PlaySpace, Day 1

Did my first "official" music program at the BCM last Thursday. It started exactly as the first one had - with technical difficulties. See, PlaySpace - the area for 0 to 3 year olds - has a sound system in the "classroom" area. The employees who work there have a key.

And the only people who actually know how to work it are the Music & Movement ladies, who aren't there on Thursdays.

So Rachelle and I fiddled with knobs and switches, and finally we figured out the instructions. I took the battery pack and clipped it to my skirt, which promptly sagged. Oy. I figured out the headset and turned it on, and all systems were go. Time to finish tuning.

The crowd was small, but Rachelle had asked if I wanted more people, and I said things were fine the way they were. It was the first day; a low-pressure situation was fine with me.

And it went fairly well. Most people only stayed for a song or two, but there's a lot to see in PlaySpace, and I was told to expect that. No problem. As always, "Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy" went over big, which they always do with the little bitties. Nothing really fell flat...well, my clever commentary for "Old McDonald" didn't do as well as it did the first time. But if there's one thing I'm learning, it's that a song or a bit can be a big hit one day and go over their heads the next. All depends on the people, I guess, and how they're feeling.

My favorite moment came at the end. I'd done "Hush Little Baby" on the later end of the middle, as usual. It brought a couple folks in, including a pair of grandparents and their granddaughter (I think), who was about 3. The grandma and little girl wandered out somewhere near the end of the next song, but the grandfather stayed. I closed with "Small World," and as always I asked everyone to join in the chorus. The kids remaining were all too little, but the parents sang, at least a little bit.

But the older gentleman sang all the way through, gazing off into space. And he had a lovely voice, deep and rich like my own grandfather's. Maybe that's why this particular moment struck a cord with me. Or maybe it was the honesty of his singing - not for the child accompanying him, not because I asked, but, it seemed, because there was a song to be sung. But it was lovely.

Reader, I hope you will forgive me for so cherishing a moment that didn't involve a child. But one of the things I hope to do through music is bring generations together, help parents and grandparents share songs with their children. And if I can get someone to sing, someone of any age, it will spread. And maybe, just maybe, it's one little step towards bringing back "family music."