By Laurie Niles: Sunday is Mother's Day in the United States, and so Mom's on the mind.
Very often, it's Mom who deserves some credit for introducing a young child to music, and so I thought it would be fun to do a little vote and start a conversation about what that role was, for each of us.
![Mom and kids with violins]()
Here's a nice example: a viral video from several years ago shows a baby at a music class, completely falling in love with the violin (while, coincidentally, the violinist is actually playing "Can't Help Falling in Love"!) The boy actually toddles straight up to the violinist and plops himself at her feet, then a few moments later, hugs her leg!
Props to his mom for bringing him to this music class, and who knows? Maybe by now she has found a way to get him started on the instrument. I know that, for me, one of the most enjoyable things I did as a young mother was to attend Music Together with my small children.
For many people, the first music they hear is their mom singing to them, and this is another introduction to music.
For some, they can thank their mom for enrolling them in violin lessons or an instrumental music class. Some moms even supervise practice for their children. Occasionally I'll meet someone whose mom played, and actually taught them violin!
Of course, this is not always the case. Many people start playing the violin as adults, with their mom no longer around. But - sometimes even for adult starters, the seed may have been planted by some kind of introduction to music at an earlier age.
While my mom did not have quite that heavy of a role, she and my father were certainly there, helping me find teachers, paying for lessons and driving me to countless lessons, youth orchestra rehearsals, etc. They also played me plenty of LPs when I was very young - mostly of musicals. And my live-in grandmother had her role: she played me albums by the sentimental crooner, Andy Williams!
What was your mom's role in introducing you to music, if any? Please choose the answer that best describes her role or was the most memorable to you, and then tell us all about it in the comments!
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