[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 11-10-2020).]

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: What was your Mom's favorite type of music/bands/songs?

When I initially responded Here, I limited myself to answering the question above... but damn, if everyone is also going to mention their dad, so will I.

My dad was one of those marvelous people who could hear a song once, and then with very little effort, play it back on the piano... chords, melody, the whole works. He could improvise on the fly as well. And he was self-trained, his only music lessons being on the flute way back in grade school. His taste in music ranged from classical to traditional Irish to popular, keeping in mind that being born in 1920, he wasn't all that enamored with metal or punk.

It's funny how people can have such strengths and weaknesses. My dad had absolutely no mechanical aptitude at all. He couldn't screw the cap on a tube of toothpaste without cross-threading it. But musically, he was very talented.

When my dad was 95 years of age, he was in the hospital after he had fallen at home and broken his arm. He had been in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and I eventually persuaded him to play the piano in the patients lounge... as a form of therapy. He resisted at first, as he hadn't played for a few years, but I convinced him to try. It took him awhile to get comfortable, as his arm was still healing, but eventually the music just poured out of him. It sounded great. It was like he had never been away from the piano. Fortunately, I had my camcorder with me, so I recorded him. Staff and visitors were poking their heads into the lounge to see where this beautiful music was coming from. The next day my dad complained he wasn't feeling well. It turns out he had contracted C. difficile while there in the hospital. He was dead within a week. I'm so glad I have that video of him playing.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 11-10-2020).]