My music education began when I was an elementary school student in second grade at St. Francis Xavier School.  The sisters there offered private music lessons as an extra-curricular activity. I remember my father asking me what instrument I would like to play as we looked over the sign-up form together. I answered, “Piano!” Thus started my love/hate relationship with playing music.

I believe my first music teacher was a retired nun who was given the job simply for something to do. But with her help, I learn the basics of music: the note names, their position on the piano, scales, rhythm, and melody. I had music theory workbooks, where I would have to name the notes by filling in the blanks below the staff. The song books would include short, simple melodies like “The Old Gray Mare,” “Little Brown Jug,” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

In those days, there was no music room in the school. Each week, I was permitted to leave the school and walk to the convent for a half-hour lesson. I think those of us who took music lessons felt special, because we were able to get out of regular classes, if only for a short time. I know it really annoyed some of the teachers.

Also, by the time I was in forth or fifth grade and the curriculum required students to learn basic notation, I was ahead of the game because I knew how to read music.

A Spring Recital was held each year. This allowed the music and dance students to show off what they had learned. The recitals were my first experiences on stage performing in front of a audience.

Nuns were often moved to other schools, and when I entered sixth or seventh grade, a new music teacher had arrived at the school. By that time, however, I had come to the conclusion that I was not learning as much about playing the piano as I had hoped, and I quit taking lessons.

I did join the choir though. I always enjoyed the monthly trips the entire school made to church to rehearse for First Friday Mass. We practiced all the songs that were to be sung that month. This is how I found out that I loved to sing, so when the new music sister started a choir, I was in.

The five years of piano lessons and two or three years in the choir gave me a pretty good elementary music education. When I entered high school, I was able to join the band and continue with the church choir. These memories of playing music and singing are some of my most favorite.