My Mom came from a musical family and she played the accordion, piano, and organ by ear. In the early years when I was very young, she played the pump organ and our housekeeper, Bertha Prowse would dance my brothers and I across the living room floor like we were at a formal ball.
When Mom’s brothers and sisters would get together, it was a wonderful musical interlude to our daily lives. A few of her sisters could read music but mostly they all played by ear. Someone would think of song and they’d all join in. Fiddle, piano or organ, accordion, and sometimes a guitar and it sounded so wonderful. Many of their gatherings were in Maidstone where her parents and a few of her sisters lived. They didn’t need an audience, although I’m sure they played for a few in their time, but they really enjoyed playing music and being together.
If one or more of Mom’s siblings arrived at our house for a visit, it was just a given that they would jam. Neighbours would sometimes show up and the party was on. My Dad didn’t play an instrument, didn’t sing a song, but he loved their music. He was an incredible dancer and never missed a dance. One of my Mom’s brothers would sing and play the Irish ditties that my Grandfather sang to them. That Uncle also sang ditties that were crude and my Mom would caution him to save them for his drinking buddies and she “better not hear them around her kids”. I’m still trying to forget one (or more) of them!
I remember one day in the 1960’s, a special parcel arrived at the post office and Dad went and picked it up. Mom opened it ever so carefully. It was a 48 bass black piano accordion, brand new! She was so excited. We were allowed to touch and admire it but she taught us right off the bat to respect instruments and treat them like gold. There would be no pushing buttons, keys or bellows or poking fingers here and there unless taught to do so first. After all, the air button had to be pushed “just so far and no farther” to close the bellows before putting it back in its case. She played old time dance music and sang and played many songs. She was asked to sing at functions when she was young. That ended when allergies and asthma interfered with her voice. However, she continued to play instruments for years. She often commented that “music lifts the spirits”. If she had a downer of a day, she’d just pick up an instrument and start playing. It would never be just one musical piece. One song would turn into another song and so on. The accordion was one of her favourites because she could tote it around the house while she played. If she was at the stove cooking, she would often play for us kids to sing and then stop occasionally to stir or tend to whatever was in the pot.
Did I mention that Mom taught some of us how to play? She had the patience of Job for teaching those of us who were interested. She even taught us kids a set of chords on the guitar to get us started but she never played the guitar much herself.
In the 60’s and 70’s, some of my siblings and I carried on the “family orchestra tradition”. We had fun just like Mom and her siblings did. I noticed as a kid, the accordion bellows allowed one to play loud, medium or soft while pushing or pulling. In fact, the accordion doesn’t need to be amplified in many cases because the sound carries very well. Like most young people, I played every song as loud as it would go when I was practicing. I got sent to another room with the door closed many times. As young adults, brother Alex and I also played in a country music band for a few years. Fast forward to 2025, my siblings no longer play, but I still enjoy playing and singing.
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