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Student Question | What Are Your Earliest Memories of Music?
MAY 9, 2016 5:02 AM May 9, 2016 5:02 am 4
What does that statement mean to you?
David Gonzalez interweaves a story about what music meant to his father as he tells about his own first memory of listening to those songs in the section of the article called “A Bolero Between Father and Son”:
My earliest memory of being alive comes with its own soundtrack. My father, Pedro, used to sit with his battered guitar by the window of our first-floor apartment in the Bronx and slowly pluck out the songs he had learned decades earlier in Puerto Rico.
They were romantic boleros, filled with melancholy and heartbreak, or traditional aguinaldos from his own rural childhood in Caguas.
God, I hated those songs.
During the 1960s, when Puerto Ricans were depicted as knife-wielding know-nothings who would be the downfall of the South Bronx, the last thing I wanted to hear was some corny music that reminded me of where my parents were from. Besides, by the end of that decade I was too enamored of Jimi Hendrix, Creedence and The Guess Who to even give a second thought to papi’s music. So while he tried once to teach me guitar, all I ever learned to play were records.
A few weeks ago, I was driving by Van Cortlandt Park on a sunny morning when one of those old songs popped up randomly. I only had to hear a few notes from the lead guitar to know it was “Noche de Ronda” by Dúo Pérez Rodríguez, one of papi’s favorite groups. With flowery, poetic lyrics, they declared loyalty to a vanished lover, vowing to wait until death.
Waiting. Maybe that was also a theme of papi’s life. He had come here as a teenager to work in factories where, in time, he would lose most of two fingers on his playing hand. No longer able to play leads, he switched to rhythm. He didn’t really talk about that. Nor did he talk much about Puerto Rico, having only gone back to visit once in the mid-1940s after he married my mother.
Music was the link to the island he left behind. Along with his brother Eusebio, and Luis Reyes, a family friend, they would break out the guitars to perform the music of their youth.
Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:
— To what degree do you identify with Mr. Gonzalez’s story of listening to his father’s favorite music from his own childhood?
— Is being a fan of a certain style of music or artists connected to how you see yourself? What about how you view other people? Explain.
— What are your first memories of music? What is the setting for those memories?
— Have your parents, grandparents, other older family members or teachers introduced you to music that they loved when they were younger?
— If so, what artists or musical styles have you “inherited” from them?
— Have you likewise brought new music to older family members? If so, what?
I hate when my sisters play some really dumb boring loud music. The music that I connect to is rap music, hip pop, pop. I view other people to listening to jersey club music and also rap. There attitudes show it and you can hear it over there headphones. Also you can hear and see them mouthing the words in the hallway when they have there earphones in there ears.My first memories of music is when I used to live in my old house and when I was sleeping my oldest sister Gina used to play a cd in the radio before we went to sleep that would play throughout the whole night. The setting of those memories were like a family everything was great and we got along so well. Natalie, Gina and me shared a room together. Gina not only cared for us but she would always drag us wherever she went. She took us to the park, playgrounds, taught me how to play in a jungle gym. My sister was like a “mom” and we were her little baby dolls. The music that she played were “apples, bananas”. Also Beethoven and Mozart. Those settings are full of love. My mom has introduced me to music when she was younger like Boyz To Men, Puerto Rican music, Marc Anthony. My dad introduced me to mariachi music, mexican music, K-paz de la sierra. My older sister introduced me to pop music, even the king of pop Michael Jackson. I inherited my interest in pop music from Gina. Also because of her I calm down after I am mad by listening to Mozart or Beethoven. My dad introduced me to so many different foods, history, and culture and in music he made me like K-paz de la sierra. My mom made me like some Boyz to Men songs. I have not brought new music to older family members or teachers.
ReplyDeleteI can connect to rap music too! and you can definetely tell when someone is influenced by music. Its obvious by the way they act and the way they even speak.
ReplyDeleteBeing a fan of certain music can change how you see things. For example, if you listen to songs about shooting people, and dealing drugs you could turn into that person. Or, if you listen to heavy metal and you like bands, you might dress black, have band shirts. Music is a big effect on people now-a-days. Some of the first songs i listened to were from tupac shakur, biggie smalls, DMX. And i still listen to them all the time. I guess i could’ve listened to better music, but thats what i grew up on. Its what i know, and its what me and my dad listen to all the time. I’ve even had conversations with friends about what they grew up on, and they started naming all these soft songs and stuff. Yes, as all baby’s i listened to “twinkle twinkle little star”, but i barely listened to it. It was mainly rap and hip hop. My dad introduced all these rappers to me when i was really young, because he had all there CD’s, and he listened to them in his old car before i was born. I listened to whatever he listened to and still to this day, i mainly listen to the same people. My dad mainly showed me all kinds of rap, all different rappers.Being a fan of certain music can change how you see things. For example, if you listen to songs about shooting people, and dealing drugs you could turn into that person. Or, if you listen to heavy metal and you like bands, you might dress black, have band shirts. Music is a big effect on people now-a-days. Some of the first songs i listened to were from tupac shakur, biggie smalls, DMX. And i still listen to them all the time. I guess i could’ve listened to better music, but thats what i grew up on. Its what i know, and its what me and my dad listen to all the time. I’ve even had conversations with friends about what they grew up on, and they started naming all these soft songs and stuff. Yes, as all baby’s i listened to “twinkle twinkle little star”, but i barely listened to it. It was mainly rap and hip hop. My dad introduced all these rappers to me when i was really young, because he had all there CD’s, and he listened to them in his old car before i was born. I listened to whatever he listened to and still to this day, i mainly listen to the same people. My dad mainly showed me all kinds of rap, all different rappers.
ReplyDeleteI identify that Mr. Gonzalez’s didn't really like to listen to his father's music growing up. He didn't like to hear about music of where his family is from.
ReplyDeleteBeing a fan of something certain like music or sports i could relate to myself. I could relate to myself because i have a lot of favorite rappers and baseball players that i'm basically a fan of because i like to listen to them and watch.
First memories of music was when i was little i use to listen to what my parents and family played in the house growing up to what they like.
Yes i have been shown and told what kind of other music people like as me growing up and them saying “i remeber this song back then, what you know about this?” they would say.
I never really brought new music to older family members we just kinda listen to what we like.