Butterflies, Moonbeams, Zebras & Fairytales

Growing up in a family of musicians my whole life has exposed me to a great number of rituals that involve or center around music. I've turned pages at funerals, sung at weddings, played for church services, and acted as a personal roadie (which I like to count as weight training). By far though, my favorite musical traditions and rituals are the personal rituals of a family of musicians. 

Gatherings in my family are always centered around music and food. Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are great because a lot of times they end up just turning into jam sessions. Music is a family affair, and sometimes referred to by my cousins as the "Fam Jam Band". There's always a piano involved, although who's playing depends on whoever can get to it first. But between my cousins and myself, we get a number of instruments involved: Guitar (electric or acoustic), bass, drums, trumpet, the harmonica, and (my personal favorite) the kazoo are just a couple of instruments that get involved in this process. And, of course, everyone sings. 

We'll play almost any type of music, but the one most often played is jazz. I could list some standards we play, but for time's sake, I'll just include this clip. This is one of the many teaching moments that we have while playing together. 

Because we do this so often, it's a miracle when we actually record us playing. This video was from about 3 or 4 years ago at my uncle's birthday party (back when I had horrible braces). I'm a pianist first and foremost, but this was the first time that I ever tried singing jazz in any type of capacity in a group. It was a bit nerve-wracking. 

There's no formal structure to how we play or what we play. We use the instruments we have and the songs we know (and sometimes we just have to do stuff by ear if we're the only ones who don't know it). But, there are a few songs that we end up singing at every gathering.  

One song that inevitably ends up being played is Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix. These songs are well loved by everyone in my family, but particularly my cousins who are big on rock. 

Without fail, Sir Duke is sung at every family gathering. It just happens. Just imagine the energy of the crowd singing a long in this one, but our gatherings have twenty people, more or less. The lyrics are fitting for the sense of community in each musical ritual my family has. I think this is true not just for my family but other communities as well. 

Playing music with my family in all our gatherings, rain or shine, not only gives us an opportunity for expression, but also really connects and brings us together. I think one of the greatest parts of music in traditions in rituals in any type of culture is this sense of community.