Music in my Family

 The Musical Story of My Mother

a tale by Maddi Prince

In the land of Fairfield, Iowa, the young and precious Linda Prince was born. She grew up a farm girl, tending to the crops every day after school with her three older siblings. As a kid, I heard horror stories about them dropping spiders down her shirt (and yet, I love spiders) and picking on her often. Nonetheless, she grew strong bonds with her siblings, as they were always there for her. She remembers the beautiful voices of her oldest sister, Lisa, and her father echoing throughout the house. From an early age, music had a special place in Linda's heart, and with this, her musical journey began. 

Her earliest memory of music was singing hymns in church, and it brings me joy to imagine tiny Linda singing in church. Yes, I did say church because my mother grew up in a Christian household. She diedn't convert to Judaism until years later, but I digress. My mother always had a natural ear for music, so learning the choir's songs was a breeze, and she was asked to sing many solos as a child in services. She started learning to play the flute in middle school, but that didn't bode well for her. Her choral life was flourishing, however, because she was in many vocal ensembles and choirs, and in high school, she competed at State with her choir and as a soloist, proudly stating she "got the highest scores every year but one." Linda remembers everyone in town attending the State championships, giving her extreme stage fright. Even so, she blew everyone away with her beautiful voice. Her accolades even granted her a scholarship to her local university! Way to go, mom!

Considering my mom grew up surrounded by music, I can only assume she had as much interest in listening to music as she did singing it. In high school, she remembers listening to REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top, Pink Floyd, and Michael Jackson on the radio, but she made sure to remind me that she doesn't like Michael Jackson (like she has one hundred times before). Her favorite artist is Prince, and she was mesmerized by his talent and stage prescence. In her eyes, his music is "dynamic and diverse," tailored to reach multitudes of people. She sees Prince as more than just a producer of music, but a true artist.

Nowadays, she listens to a wide variety of genres, such as punk rock, country, classical, alternative. These genres, however, are not at all random. My mom hated country when I was growing up. Suddenly, my brother started listening to it, and when he left for college, it was the only music she'd listen to because it reminded her of my brother. Her love for punk-rock and alternative came from little Maddi. We listened to bands like Paramore, Evanescence, and Linkin Park for hours on end.

I asked her if she liked my music and her response was: "Everything but screamo. I hate screamo. Hate it." First, however, she thought I was asking if she likes hearing me play, and she was so sweet when saying "You cannot play it loud enough," and noting that she feels special whenever she hears me sing because its a gift to hear me sing. I thought it was sweet and sentimental and gross. Another gross sentimental thing she shared is that her emotional association with "A Whole New World" from Disney's Alladdin is because when she married my father, that was their first dance. So, yeah. I could go on for hours about my mom, but the main point to hit home is that she has a strong love for music and her family, and she combines the two to grow that love.