, so don't know what's going to happen to my two fiddles and my Morse when I kick the bucket. Anyway, surprised myself with the soppy idea of a child of mine playing my Morse at the same time I play my Suttner... oh, well

 

Cheers,

Fer

[Marien]

When I was invited to pick up the old german family melodeon (made about 1900) the wood appeared to be pulverised by woodwurms, the red, orange and yellow bellows papers had all loosened and it fell apart, unfortunately it was too bad to be restored. In fact it was a cheap type melodeon from Germany for export to the states. While my grand mother was an accordian tuner when she was young, I'ld be more interested to see top line instruments of that time that she has been tuning around 1910. I guess I´ll have to do with a family piano that is much newer.

[Robin Harrison]

My grand-mother passed down a Wheatstone English concertina. She was a part-time salvationist but I have no idea when or who she played it with. It was before my interest in concertinas developed and my younger brother dismantled it to restore it and it was never re-mantled (!) So it's gone but I do have her Salvation Army English Concertina tutor with her name on it.

About the same time (mid70's) I also inherited my aunt's D/G Pokerwork melodeon. She held it for 2-3 years in the well named Brute Force Ceildh Band in Somerset. She never actually learnt how to play it but sat in the middle of the band with her thumb firmly on ther air-release, enjoying the companionship but not annoying anyone with music..................this was the melodeon whose reeds I sprayed with WD40 to prevent them rusting prior to a trans-Atlantic trip ! It worked although the melodeon didn't.!

Hands up anyone who hasn't done at least one totally stupid thing in their life !!

Robin

[Patrick King]

I was thinking about the opposite some days ago.

 

My wife plays lovely piano - Scott Joplin rags and such - but couldn't be dragged to the dark side of the force - it is, the oom - pah to back my playing -.

 

I'm the first - and only - musician in my family, so don't know what's going to happen to my two fiddles and my Morse when I kick the bucket. Anyway, surprised myself with the soppy idea of a child of mine playing my Morse at the same time I play my Suttner... oh, well

 

Cheers,

Fer

 

I don't ever want to part with my Morse, but will have a go at teaching my younger brother (6 y.o.) or maybe in the future, my own children.

My father has a nice old wood flute, which he doesn't want to part with either, but every now and then I give him a little tweak of what he's going to do it when the time comes. I'm hoping he'll teach a relative, as it's such a lovely flute and be pretty bad if he were to sell it... not hearing anymore folk-tunes coming out of one end...

 

Other than the flute and concertina, my grandparents generation don't play any musical instruments, let alone talk about them, so I guess it's up to my father and I to start it off.