2 points for Dad

In a family full of tone-deaf, arrythmic people, I've often wondered were my tiny bit of musical talent came from. Mom's side can completely maul "Happy Birthday", yet Dad's side is not much better.

Because the few of us who do have musical leanings come from a mix of both sides (long story) I've been thinking it's some recessive gene on both ends. But after this weekend I'm leaning towards it coming more strongly from Dad actually. Amazing but true.

I had my first official oboe concert this Sunday. OK, it wasn't really a concert. I played the intro to "Amarte es un Placer" for my relatives who hadn't ever seen or heard an oboe before. Since I'm only starting I told them I wanted them to hear real oboe players so I put on some Classical CDs for them.

I had to play my favorite movement (III) of my new favorite symphony: Brahm's 3rd. As soon as it starts I see Dad's eyes light up and he go into thinking mode. He claims he's heard the piece before. I figure it's possible since it's a very popular symphony. A few minutes later he remembers where he heard it. And no, it wasn't on PBS. He heard it on Santana's "Supernatural" CD. So we bring that out and put on the second track "Love of My Life". Sure enough it is indeed an adaptation of that oh-so-beautiful melody from the third movement. No credit is given to poor Brahms, but oh well. It sounds better in its original form anyway. *wink*

Needless to say I was quite impressed with Dad's ability to tie the pop tune to its Romantic origins. Three cheers for him and for God who decided to give me a nice sampling of those elusive genes.