I discovered my love for traditional music at a very young age and it was as a result of my Mother's great whistling talents.
She remains the only person I know that can whistle a song from start to finish without missing a beat, she whistles songs she knows and those she doesn't really know the lyrics to.
Whistling is a form of outlet to her, a way to get rid of the stress of a busy day or to chase idleness and as I listened to her whistle, I developed a strong attraction to traditional music.
I'd see her dance as she whistled an old tune or a popular tune and I would always giggle and try to match her steps especially the native dance steps I didn't really know how to dance properly.
I really love it when my Mother smiles often. You know that smile of happiness that brightens up one's features and enhances one's beauty?
Yes, that smile.
She smiles happily whenever she whistles and dances and It melts my heart.
Moments like that are precious to me and so in order to make her smile like that often, I decided to learn to whistle like Mom.
It was tough I'll admit. Whistling for long left my lips trembling and it affected the flow of the tune from my lips which affected the whole song altogether.
But Mommy does it effortlessly
I'd often think to myself after I have failed yet again to whistle to a certain length or to whistle a song perfectly.
She walked in on me one day struggling with a favorite tune of hers, a traditional song and immediately she burst out in smiles as she watched me try and try again to get the right pitch.
After trying I gave up and sang the song instead and she whistled along with me pausing at intervals as she taught me how and when to pause and how to reach the pitch I was aiming for.
I smile each time I remember those days.
One of my fond memories.
With constant practice, I finally got the hang of whistling but not as good as my Mother and I was okay with that as long as I can whistle my favorite song anyhow I like, I'm okay with that.
Though she can still whistle like in the old days, I wish she'd do it often because the joy that emanates from her whenever she gets lost in the music is quite infectious and I so much love getting infected by such happiness.
As I grew up I found out that I liked the same traditional songs my Mother likes and it's one of the things that strengthens our bond till this day.
Whenever she's having a bad day I just put on her favorite music for her to listen to and slowly, slowly we each let go of the things that weigh us down.
I have interest in other music genres but my interest in music, traditional music especially, stemmed from my Mother's melodious whistling.
All my favorite traditional songs are my Mom's favorite traditional songs.
What a lovely coincidence.
Whenever we sit to listen to a new track, she takes her time to explain what it means because the artists don't sing in English and a lot of proverbs are usually used to pass messages across to the listeners.
It's always educative and fun and at the same time a form of therapy because we get to talk about a lot of things and it helps her keep track of the things going on in my life especially things she may have missed out on.
Listening to traditional music is always a way to bring me closer to my roots as I get familiar with the different parts of tradition.
Thank you for reading.