Music and Me

Note: I’d like to thank everyone who liked and commented on my first post.  I wasn’t expecting so much engagement right from the start and I am grateful to you all.

Part I: Music and What it Means to Me

I don’t remember many nursery rhymes or the first music I ever heard, but I do remember the first music that I was a fan of that wasn’t a theme on a television show or at church.  I was around eight years old, and I loved the Backstreet Boys.  I’d never heard anything that sounded like that before.  That is what started me on recorded music.

Eventually, I tied a large part of my identity to the music I chose to listen to.  I still do.  I’d like to think that I’ve grown and become more sophisticated.  A distinguished arbiter of taste.  These days I feel I explore music more openly than I have in the past.  Im less concerned with wanting specific music to be a part of my identity.  However, there is no getting around it, the music you love becomes a part of you.

Discovery

I won’t love some music the first time I hear it.  As I become more familiar to certain tunes, I warm up to them.  I need to be in the right mood to receive new music.  Sometimes the most amazing piece of music shuffles on while I’m driving and it is perfect, but I might skip that same piece while listening at home.

Observation

One thing I noticed about myself was that I connected certain music to oddly specific situations based on other types of media or even their uses in the real world.  For example: I had never listened to Mariachi music outside of a Mexican restaurant.  I’d only listen to jazz at the airport, or the William Tell: Overture in a movie.  Today I try not to put music into a box, but juxtaposition is one of my favorite ways music can be used.

Live Music

I don’t go to shows.  I should probably get out more.  I’ve never been to a symphony orchestra, and I would really like to go.  My viewpoint on music mostly has to do with recordings, but the live music I have heard has impacted me. From buskers to national acts those moments are special to me.

Part II: Creating My Own Music

I received my first electric guitar as a gift from my parents for my 15^th birthday.  I played because my friends played.  I learned parts to a few songs.  I stopped playing for a few years and picked it up again.  I would record a few things here and there with my computer’s built in microphone.  I took some classical guitar lessons and some theory which turned into and intro to jazz.   I didn’t stay for very long, but I did have some awesome teachers.

I always thought I could produce something great.  I had the music in me, but I couldn’t get it out.  This has proven to be a very difficult thing for me to do.  I got really into music gear a few years ago.  I began reading books and watching countless online tutorials about studio design, engineering, mixing, mastering.  In reflection, I haven’t put nearly as much effort into learning composition.  Which is the foundation to my original intention.

Conclusion:  Where It’s Going

There is so much music to be discovered and I have an appetite for new and exciting sound.  Making music is a worthwhile thing to do.  Right now, I feel a little bit burnt out creatively, but music is a part of my life’s journey.  Sometimes inspiration flows and other times it is calm.  In both states, it is exactly where it needs to be.