My son is 14 and says he hates my harmonica playing. He has also told me that if he thought I was any good he would never admit it.
Tonight he told me how mortifying it is for him if I play when he is around. I sometimes play harp at scout events accompanying the scoutmasters mandolin, guitar or banjo. He then told me how difficult it is when other scouts at an event hear me playing, and tell my son they think it would be cool to have a dad like me. He then has to explain to them how very un-cool it really is!
I have often wondered whether adolescence is harder on the adolescent or the parent.
I think it was Mark Twain who said “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years.” ---------- Lucky Lester
STME58, my 15 year old daughter is similiar. She ameliorates her remarks by saying she thinks I'm a good player, but she hates the sound of the instrument. Well she used to say that. I suspect she was being kind, because lately she asked me if I thought I was getting any value from spending time with Jimi Lee. After I said I believed I was playing better and learning a lot she told me she didn't hate hearing me as much anymore! ----------
When my son was around 10 he told his older sister: "It's my job to annoy you, just as it's Dad's job to embarass you." Sounds like you're doing your job then, STME58.
Kinda like having Dad and mum singing carols at xmas while your mates come over for a beer, then again if we put on some Bieber or rap, hip hop they still wouldn't understand, each to his own i say.
well, i do suspect that anybody who has lived in a house with a pretty dedicated harp player has heard waaaay too much harmonica practice.. something nobody should have to endure with most any instrument but probably worse with violins, learning overblows and such...
My kids (and wife) don't like it when I play in the house, but when I play in church, which is my primary outlet for playing in front of a crowd, they are complimentary. And they don't seem to be too embarrassed. I'm sure if they were they would ask me to stop.
My dogs howl when I play in the house. But when I play during our evening walks before bedtime they don't.
My GF's 20-year old son plays guitar in a good rock band (think Maroon 5 kind of stuff) and he comes to as many of my blues jams as he can. He's got up and played a couple times. He knows all the regulars and all the weirdness and digs it. It might be different if he were 15.... we all knew everything when we were that age, eh?
I think it's tough(er) on the families to hear the woodsehdding. The same people that dislike the playing/practicing at home tend to like the playing at a jam or performances. ---------- Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy. -Dan Castellaneta
@florida trader. If I practice around the house too much, it might happen. Another reason to go busking. The peeps have't heard you play the same riff 1000 times in the fruitless quest for perfection...
The quote from didjcripey by Mark Twain is one of the greatest quotes ever!
I agree, CWinter, my grandfather used to quote that all the time.
I am lucky in that I have a large house and a large property with outbuildings (including a caboose) I can find places to practice where I am not heard(or at least where I can not hear thouse who are complaining they can hear me ;-) ).
Tom, my dog sometimes howls when I play harp, but not when my younger son plays alto sax. My boys say the dog is howling in pain and misery and I contend he is singing along.
I play/practice in a great full brick garage with the ceiling gyprocked etc, no bugger can hear me, which is a good thing. But my daughter does come in sometimes, and says, "thats good dad"...which is ok by me.
My wife, older son and especially neighbours hated me when I was teaching himself harmonica and knocked on the battery of central heating. Think they wanted to lynch me.
Now after 3 years ... it's peacefyl and calm. And even more: I can practice on sax. It was the only one attempt of invasion. But I didn't opened the door and they went dejected ;)
Last Edited by dmitrysbor on Feb 28, 2013 3:08 AM
STME58 - I agree with you about the dogs. I think they are just singing along. My dogs get deathly afraid when it thunders (Tampa Bay is the Lightning Capital of the U.S.) and when people are shooting off fireworks (4th of July, New Year's Eve). They shake and they cower. Not so with my harp playing. They just howl right along with me. But only indoors. I wonder if it is the acoustics. They never ever howl on our walks.
---------- Tom Halchak www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Feb 28, 2013 1:37 PM
