Singing

Sing: is a verb that means to utter words or sounds in succession with musical modulations of the voice; vocalize melodically. It is a talent to be enjoyed by others, but that not many have. I have been grateful that of my five children, four are very musical. 

I always enjoyed singing. We had a piano that my mother often played while we sang while the canary there in the room warbled along. My father loved to sing, and we had lots of sheet music. Some of the songs my father sang to us were: “Roly Poly, Daddy’s little Fatty,” “Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch,” “Little Purple Pansies,” “Running Bear” (a ballad about Running Bear and Little White Dove, two Indians that loved “with a love that couldn’t die”). Our family favorite was an old cowboy ballad, “Little Joe the Wrangler” about a Texas stray who died in a washout. We would always end up crying when he sang that song. 

I remember when “Your Hit Parade” came on TV. We would all watch it and sing along. I also had my favorite songs that I sang to all the little kids I babysat and my own children years later: Frank Sinatra’s “High Hopes,” and “Swing on a Star,” Doris Day’s “Che sera sera” from the movie, Whatever Will Be, Will Be.  Other silly songs were “Green Door,” and “The Railroad Comes through the Middle of the House” (which we loved because it reminded us of our house which we had to move from to make way from the freeway --we joked that now the freeway ran through the middle of our house).

I also loved musical theater and I had several long-playing

records of them. In fact one of my most memorable Christmases was when my parents gave me an album of the “Carnival” musical Theater recording, which I had wanted, but I didn’t think they knew I wanted. I always sang along with the music, whether I was on tune or not—the records couldn’t tell. 

When I was married and had children, I played music while we cleaned up and we sang and danced to the music while we worked. I don’t recall watching much TV back then, but we played an awfully lot of music because we knew all the music to all of it. When we were in the car, we played cassettes of the music and sang along (otherwise the children would fight—but if the music was playing, they wouldn’t). I think we must have had music on all the time except when we were eating; the only reason we didn’t then because we had a rule, “if you sing at the table, you will cry in bed.”

I insisted they all my children have music lessons (Marlowe had trumpet lessons, the rest had piano lessons), so they would know music.

When I look back at my life, I realize how ironic it is that we played music and sang with it all the time, because I don’t have a good voice, and I can’t carry a tune. But I doubt back then if my children knew that; the music drowned me out. We just enjoyed the music. We had to like country west music—we spent 12 years in Texas. We always loved musicals, but we also liked comedy (The Smothers Brothers and some Hawaii Comedy Music). We even liked “Roll on, Big Mama” one year that we drove a lot; Ed got the music and we watched the truckers. We always liked Primary music (because we always had someone in the Primary). 

Marlowe wanted to sing in the ward choir when he was a teenager and we lived in

Alabama. In fact we lived in the temple district when the Atlanta Temple was dedicated and even though Marlowe was only 16 years old, he was selected to be in the Dedicatory Choir from our stake. When our stake was chosen to be the one to sing for the first session and the ground-laying ceremony, Marlowe was right there.

Athena loved to sing and she was also in the choir as a teenager, but when we moved to Italy, she often had to play the piano because there wasn’t always a pianist available. But by then both Marlowe, Athena and Marc were performing with the Community Theater in Italy and in musicals, as well as singing in choirs. Marc had my voice, so he didn’t sing in choirs or groups, but he loved music. 

Athena had developed her athletic talents all through high school as a gymnastic and dancer; in Italy she won some fame with her gymnastic abilities and after one event, one of the Italian Olympic judges offered to coach her in his local Olympic coaching group at no cost if she was willing to put in the time—every afternoon after school until late and every Saturday. She did it for a while, but she decided she wanted to be an American high school student more than an Olympic hopeful and gave it up. Then she could do her singing and dancing in the Community Theater Productions, and be Studentbody Secretary, and date and do all the fun things she wanted. 

Marlowe in "Christmas Carol"

When Marlowe went to college, his schedule was so tight that he couldn’t take any band, jazz band, or music classes as he had in high school, but he was always in the Institute Choir—he wouldn’t give that up. But during the summers, he would come back to Centerville and perform in theater productions, especially musicals. After he graduated from college and was working and earning money, he performed in many theatrical performances all over the Wasatch front, from Rodgers Memorial Theater, Grand Theater, Hunt Mysteries Dinner Theater, to Hale Theater (with Diana). 

Athena continued to be in choirs in college, and always church choirs, but Diana was the

Diana in "Scarlet Pimpernel"

one who surprised us all. We moved to Utah when she was in the 7^th grade and she had a hard time adjusting. In the 8^th grade she took a choir class and enjoyed it and the teacher mentioned she had a nice voice. So she tried out for Jr. High Madrigals and made it. We were impressed and I suggested she take voice lessons to help her self-esteem. We began to realize she had a real talent for music and helped her develop it. 

I worked full time from the time Bryan was three years old, so I never had music playing all the time like I had with the other children. But he was around Diana and her music all the time. Bryan had sometimes performed with the older children in musicals; whenever they were in a show and there was a need for a child, they “kidnapped” Bryan and put him in the show. I was not a stage mom, and insisted if they took him, they were responsible for him; I would never take

Bryan, Diana & other child

him or pick him up or be involved; he was their obligation. Sometimes I think they realized how tired I was and took Bryan to give me a break. 

Although I paid for Bryan’s voice lessons, he was never as committed as Diana to practice. He had the ability, but not the dedication to develop his voice. He was more interested in being an actor, a comedian, and an improv performer. 

Today Diana still sings with “Friends of Harmony,” a group of women in Chicago who sing

Diana in Friends of Harmony

for nursing homes, and other non-profit venues. I am so glad she is still using her talents. 

