Does growing up in a musical family make you a better musician?

I had a friend who came from a family who played music and sang etc. I thought it was weird at the time, because my family was the opposite. She was playing music at primary school, and although I lost contact, I heard she went on to be a very good musician. I joined a garage band and learned a few chops, but found the discipline of formal learning too hard. In later years, I went back and did some formal lessons, but it always feels like I'm pushing against the tide. Does having that emotional support and encouragement from an early age make learning easier?

yes.

Maybe yes, maybe no, but you definitely get a head start.

Yes, and anything you learn at a young age always comes easier because it just seems natural.

No one in my family played. Just me, im pretty good.

3rd generation professional here. It is the family business from the womb to the tomb

No one in my family played. Just me, im pretty good.


Ummmm, Yea... Kinda like you, my family wasn't musically enclined.

Still working to the "Pretty Good" stage. How does one know when they're there?

Ummmm, Yea... Kinda like you, my family wasn't musically enclined.

Still working to the "Pretty Good" stage. How does one know when they're there?

Folks pay you!

:mrgreen:

Tim

I think it contributes, but its not a guarantee that you will ever be worth a dang

I've known folks who came from non-musical families and became musicians, but not very many. I suspect that they WERE exposed to a lot of music at a young age, be it from radio or TV broadcast or their families or neighbors playing records, etc, or perhaps a really good music program in primary school...

Tim

Folks pay you!

:mrgreen:

Tim

This!

I've known folks who came from non-musical families and became musicians, but not very many. I suspect that they WERE exposed to a lot of music at a young age, be it from radio or TV broadcast or their families or neighbors playing records, etc, or perhaps a really good music program in primary school...

Tim

+1. Lots of factors decide musical ability. I think it's all about how bad u want it, and how hard u work for it..... talent=1%inspiration,99%persperation. But I know for a fact that some people are more gifted than others, but its not always a family oriented situation.

EDIT: see the 10,000 hour "rule". Simply put, most virtuosos have 10,000 hours under their belt. Not all, some less, some more. But regardless of your level of talent... the more you play, the more you practice... the better u get. That's the truth.

I think the biggest influence your family has on growing up is usually what they do seems normal and achievable.

A doctors kid will view health care as a normal field as their families social circle will include many people in health care. A brick layers kid will view contracting as normal because they will grow up with many people around them who are trades people. When I tell my kid he can be a doctor if he wants I don't know if I really believe that. I don't have an advanced degree, I don't have any history in health care.

So if your parents play music, they probably have friends who play music, and they are involved in organizations that have music. The go to the music store on Saturday and have music magazines at home. The kid thinks this IS what people do, they don't see it as a challenge. When my son wanted to play music I knew where to get lessons, what the different instruments are, and I do actually believe he can do it because I have done it.

That's the sense I get. Because playing music at any level was not normal, when I did start playing, it was like breaking the mold. It has always felt like an uphill battle for me. But I suppose, growing up in the shadow of a sibling or parent and always trying to measure up is also not going to help.

Children from musical families are exposed to a lot of the "rules" of music at an early age, and so the learning begins without the child being aware of learning.
This isn't to say that people from non-musical families can't also become musically adept. They just don't have that early learning.

Not necessarily. I believe in the "grass is greener on the other side" philosophy!

Children from musical families are exposed to a lot of the "rules" of music at an early age, and so the learning begins without the child being aware of learning.
This isn't to say that people from non-musical families can't also become musically adept. They just don't have that early learning.

Rules?? We don't need no stinking rules!! Sorry I couldn't help myself

No-one in my family is even slightly musically inclined, but I played a couple of instruments at a young age (I sucked at both :razz:). I definitely wish I'd been brought up in a musically inclined family.. But I plan on being great at playing guitar any day now. :lol:

I think the answer is yes. There are the exceptions to every rule, of course, but in general when you read the bio's of a lot of musicians I've found that most were exposed to music either by parents, grand parents, uncles, aunts, whatever.

i think exposure to music at a young age is an important factor and genetics might be a factor also ... for example, the sons and daughters of great athletes are often gifted with talent themselves ... a musical family might be more inclined to encourage a child, buy instruments, and pay for lessons ...

