Notes On ' Grandpa 's Legacy '

‘He told me I have the wrong kind of fingers’” (7). When the father fell for it, the boy’s sisters also told the father similar stories so they could get out of their lessons. Even when all three children had stopped playing their instruments, their father still tried to get them to play, but with different instruments, “‘the trumpet or the saxophone or, hey, how about the vibes?’” (7). No matter what the children said, the father tried to get the children integrated into music somehow. When the children refused to play different instruments, the father tried to get the children to listen to recordings so they could be inspired, “‘I want you to sit down and give this a good listen. Just get a load of this cat and tell me he’s not an inspiration’” (7). No matter how hard the children pleaded into getting away from music, the father still tried to connect his kids into music

In the first grade, I picked up a clarinet. It was my sister’s, collecting dust while waiting for me to play it. From the moment I produced my first sound, an ear-piercing squeal that frightened my dog, the path of my life took a turn for the better. I began teaching myself for the following three years, along with learning from my sister how to properly play the beautiful instrument. The music pushed me out of my comfort zone: concerts that forced me onstage, tests that made me play difficult songs, and teachers that pushed me to be an exceptional player. From the shy elementary school student I used to be to the outgoing band member I take joy in being today, music has shaped my everyday life.

There are eight musicians; two banjos, one violin, bass, saxophone, trumpet and accordion players. A ninth man stands in the back row with his hands at his side. The photo is only a few inches wide, is creased and unevenly cut, perhaps trimmed from a larger image. Fortunately, it’s an original print, and a digital scan revealed more detail. Seated in the middle is my grandfather, posing with his banjo and an uncharacteristically serious expression. He appears to be in his late teens. Eventually I hope to ID other musicians in this photo, and verify if this was an early Hickman’s Orchestra. If so it would confirm my grandfather’s place and time during the early days of

Like any stringed instrument the player must be able to easily adjust the height of the strings, tune their instrument for pitch, and know how to check and adjust the pegs. They must also know how to change the bridge of the instrument and what the effects of changing the bridge will have on the music quality and tone.

Blessed with perfect pitch, not only could Dad read and write music, but also played by ear. He could listen to a song on the radio or from an album one time, and play it as if he'd learned it from a piece of sheet music and had practiced for weeks. He played any genre of music from classical to

most if not all of my family members play some type of instrument due to music being such a

Freshman Ella. It’s a scary thought, but for this story we have to go back to March of my freshman year at an event called Chamber Festival, which is basically when you play in small groups instead of large orchestras. In our school orchestra I was second chair viola which, me only being a freshman, was a very big deal. At least it was for me. Many of my other friends in orchestra already had their own instruments, and I felt like it was time to get one of my own. So for months I begged my parents. I insisted that I wouldn’t give up playing in a year or two, that I really would stick with it long enough for the investment to make sense. Finally, in the beginning of 2015, they agreed to get me a viola. Now was the hard part, agreeing

As Thomas Maupin’s grandson and musical performing partner, I have known him nearly all my life and, at the time of this writing, I have been performing music semi-professionally with him for approximately nine years. From the time I first became enamored with music, he tried to ensure the healthy development of my interest by providing me access to his large collection of Old-Time, Country, and Bluegrass music, including field recordings he had made of rural musicians, in addition to bringing me to several festivals where I was able to hear these forms of music played live and meet many musicians. Upon my decision to pursue playing the banjo, he provided constant encouragement and made sure that I was able to make contact with skilled banjoists who were mentors to me. He has always encouraged me to create my own musical style rather than mimic others, and to always strive for perfection rather than being content with my musical status quo. Not only has his enthusiasm and advice led me to pursue musicianship, but his efforts to record rural musicians and

Ever since I was five years old I have had an interest in playing the guitar. For my sixth birthday my parents got me a small and cheap acoustic guitar. I carried that thing with me everywhere. I treasured it. Even though I did not know how to play, I pretended I did and my family had to suffer through the horrendous noise.

