I am proud of Emma
She is a fine Granddaughter
Now, just short of her thirteenth birthday
She is smart, energetic and vivacious
I am always pleasantly surprised to see her.

Recently she has shown an interest in simple music
Unfussy tunes that have lasted through generations
We now sit together at the keyboard
I often play a plain tune from my childhood
I get such simple pleasure when she says;
“Granddad, show me how to play that”.

The other day I played the first few bars of-
“The Gypsy Rover came over the hill
Down to the valley so shady” –
I sang the words, as I played the notes
But, clearly she was not impressed.

So I tried an old Burl Ives song
“I know an old lady, who swallowed a fly-
Her Dad and his brothers used to like that one as kids
To my surprise she knew both the tune and words
So we sang together – her singing voice was pitch perfect.

In the rubbish draw, I found a black marker pen
I showed her how to find middle C
Soon we had all the white notes identified
I said we’d do the sharps and flats another day
I must remember to buy a white marker pen.

As I told her which notes to play
And how many times, I said “Just sing the tune in your head
And the right notes, will find your fingers, after a while”
Within the hour she was playing the tune
I of course was the proud, silly old Granddad.

(Mike)