I'll say it typically doesn't hurt....

In 'general' ... of course. It's the exposure early on and continually. Not a hard and fast rule but 'it couldn't hurt'. Most of the pros I know at least had particularly cultured parents. Even if they didn't play music they listened, went to concerts, read, were into art, travel, etc. The arts were important.

My father was a professional musician (his father wasn't ... ?), my brother could have been (he's an art director instead), I am and my 2 year old can already distinguish a few instruments and recognize a few melodies sans the kid lyrics (literally he just handed me a Mozart CD to put on - scary, but he hears music all day so ...).
Since I grew up with music around me continually both listening and playing it was never a big deal to 'practice'. Also (and thank you pops!) he made me and my brother improvise immediately. We had jam sessions all the time. Dad on piano, my bro on trumpet and me on guitar.
*This was also the early 70's. Kids were INTO music. everybody in the neighborhood took 'some' kind of lessons. How many kids now go over to their friends house to 'listen to records' (and trade baseball cards - lol).

Seeing as I was doing some research, I looked for journals on the impact of the family environment on musical ability. The consensus is not surprising; supportive and encouraging family environments are a major influence on kids growing into a lifelong love of music. As some have pointed out here though, it does not guarantee musical success. We sent both our sons to piano lessons from a very early age, but neither my wife nor I played piano or played music at home. Neither of them continued on with music. I wonder whether TV watching is a factor?

I don't know, but I'll tell you this, if my cat had a litter in the oven, I wouldn't necessarily call 'em biscuits.

Not sure what that has to do with the thread, but it's a great line.

It can't hurt!! I did and it certainly burgeoned my love for music at a very early age. I don't know what it's like to not be surrounded by music, so even though it may have no practical effect on my playing, it sure has been a constant in my life.

My dad practiced the trumpet and he let me take it to school to learn how to play it. But he was a news station junkie, no music and he didn't play for us. Mom however was into music. One album I remember seeing was The Ink Spots but I remember Marty Robbins and crooners like Rouvian(sp).

My brother plays guitar, I'm now learning guitar, my daughter took music classes too.

Carl

my mother played flute (pretty good actually) my Dad is in no way musically inclined. at all. he can barely tell the difference between guitar and bass. my brother is amazing at keyboard (passed 3 grades with full marks) and i play guitar and brass classical. my younger brother is abit of a "jock" and plays sports instead of music.

i want to expose my kids to all types of music and encourage playing from a young age.

my dad spent thousands on baseball gloves and bats and i hated every minute of it.

i dont know how i would have turned out if he'd bought me a bunch of guitars. hopefully not playing baseball!

Children from musical families are exposed to a lot of the "rules" of music at an early age, and so the learning begins without the child being aware of learning.
This isn't to say that people from non-musical families can't also become musically adept. They just don't have that early learning.

+1. Two excellent examples in the world of guitar - Tommy Emmanuel & Lenny Breau. They were on both on stage when they were very young. There's also been some discussion about them both realizing that drawing a crowd meant approval from their showman fathers.

Being from a musical family sure helped me, and I think generally it can be so for others. Lots of choir experience, private voice and piano lessons, music camps, and music classes for all of us, plus Mum could sight read on piano very well and Dad was a composer of liturgical and choral music. We were encouraged to study music seriously and enjoy it recreationally. We were also taught other things with musical rhymes and rhythms.

Our parents got music into our brains very early, got us hooked as we were developing into toddlers. It was too late to change before we even got to school. It was fun, and it was one of the things we loved about each other, and one of the reasons we remain close today, 50+ years later.

I wouldn't know my dad was a drummer.

My father was an accountant and my playing ability reflects this fact. Enough said.

My Dad was a great violinist, and he always played beautiful music at home.
My Mom loved musicals, like Carousel and My Fair Lady, so we heard lots of great stuff.
My parents encouraged our love of music, and made sure my sisters and I had stereos and all the records we wanted.
It helped me immeasurably.
My sisters took piano lessons, and I got guitar lessons.
I am deeply grateful for the "musical family" I came from.

