Shania Twain’s First Experience Playing an Instrument Was a Sign That Music Was Her ‘True Passion’
Country singer Shania Twain came from humble beginnings in rural Canada to become the Queen of Country Pop as she grew older. Twain’s love for music dates back to her childhood, and her talents were apparent from an early age.
Shania Twain started playing instruments in kindergarten
Shania Twain reflected on her first time picking up a musical instrument — and how it affected her — in her 2011 memoir From This Moment On. She was in kindergarten, and her world changed almost in an instant.
“‘Music time!’ the teacher announced,” she remembered. “We were allowed to rummage through the music box and pull out whatever instrument we wanted to play. There were sticks with ridges that you could rub together to make clicky sounds, a variety of shakers, tambourines, bells, and other noisy, percussive instruments. Now, this was getting fun!”
“I enjoyed my first music session and couldn’t wait till the next one,” she continued. “Unfortunately, music time lasted only a few minutes each day; then it was time to spread out our blankets on the floor and take a nap. This frustrated me to no end, as it seemed that just as we got started playing music, it was already time to stop.”
“I wanted to play with the instruments the whole day,” she added. “It’s obvious to me now that my strong desire to create music — a true passion — was developing even then. This was my first experience of having my hands on musical instruments, and it was all I wanted to do.”
Music helped her escape from a tumultuous home life
As she grew up, Twain witnessed physical abuse at home between her mother and stepfather. Music, then, became an escape for her that she desperately needed when she was young.
“I spent every free moment listening to, playing, or writing music as a way to escape my home life,” Twain said honestly. “Music became my passion, freedom, discovery, comfort, and savior. I needed it. It was my drug.”
Luckily, her parents were supportive of her music career from an early age. Her mother even played an active role by taking Twain — then just a child — to perform at bars for adults.
“We had a turntable and a radio in the house. I also had a small cassette player, and although all these systems were inexpensive and of poor quality — often secondhand, given to us, or something we picked up at the dump — they allowed me to listen to the music just the same,” Twain said. “It was almost as important as my mom having her cigarettes, so my parents made sure there was music in the house.”
As Twain continued to learn guitar as she grew up, she preferred to use it as an accompaniment to her voice, rather than being a guitarist who also sang. In the end, Twain credits music with getting her through such a difficult time growing up.
“I’m grateful for music and the many roles in played during my childhood and teen years,” she said. “As much as I gave to it in terms of time and effort — exemplified not only by bruised fingers but well-exercised vocal cords and pages upon pages of lyrics — it gave tenfold in return and even saved me from getting caught up in trouble during a time of adolescent vulnerability.”
She became a global superstar
Of course, Twain went on to become an internationally-beloved singer with several diamond-certified albums to her name. She achieved superstardom with hits like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”, “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” and “You’re Still the One” on her 1997 double-diamond album Come On Over. She continued her success in the early 2000s with her diamond-certified album Up!.
In the early 2010s, Twain launched her first Las Vegas residency show, and in 2017, she returned with Now, her first new album in 15 years. She wrapped up a second Vegas residency show in 2022, the same year she released her Netflix documentary Not Just a Girl.
