Recently, my family enjoyed Experience History Through Music from Diana Waring Presents. We bloggers were able to ask Mrs. Waring some questions about her life and what inspired her to produce this book and audio program. Thank you for sharing with us!
What was your life like musically as you were growing up?
Did you take lessons, sing with your family, in a church choir, etc.?
I
ALWAYS loved music. . . I was always singing, started playing clarinet
in 4th grade, oboe in 7th grade, taught myself to play guitar in
10th grade.
I was an only child, my parents were not musical, and we did not attend church. . .
But
music WAS in my grandparents' lives. My father's father played guitar
and sang before he had a stroke in 1953, and my mother's father played various string
instruments and sang, as well. I have met folks who knew him, and they
tell me he was a fabulous story-teller and a fun musician.
Once I
learned to play guitar (in 1969), I started doing folk music whenever I
had the chance. If you can believe this, I even tried to get permission
to play in bars when I was 15. After I became a Christian, I started
playing worship music for prayer meetings. . .
Which led to me becoming the worship leader at our Christian fellowship in college and at the church I attended.
Since
music was one of my greatest motivators, I expected to continue in that
realm. . . particularly within church settings. It was unexpected to
have the door suddenly open up in 1989 to create these American folk
music recordings--but I loved the songs and the genre of music!!
Now,
here we are, 25 years later, and I am absolutely THRILLED to have this
musical part of my life come back!! I pulled out my 12-string, donned my
historic costume, and sang folk songs in Greenville, Cincinnati and
Harrisburg this spring -- and it was a JOY!!
Do you play a musical instrument. If so what? and how old were you when you started playing?
In chronological order, here are the instruments I play (don't you know a historian would tell it chronologically???):
I learned to play clarinet in 4th grade.
Switched to oboe in 7th grade.
Switched to guitar (which I taught myself to play) in 10th grade, as braces made playing oboe impossible!!
Bought a mountain dulcimer and learned to play it when I was 17.
Learned to play recorder when I was 19. . . played it in the musical, "Godspell."
Took some lessons on piano when I was 20, and kept working at it on my own.
Learned to play banjo when I was 23.
But
my real instrument is voice!!! I was a vocal major for a time in
college, and have sung in concert choirs, as a worship leader, doing
folk song concerts with my kids, and, last year I had the opportunity to
sing Beethoven's 9th symphony in Indianapolis!
Have your kids followed in your music-loving/performing footsteps (on any level)?
Yes!
All three of my kids play instruments, all three love various types of
music, and all three still enjoy singing with me whenever we get
together!
My oldest, Isaac, is
actually an amazing musician. He plays numerous instruments, often more
than one at a time—which wows audiences! He has a huge baritone voice,
which can fill a room faster than most. One of the most incredible
things about Isaac is that, in performance, he can ask for words
or phrases from the audience, then compose a song on the spot with those
words—and it is so catchy that people will walk out the door singing
the song!!
Mike is more of an athlete than a musician,
but he plays bass guitar, Australian didgeridoo, and he sings both
melody and harmony with a fabulous tenor voice! He wrote one of the
most delightful songs I've ever heard: "Round Trip Ticket to Samoa". . .
which we always thought would be a stunning song for travel agents. :)
Melody
was my classically-trained musician. She studied classical piano very
seriously, as she prepared to go to a conservatory and then into the
world of concert pianists. Dr. Jay Wile, who attended her senior
recital, told me that he was blown away with her musical talent.
Tragically, when she entered the conservatory, she developed severe pain
(which continues to baffle doctors) that prevented her from continuing
in music. I absolutely melt, though, when she comes to visit and plays
once again on my grandmother's piano. She loves, loves, loves music.
(The tragedy turned to beauty when she began serving refugees, those in poverty, and youth-at-risk. She is amazing.)
Which of the songs in this series of books resonant the most with your life and why?
As
a musician and storyteller, I love the possibilities of telling stories
in music—ballads are an incredible art form. "Old Settler" and "San
Juan Pig War" are the two that I most enjoy singing for others, as they
tell such memorable stories. . .
And, I
love "Sweet By and By." We used to end our "Yankee Doodle Tells A
Tale" concert with this song, and it never failed to bring me to tears. .
. singing of our "bountiful Father above.
Of all the songs in the three new books, which songs are your favorites?
I LOVE "Ho for California" in Westward Ho!
Somehow, this one became my favorite. . . I remember the day we drove
across the Sacramento River as a family, on our way to a homeschooling
event in California, singing at the top of our lungs, "Then, ho,
brothers, ho, to California go. There's plenty of gold in the world
we're told on the banks of the Sacramento. . ."