I think it depends on the individual. I'm sure there are genetic traits that contribute to musical ability, but I doubt it is the predominant factor. As has been stated, motivation and practice are the biggest factors.

I'd say a someone with musical family's biggest advantage would be early accessibility. Someone with musically inclined parents won't be the type to forbid musical practice for fear of getting in the way of academics or something. Music would probably be encouraged by parents who respect and appreciate it. I know I'm one of the younger posters here, and can't speak from the perspective of a parent, but when I know when I started playing my dad was very excited, I expect because it was a new shared interest between us. I'd imagine some of the parents here would have a similar reaction. My kids will certainly have readily available instruments in case the have any interest.

I'm certainly not a great player, but do come from a musical background that ranges anywhere from country-neighbor-backyard sort of gatherings, to church piano/organ playing, all the way to multi-platinum sales. My biggest regret being that, though I owned a guitar from as early as I can remember, I never expressed any interest until my late teens. I feel like I caught on to the basics more easily than some others (often hearing things like "I would have guessed you'd been playing for longer than x years"), but I've had to work as hard as anyone else to pick up on anything past the minimum. I had similar experiences with other instruments I've since lost interest in; I was the first chair Viola in my middle school orchestra, took piano lessons, dabbled with drums- the basics clicked fast, but guitar was the only instrument I felt compelled to stick with past it's most basic point. My younger brother is even better at picking up instruments than I am, he just has yet to find one he really sticks with- saxophone seems to be winning for him.

But some of the best players I've known didn't have families that played, but rather busted their asses and worked their way up for years and years.

My Mum bought my first guitar for my 12th birthday.

She went in and played them all and picked the one with the best tone. I have a bad feeling she was in that music store singing Hava Nagila, or A Hard Days Night until the guy gave her a discount just to get her out of there.

I've still got the guitar and it seems tone is in the 23rd chromosome.

Yes. Lots of good examples in this thread already.

Years ago, I had an opportunity to teach a three year old girl how to play guitar. Normally I don't teach children that young, but her father and grandfather were both professional musicians, and she had several older brothers and sisters who played music too. It turned out that almost everyone in that family had perfect pitch as well.

One day before her lesson I was watching my 3 year old student tune her guitar with a pitch pipe, and her 6 year old brother came over, plopped down on the floor next to her and said, "That's b-flat, stupid!"

When you're 3 years old, a 6 year old brother who calls you names when you're out of tune will either force you to hear, or force you to quit.

I'm not sure that it's necessary or if it's even desirable, but it's undeniable that it helps...

It can help but not always. 2 of my friends have parents who play instruments and they have gone in to learn guitar, they're good but not brilliant whereas my sisters boyfriend plays 6 instruments has a degree in music, has 3 other siblings all of who play in bands(some resonably major bands) and yet their parents do not play any instruments at all.

I think it does help to have family who are musicians, not only for the inherent talent, but for the fact that they might better understand a musician's way of doing things better than non-musicians.

I come from a wholly unmusical family. I didn't even know I LIKED music until I was 16. Oh, yeah....it's been an uphill battle. I not an overly jealous man but I AM very jealous of people that come from musical families. My friend (my ex, really) was on stage singing from the time she was 7 or so. Her mother toured all over France in a bluegrass band and plays violin and accordion very well. Time spent with them is always fun, though. :grin:

My goal in life is to leave those who I am to teach and raise in a better situation than I was. I strive to make my students better than me, and if I procreate it'll be the same with my kids. They'll grow up in an intellectually stimulating environment, lots of books and intelligent discourse*, but ALSO lots of music. I'm a total black sheep, so I'll make my own family into a whole herd of'em! :wink:


* Fun story: My friend from high school and his wife came over when I was last home in California with their baby girl....just less than a year old. She started making sounds that will clearly be speech in just a few short months and I was shocked/thrilled! I blurted out, "Oh, wow! She's already making vocalizations!?" My little sister just looked at me and cracked up...told me I'd be a horrible parent. :lol:

There was always music in our house when I was growing up,from the radio and old records,but neither my parents nor my older sister played any instrument.

There was never a television in the house right up until I left in my early twenties,my indoor entertainment came from reading,playing guitar and an insatiable appetite for listening to all kinds of music. My folks encouraged my playing and bought me keyboards and guitars,which they could ill afford.

