{"id":11867,"date":"2012-10-03T14:04:36","date_gmt":"2012-10-03T18:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=11867"},"modified":"2012-10-03T14:04:36","modified_gmt":"2012-10-03T18:04:36","slug":"midweek-music-break-the-musical-sister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/midweek-music-break-the-musical-sister\/","title":{"rendered":"Midweek Music Break: The Musical Sister"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I’ve always admired — been in awe of — families with a history of hands-on musical skills. I’m not talking here about famous musical families like the von Trapps, the Partridges, the various Hank Williamses, and so on. And I don’t mean simple (or involved) appreciation<\/em> of the art.<\/p>\n

No, I mean the families with casual stories like, well… Stories about taking violin lessons while growing up in Brooklyn, from a little old lady on the corner who lived next door to a little old man who gave trumpet and accordion lessons, etc. Or about singing in a church choir as a kid, and going on to a successful career in music.<\/p>\n

Among the four of us kids (as we still think of ourselves, a half-century-plus later), none of us has ever shown much inclination to participate<\/em> in music. My brother and I can rightly be considered fans of music, but — except for monkeying around with harmonicas — have pretty much held the practice of it at arm’s length. The Elder Sister? I honestly must say I know almost nothing about her musical tastes or interests. (In the car, she’s likely listening to a talk show or an audiobook.) It’s not hard to imagine her favorite musical sound takes the form of a fanfare heralding her entrance into a room. (He said, grinning-ducking-and-running.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As for The Younger Sister: ah yes. In her case, maybe the appropriate title isn’t “the musical sister,” but rather “the musicals<\/strong><\/em><\/span> sister.” Because from the time she was only yay high (as we used to say), she has\u00a0loved<\/em> musical theater.<\/p>\n

I’ve sometimes mentioned, here at RAMH<\/em>, her childhood habit of listening over and over and over to the original cast album of\u00a0My Fair Lady<\/em>\u00a0— how I’d learned every word of those songs, long before I ever really “got” the story. To that, though, one would fairly have to add:<\/p>\n