Passing the Music Down (review)

In “the old, old mountains/ slumbering east of Tennessee,” a veteran fiddler discovers a hopeful young fan in the audience who’s yearning for tutelage: “Will you teach me all your tunes? . . . I want to play like you.” Discovering that the young boy has both gift and dedication, the old musician mentors the kid, taking him to stay in his cabin and teaching him everything the fiddler knows; when the maestro dies, the boy, now older, promises to pass the music on in turn. The story is gentle and descriptive rather than fast-moving and active, but it’s written with a pretty immediacy and evocative descriptive detail that bring the scenes to vivid life; the recurring refrain of “Passing the music down” adds its own musicality to the text. Kids will especially warm to the notion of being taken seriously as an inheritor of a tradition, a concept they may find thought-provoking in their own relationships. Root’s watercolor and gouache scenes shine with luminous warmth, with affectionate treatments of the sun-dappled hills and red earth of the region. There’s a touch of impressionism to the sunny, ochre-tinted views that results in an emphasis on the story’s themes over its biographical particulars—these are images that speak to cross-generational bonding of all kinds. This will be at its most effective in partnership with other explorations of the theme, whether it be music or tradition; it therefore offers an excellent opportunity to dive into music and family history and to spin some lively tunes. The book concludes with an extensive author’s note describing the real-life friendship between fiddler Melvine Wine and his protégé Jake Krack, on which the book is based, and a substantial list of resources in various media and online (including Jake’s own website, which includes audio and video clips).