On the flipside of my particular coin,both my wife and I play,but none of our three children did up until a few years ago when the middle lad took up the bass completely out of the blue. He's now out playing in a band and totally immersed in the world of the bass.

If it's in you,then it's in you.

My Gran played piano, but was self taught and could genuinely play by ear. She could rattle off classical pieces without any music in front of her.

My sister learned piano to Grade 8, my brother oboe and sax to Grade 6

My wife learned violin to Grade 7, her twin sister sax and clarinet to Grade 6, her older sister piano to Grade 5.

Apart from my wifes mother still playing piano, I am the only member of the close family that plays an instrument regularly. And I am completely self taught, with no formal training.

And my two kids have shown virtually no interest in playing an instrument at all. My son has a set-up drum kit that gathers dust in his room.

Go Figure!!!

as many have mentioned, exposure to music, whether formal or informal, is pretty important, as is musical encouragement.

if i had to guess, i would guess that most great musicians had a parent who sang to them.

My current guitar teacher is teaching his 6 year old how to play. He is very good already for his age. It certainly makes a difference! Here's some proof:
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BTW, Electrohamonix caught wind of him and sent him some pedals for free!! Linked his video to their site. Very cool! That's the video above with the pedals

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I can say that my mom was a professional flute player for a touring symphony, didnt actually leave much of an impact on me besides her pushing me to play an instrument. One thing I can say though I felt had an impact was more the music my parents listened to def set me on a path to play guitar

I think the consensus is that it helps. But how?
If you've got musicians in the family, it's probably an indication that someone, somewhere back in the day had "talent." That often, although not always, is passed down in some way and it can't hurt.
But the bigger factor is the culture of the family. In my family, not only did no one play, my parents actively discouraged me from taking up a band instrument. I wanted to play violin (because it was close to guitar) and then drums and they flat out said no, (largely because we lived in small apartment and they would have to listen to me play/practice with no possibility for escape.) The local library offered guitar lessons but the teacher said I was too small, my parents didn't protest and that was it until I was in college.
On the other hand, the first thing my father did when he got home was pick up the newspaper, and on Sunday afternoon he'd sit down in front of the TV and watch the Mets lose, and my mom would stay up and read the newspaper after I went to bed.
I don't think there's any mystery why I'm a journalist who writes about sports.

I think the consensus is that it helps. But how?
If you've got musicians in the family, it's probably an indication that someone, somewhere back in the day had "talent." That often, although not always, is passed down in some way and it can't hurt.
But the bigger factor is the culture of the family. In my family, not only did no one play, my parents actively discouraged me from taking up a band instrument. I wanted to play violin (because it was close to guitar) and then drums and they flat out said no, (largely because we lived in small apartment and they would have to listen to me play/practice with no possibility for escape.) The local library offered guitar lessons but the teacher said I was too small, my parents didn't protest and that was it until I was in college.
On the other hand, the first thing my father did when he got home was pick up the newspaper, and on Sunday afternoon he'd sit down in front of the TV and watch the Mets lose, and my mom would stay up and read the newspaper after I went to bed.
I don't think there's any mystery why I'm a journalist who writes about sports.

How? Exposure, immersion, conditioning, language, concepts, styles...we learned the why and how of music along with the performance of it. Intervals, scales, keys, harmony, dynamics, and it was made fun with games and parodies. All this in that time of our lives when learning is easiest, when we were young. We were conditioned to want it. It made us happy to learn, it involved our hands, head, heart, ears, voice. It became a way of life, a culture, it was what we did. We sang when we traveled, when we camped and fished and played, we played piano and later other instruments for fun and for serious academic achievement.

Well, if your last name is Van Halen...it probably will get you a bass gig.

I think what really helped was my dad, he always would help us out with things and would always listen and critique our playing in a way that made us want to try harder to get it just right. It also helped that music was always playing in at least one room of the house for inspiration. I guess my father drove us harder and still does with my younger brother because he and his band came so close to the big time and were deprived of it because of what was going on in this country at the time, they actually received a letter stating this from a record company. Playing an instrument in my house just wasn't an option.