"Gooey
Duck" was, by far, the most popular song that we performed in our
concerts. There is something so catchy about this song! Also, as I was
writing the original Westward Ho! book, I chatted with my
grandfather about gooey ducks (giant clams). He chuckled and told me
that though they were plentiful in Puget Sound waters when he was a lad,
they were SO ugly that people avoided eating them unless they were
desperate. That has tickled me ever since. . .
"Sweet Betsy From Pike" is another favorite, included in America. It is such a singable ballad, and full of humorous possibilities. It was a delight to sing it on the recording!!
How did you start writing history books?
The
very first book I wrote WAS a history book—an earlier version of
"America." As I have shared in the back story, when a friend suggested
that it would be beneficial to attend a homeschool convention—and the
only way I could afford to get in was to become a workshop presenter—the
idea of marrying American folk music to American history seemed like
such fun that I had to write a book! (And help create the folk music
recording!!)
One thing often leads to another. Doing workshops on making history come alive using music exposed
me to the notion that there are many other wonderful ways to make
history come alive, like literature, geography, the Bible, science, art,
architecture, cooking and more.
All
of this melded together when I started teaching my own children world
history in 1992. There were so many things I wanted to know about
how events recorded in the Bible impacted the ancient cultures of the
time. . . seeing the "secular" civilizations through Scripture and
better understanding Scripture in light of those civilizations.
I
was SO excited about what we were learning that I started telling
others at homeschool conventions... which led to the History Revealed
curriculum (20 years in the making). Nine books in
that series (plus nine sets of audio CDs), plus two of the three
American folk music/history books (and CDs) make a grand total of 11
books on history that I have had the opportunity to research and write!
Goodness! I had no idea when I started homeschooling that I would learn so much. :)
What is your favorite period of history?
My standard answer is that my favorite period of history is the one I am currently studying!!
I
think the deeper answer, though, is that I have always been fascinated
by the incredible drama of WWII and its aftermath. I was born in
Germany ten years after the end of WWII, and when it dawned on me as a
fifth grader that my birthplace was at the epicenter, the reality that
history HAPPENED engaged my heart and mind.
Add
to that the fact that my grandfather was the chairman of the National
Security Resources Board, appointed by President Harry Truman in 1951.
He was the man responsible for putting the resources of America to work
if we went into another world war—which was not a
far-fetched idea in 1951 as we engaged in the Korean War and the early
Cold War. I still remember listening to my grandfather say, "Diana, we
must always know what the Russians are doing. . ." The Cold War was not a newspaper headline to him, it was VERY real.
So,
with all of the personal family history, I think it is safe to say that
WWII and the Cold War are, by far, the most fascinating to me.
What value do you see in students learning America's folk songs?
How
many opportunities do we ever have to actually DO what our ancestors
did? As a real and normal part of our lives? You and I live in a world
that is vastly different than the time period represented in America,
Westward Ho! and Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder. And, yet, we
can still sing and enjoy the very same songs they did, we can taste a
tiny bite of history through the medium of folk songs, and we can
experience America through it's music!
Plus, it's part
of our American heritage. It's part of our history. And what could be
more fun than learning history through songs you can clap to, stomp to,
and sink your teeth into?? :)
Are these Experience History Through Music products to be used as curriculum? Is there a schedule to follow?
Though
students can experience American history through these three books and
CDs (and have a lot of fun in the process), it is not an actual
curriculum. They are supplementary materials that can be enjoyed by anyone. There is no specific schedule to follow, no tests to take. You might describe it as a sort of
"stealth academics," meaning that your kids will be having so much fun
singing the songs, they won't even realize they are learning. But YOU
will.
Do you have other books/products in the works?
Always!!
Next on my list of books to write is one entitled, "Daughters of God." I am hoping to have it finished by this fall.
Then,
the plan is to create an American history curriculum for elementary age
students, one that allows for the same sort of creativity and freedom
as my world history curriculum, the History Revealed series.
Once
these are both done, I have lots of things I have always wanted to
write, but never had the time. . . including fiction—historical, of
course!!
Diana Waring is the author of Beyond Survival, Reaping the Harvest and Diana Waring's History Revealed
world history curriculum, Diana discovered years ago that "the key to
education is relationship." Beginning in the early '80s, Diana
homeschooled her children through high-school—the real life
opportunities to learn how kids learn. Mentored by educators whose
focus was honoring Him who created all learners, and with an
international background (born in Germany, university degree in French,
lifelong student of world history), Diana cares about how
people learn as well as what they learn. Audiences on four continents
have enthusiastically received her energetic speaking style.
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