Alexander Graham Bell Childhood

Alexander Graham Bell had an eventful childhood. Although he was good at music, he was very shy and unsure of himself as a child. He also did not do well at school. However, thanks to his grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell childhood took a turn for the better. Alexander Graham Bell spent a year in London with his grandfather where he learned much about foundations that would lead to his great work.

Alexander Graham Bell Childhood: a musician? or a pianist?

As a child, Alexander Graham Bell was so talented at the piano. Music was a particular talent of young Alexander Graham Bell. He played the music by ear since he was just a little boy before he could read any musical notes. Because Alexander Graham Bell was so talented at the piano and music, a renowned master gave him music lessons from Edinburgh. From his childhood, everyone who knew of Alexander Graham Bell 's talent thought he was going to grow up to be a great musician.

Alexander Graham Bell Childhood in London

The most important time of Alexander Graham Bell 's childhood may have been the year Alexander Graham Bell spent in London living with his grandfather.  Grandfather Bell knew of Alexander Graham Bell 's low grades in school and he worried about Alexander Graham Bell as middle child. Grandfather Bell was an insightful and compassionate man. He decided to give Alec Alexander Graham Bell a year of his special, undivided attention.

The turning point in Alexander Graham Bell Childhood

In that year of special attention which Alexander Graham Bell spent with his grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell blossomed from an unsure teenager into a confident and competent young man. Alexander Graham Bell and his grandfather read Shakespeare's plays together, memorizing and performing certain parts of the plays. His grandfather gave Alexander Graham Bell lessons in elocution and delivery that had such a long lasting effect that even late in life people commented on Alexander Graham Bell's distinct and compelling speech patterns. His grandfather also played piano with Alexander Graham Bell, took him to plays, taught him how to write plays, and instructed him in the science of acoustics and sound, the special field of the Bell family. Alexander Graham Bell wrote a poem for his grandfather that read:

Poem by Alexander Graham Bell

"I am thirteen years old, I find:
Your birthday and mine are the same.
I want to inherit your mind,
As well as your much honored name."

Alexander Graham Bell left his grandfather's house and returned home with a deep respect for the human faculty of speech and ability to communicate ideas - a respect that would be the basis for his life's work.