I don't know. EVERYONE in my family played something or is interested in music.

Mom toured the eastern US with a school chorus in the 1930's and sang on the radio several times with them all over.

My dad learned to play piano at age 70...He had a great collection of big band swing and boogie-woogie piano that I wore out playing all day.

Growing up, I never realized other people did NOT play or sing-I thought everyone could do it.

My middle brother - who plays guitar and bass - adopted twin girls many years ago...one of them plays drums in a girl group near Boston, and they both play guitar. I guess they got it by immersion.

mark

I grew up in a musical house. Dad played button accordion, banjo and harmonica, and sang tenor in a barbershop quartet. Mom played piano. I was sort of forced to take piano, which I totally hated. (although I love to play piano now) Even so, it was driven into my head that musicians were losers and transients, and I would amount to nothing if I didn't go into the business world. I know my parents meant well, but looking back, if I had it to do all over, I would have defied them and pursued music as a career. I do ok part time, which to me, means if I really put myself into it, I could make a decent living. I never...ever wanted to be famous. Problem is how do I start all over now that I already have family..mortgage..etc..etc.

It may not make you a better musician or even "a" musician, but if the desire is there I would think the encouragement , participation and support would be there 100% . Parents participation with the study of music is equally as important as the lesson. And I don't mean " stop watching TV and practice " , I'm talking genuine interest.

I think it can really help - some of the best musicians I know had parents who played music of one sort or another.

My family was not interested in music, and my Dad (a doctor)was dead set against me playing guitar. When I was 18 and talking about being a professional musician he told me "You have no talent, you're no good and never will be any good."

The desire to prove him wrong motivated me to become a good player and play professionally, so I guess I can thank him for that.

Short answer : Yes

Are there other factors which also contribute? : Yes

Does that mean if you're not from a musical family you can't play? : No

As for the 10,000 rule, that stirs up a whole 'nother mess. But I have found that just as Arther C Clarke once said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" I've found that "A certain sufficient amount of practice is indistinguishable from talent."

...But I have found that just as Arther C Clarke once said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" I've found that "A certain sufficient amount of practice is indistinguishable from talent."

Agreed.

First off... 2000th post!!! If my boss only knew. :shock:

There seems to be a general agreement that environment will influence a persons choice of activities. Kids growing up surrounded by music will probably play some music. But.. "Does growing up in a musical family make you a BETTER musician?" My limited experience would be it is inconclusive that musical families produce "better" musicians.

There are endless stories of guitar players from families that did not support them, who locked themselves in the bedroom every day after school to practice for six hours and went on to be great. I know more than a few kids who are dedicated great players and their parents are not musical and not involved in the kids music.

I also know kids who have received substantial family support and they are just average at best. These kids are surely involved because of the musical family influence, but I would not think of them as better muscians.

I took drum lessons when i was a kid and my brother took guitar lessons. My brother took my drum sticks and got a '64 Ludwig set and joined a band. I played his drums when he was gone but wanted to learn to play guitar. I'm a lefty and got told that lefty guitars cost to much........this was in 1964. So i waited till 1981 and bought a guitar and had friends show me how to play and been havin at it ever since.

My parents only played the Victrola and 78's and the radio of course........there was no one in my family that plays anything that i ever knew of.

There's going to be plenty of exceptions, and as Skub says - "if it's in you, it's in you", but in general exposure to music and sibling competition are going to be a big step in the right direction. Seeing how something is done by someone that is 'trained' or 'better than you' is a powerful teacher.

Starting young is a tremendous advantage in getting to 10,000 hours.


There are many complicating factors here though. One example is where birth order could play a role. If the oldest child is a prodigy, the subsequent children might tend to avoid that area of excellence to find their own niche.

I grew up in a musical house, although music as a career wasn't encouraged. I became a professional anyways. My kids grew up with the stereo on all the time and they are both pros. One is touring in Germany at the moment and the other is writing songs in LA for the act he plays guitar for while they do pre-production on their new album with Universal/Interscope.

They had professional quality instruments right from the beginning and got lots of support and encouragement. I'd say it helps to grow up around music with anything you want to play or try to play at your finger tips.