In Chapter 9 it starts off during Cassia's first day of hiking. While hiking to the top of the hill Cassia opens the poem Grandfather gave her which was hidden in her golden compact. Cassia reads the small piece of paper and realizes that society got rid of this particular poem and ones like it because it encourages violence. She then hides the paper and runs to the top of the hill where she spots Ky. After the two converse for awhile Ky tells her he saw the paper she was reading and offered her his help to get rid of it. In the next chapter, Cassia gets home to discover that her house is filled with vexed officials because evidently, her father lost the tissue sample of Grandfathers. They punish Cassia's dad by giving him a citation at work and

A few personal notables include Shirley Scott (nicknamed, the queen of the organ), Gregg Rolie (who had notable tracks with both Santana and Journey), Merl Saunders, Billy Preston (of the Rolling Stones), Billy Larkin, Bill Doggett, Al Kooper, Dr. John, and Steve Winwood. The range in styles of each of these great representatives of the instrument is an indicator to the level of diversity and love that this machine garnered during its greatest period of success from the mid 50’s through the early 80’s.In the book, Learn from the Legends: Blues Keyboard: Great Licks and Interviews with the Stars, there is an interesting anecdotal story about how Al Kooper came to be known as an affluent B-3 organist. Al had learned the piano at an early age, but in the rapid shift in popular musical styles, he switched to learning the guitar because of the advent of Rock N

After reading and doing the eLearning activities, I feel it has helped me put together a thesis statement. It has always been a struggle for me, to make a thesis statement make sense and match the rest of the essay. I chose my Grandpa Albert as my topic because he was one person who started from the nothing in the Great Depression and he worked his way through life to get out from that hole by joining the military and working several jobs supporting a family of 5 before he retired. I know I can write a lot of this topic because he was such an inspiring and positive man. Some questions I have is: is my thesis statement long enough? Does it need more or is this okay for a thesis statement? Is it okay to tell his experiences in his life that I

I think the person who has had the most profound effect on my life besides my parents is my grandfather. I never realized before how much of an effect he had on my interests and goals for the future. Years ago, he used to tell me stories about historical events and experiences he had fighting in Vietnam and my great grandfather fighting in World War 2. His vivid descriptions always made it so interesting and, in some cases, more light-hearted than what actually happened. To this day he still has more stories to tell me, and never fails to captivate my interest. In doing this, he opened my eyes to my biggest interest, history, and encouraged me to pursue this interest throughout school. I feel like it would help to give a short summary of his life and how it affected me.

When we were together we were invincible, us against the world. I’d look up to him, not only because he was 6’4, but because he was my grandpa. I have clear memories of him picking me up from school, playing old school reggae music during our adventurous car rides. We’d always sing along to our favorites, sometimes turn the music up so loud the people in the cars next to us could hear it. When I would visit his apartment, the familiar smell of drywall and pennies would fill the air. It was my hideaway, my home away from home. My grandpa collected pennies in water jugs. He would say that one day they’d be worth more than just pennies. I loved it there, not only because he had a freezer filled with many flavors of ice cream to which he would often say to me “you can have all you can eat” but because it was our time to bond. For five years it was my mom, my dad, and my grandpa helping me to grow. Those are my favorite people, my role models. Being around my grandpa brought me such comfort and joy.

“I had an amazing life. I had wonderful husband I loved more than anything else is the world. I had six beautiful children, who gave me nine grandchildren, and the strength I needed throughout my life. I have regrets; but everyone does. I believe my life was wonderful because everyday I pray for my family and thank God for what he has given me throughout the years. The good times, and the difficult ones – everything was a blessing.” Winnie, now 75 years old, believes she has been blessed everyday of her life. It sounded surprising after I interviewed her to hear how religious and optimistic she is about her life. You see, I knew her as my quirky grandmother – who used to crotchet dolls on top of soda bottles, or kiss a penny that