I am so amazed at the ability all my children have to listen to choirs and musical groups and tell immediately who is on tune and who is not. Whether it is our years of going to choir and band concerts, musicals and lots and lots of shows, but Ed, Diana, Bryan, and Marlowe can tell if anyone is flat or out of tune. It makes me angry because I go to a show to enjoy it, not critique it. I guess it is because I can’t sing at all, and know that if I tried to sing, they would make fun of me. I never try to sing in a choir because I know I am so bad, but I enjoy listening to them.

All of my children (even Bryan) are knowledgeable about many types and genres of music. When we play games, they amaze me at their knowledge of names of music and songs, even old-time songs. Best of all--they love to sing together.

Music, My Children and Me

Recently I had an epiphany about music. I have always felt very inadequate musically because I am not talented in that area. It has been difficult here in our new ward as some of our new friends have asked me repeatedly to sing in the choir and I have refused politely that I cannot sing well enough to be in the choir. I felt that I had let them down by not being able to sing well enough to contribute in the choir until I had my epiphany—because of me there are four of my children singing in ward choirs in other wards. I should not feel I had not contributed musically to choirs; I had contributed to not one--but four--choirs that day simply by developing the musical talents of my children.

Okay, okay. That is a stretch—but I felt better thinking that, than feeling guilty because I can’t sing. I have consciously developed the musical talents of my children, and that is important. Last fall I received a link to a website where you could test your ear for music by listening and clicking whether the music played was on tune or not. I forwarded the test to all my children, and every one of them, including Marc, who is the least musically talented of my children, got 100% on the test. They had chosen which renditions were on tune and which were not correctly every time. I didn’t get 100% but that is not surprising because I have a difficult time telling whether something is on tune or not; this is something my children knew and took advantage of often. When I sat with them to make sure they practiced the piano or trumpet, I couldn’t tell if they hit the wrong note until I’d see them glance at me as if to say, “Did Mom notice that flat note?” Then I’d say, “Do it again until you get it right!” But I did sit with them and make sure they practiced their lessons until they got so good they did it on their own.

Nevertheless, music was always a big part of our lives. Ed and I have always loved musical theater and I remember attending the Capital Theater in Salt Lake City to see The Sound of Music in the early 1960s. I played musical theater sound tracks at home all the time. I played loud, fast songs while we cleaned the house to invigorate us, lilting music to wake us up and soft romantic songs to put them to sleep. It is no surprise that ALL of my children are performers, (and most of them do musical theater)—that is all they grew up with.

My favorite song was “Che sera, sera” ("Whatever will be, will be"), which I remember singing to children that I babysat as a teenager, and “High Hopes” about a happy ant, but those and many others I sang to my children. Even though I lived through Elvis’ heyday, I didn’t like his rock songs, although his slower songs were okay. I loved the Beatles, though, and the Smother’s Brothers. Ed and the family went through a country western stage when we lived in Texas and all of the kids knew every Johnny Cash song. We were very democratic and what one of us sang, we all sang--all of the time. I even remember in Hawaii we were hooked on a Hawaii radio station with a DJ called “Myna Bird!”

Even though I couldn’t play the piano, I insisted that every one of my children take piano or trumpet lessons. It began when Marlowe was about eight or nine and had very bad asthma. The doctor suggested playing a trumpet might help his breathing, so we got him a trumpet.

I remembered how my mother insisted that each of us children have the opportunity to take either piano lessons or dance lessons when we were growing up. There was no extra money to pay for them, so she painted landscapes to barter for lessons. I took ballet and tap lessons for years; then I had a problem with my foot as a teen and that was the end of my dancing. My sister Coleen took piano lessons and that blessed her life for years. After Mother became ill and died, I don’t know if the younger children were able to take lessons, but it was Mother’s insistence that we all had talents that we needed to develop, and she would do all possible to get us lessons that made me determined to see that my children receive music lessons themselves. (My daughters took dance and gymnastic lessons, too, but I felt piano and music lessons were far more important).

Marlowe was very talented and by the time he was in high school he was in the marching band and the jazz band. Both Athena and Diana both played the piano well. Marc took piano and trumpet lessons, but they never took with him (I think he is related to me). Bryan took piano, voice, trumpet lessons, and was in the band in Junior High.

When Diana was a baby, I realized that something happened whenever music played—she would calm down and “listen” to it. I even wrote a story about what a musical baby she was, and that “maybe” she had sung with the angelic choir at Christ’s birth. Then I forgot all about her interest in music. In Junior High School, she tried out for the elite madrigal singing group, and wanted to take voice lessons. We discovered she had a very special talent in singing. She developed that talent and won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, and performed in many community and professional musical theater productions. Although she doesn't perform professionally now, she shares her talents in many other ways.

Marlowe also made a hobby/career of performing in community and musical theater productions in the Salt Lake Valley; Athena performed a lot at Rodgers Memorial Theater. Even though Bryan was nearly 20 years younger than his older siblings were, they taught him to perform with them and he, too, became a musical theater pro. All of the children, including Marc performed in Community Theater in Italy and in Utah.

Athena has shared her piano playing with her family, in the primary, and in many other ways. She has performed at Rodgers Memorial Theater and even met her husband there. She has always been so faithful in singing in the ward choir, and encouraging her children to develop their musical talents.

Bryan became especially talented in comedy and improvisation, and has been (and is) performing professionally at Desert Star Theater in Murray, Utah. He has a beautiful voice, and gift for mimicry. Suddenly I have my own musical theater troupe!

Music is important to me. It is one of the means by which I find peace, and joy. It is something I share with my family, even if I can’t sing on tune, or play an instrument. I love the music my family is gifted with. I love to hear them sing, and to see them perform. So, even though I won’t be singing in the ward choir this Sunday, in four other wards, my children will be singing my song for me.