Generally, I think the answer is yes. That being said, one of the finest young guitarists from my area told me once that, as far as he knew, nobody in his family ever played any musical instrument before him.

I agree that the answer is "yes" but not to a predictable degree.

My brother and I both play guitar, sing and write and do pro gigs in addition to our day jobs. While our parents didn't play anything, they loved music and it was cranking on those old KLH speakers much of the time.

This meant a lot of Beatles in the '60s, along with Pete Seeger and many others. It definitely set things in motion for my brother and me.

I grew up in a somewhat light but musical household. My grandmother played an awful fiddle. Father played hymns on the piano, mom was an alto and could sight sing with the best of em. I started itchin for a guitar around age 8 and it was all "that's the devil's instrument" then I finally wised up by age 12 and told em I wanted to learn to play chords at song service at church. They bought my story and I had my first yamaha 000 style.

Does it make you better? I say No, hard work makes you better. Can it help, yes, but what makes you better is the hunger for accuracy, learning and practicing. Waking up in the morning and saying "I will practice my guitar so I don't suck today".

My young nephew is a concert pianist and his grandmother,my wifes mother , started giving him lessons at a very young age at his insistance .My wifes grandmother forced her to have piano lessons very early in the morning every morning .She hated it .so sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt .You have to have the wish and the talent,then it works for you .

I would say support is more important, on the other hand ask Jimmy Osmond, Michael Jackson, any of the Von Trapps etc

Some of my earliest memories are of my Mom taking my little sister and I to Choir practice every Thursday, and also my Mom singing harmony to Classic Rock/ Pop tunes on the radio (especially those high parts on the old Heart records). I don't know if I'm a better musician. I definitely have a greater appreciation for music as an art on the whole.

I wish I had musical folks. When I came home from my freshman year of college and told my folks I was switching my major from Marine Biology to music they flipped out!

Talent is nothing if you don't develop it. Its just like having a mine full of gold, if you don't put forth the effort, you don't have squat. Talent is not a substitute for hard work... put the two together and what do ya get? Insert favorite guitar players name here.

Yeah having a family background with musicians can make it a dream that appears more attainable... but it can also make it seem alot more daunting.

As far as being encouraged; idk how many of your relatives were in the music business, and at what level, but quite a few of mine were playing for a living. And of all of them, none were ever around much to encourage anything. But one thing... it made em brutally honest and hard to impress. I knew once I got that audience on my side, I was doing something right.

Music has never seemed like work to me, and its always come easily, but I always practice 3 hours a day.... but that's only on the guitar.... now as far as the other 4 instruments I play... they get a couple of hours of rehearsal when I'm home to do it.
EDIT: if anything,being in a musical family made it harder to be a musician... I mean that from the horror story point of view. And also seeing how it's not a business for the feint of heart, when your up, your up. When your down, your screwed. But one things is for sure...

I wouldn't trade it for the world!! ;-)

It worked for Lester Young. :cool:

It may not make you a better musician or even "a" musician, but if the desire is there I would think the encouragement , participation and support would be there 100% . Parents participation with the study of music is equally as important as the lesson. And I don't mean " stop watching TV and practice " , I'm talking genuine interest.

+100 on that!



Mike

I would say support is more important, on the other hand ask Jimmy Osmond, Michael Jackson, any of the Von Trapps etc

but i remember captain george ludwig von trapp singing 'edelweiss' to his kids. :wink:

I'm a lot like Skub. I had that type of exposer.
As far as musical families, I can only say "Maybe yes, maybe no. At least at the local level. The worst group that i have ever heard was a little family country-western group up in Virginia.
The fiddle player (also the family patriarc) was so bad that it was funny. And I mean histerically funny. People were loosing their lunches laughing so hard, and I literally hurt my sides laughing. There have been ginuine comedy acts that couldn't touch that group.

Just one thing about growing up in a musical family is that it presents opportunities for the youngsters to play with someone. A half hour of playing with someone else will teach me more than a few hours of practice locked away by myself.

That said, enough practice will overcome a lack of a musical family. I have been working for years on trying to overcome a lack of talent. I expect that to kick in any day now. :lol: