Playing by Ear

“A horn is just like the voice. Person have no voice, they can’t sing.” - Edward “Kid” Ory. The question was: “How do you know what to play when you have no music in front of you.” It came last fall during a break at Ken’s Steakhouse in Framingham, Mass. from a lady who’d flown down from Anchorage to hear the Black Eagles. It was a fair question, which I tried to answer in a few words, but much later, I was left wondering just how I do manage to play without having the music in front of me. Part of the answer may be the family genes. My grandfather on my mother’s side, William Lester Bates, was not only a Boston school principal but also music director and organist for the 2nd Congregational Church in suburban Newton, Mass. My dad, Myron S. “Vinny” Vincent, as a young violinist was advertised as the “Boy Wonder of New Hampshire.” Another possibility: Growing up as the youngest child in a household filled with music, my mother played the piano, my two sisters listened and sang two-part harmony to records non-stop, and my dad had a great collection of his own. From my earliest years I loved music, and when I started trombone in the 8th grade, the only thing I could think about was playing music. I took a few lessons, but the most fun I had was sitting next to the record player and “playing by ear” -hour after hour. It wasn’t until later, aft