My Kind of Music
For a good seven years, I was a "music kid."
Starting in middle school, and proceeding through the entirety of high school, my main elective was playing music. In middle school, I played only the Trumpet, which was always my main instrument. In high school, I added the Upright Bass to my skill set, along with a little bit of Violin and the Baritone (which is basically a mini-Tuba that you play using the same finger combinations as the Trumpet). So, at my peak, I played four instruments. Not bad, right?
However, I only played music. I never considered myself a musician. To be a musician, by my definition, implies virtuosity, advanced skill, and possibly even the ability to compose one's own music. To be a musician means someone lives and breaths music. To be a musician means a person has a passion (That's a word you'll be seeing on the blog a lot. Look out for it) for music.
I did not. I merely had an interest.
Now, I don't mean to say that I didn't try to develop my interest into a passion. I actually made a concerted effort to do so. I chose to go to my high school in Saint Louis, Central Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), specifically because they had a specialized music program.
But it wasn't to be, and I knew that the moment I set foot in that school and found myself--a mere dilettante--surrounded by real musicians. These were people who had been playing music practically from the word GO since they were four and five years old. And, by the time they had made it to Central, they had the chops to show it.
I gained an instant perspective of my ability and my drive to keep playing music. I won't deny, it was a painful realization to have (you could say I suffered from a major case of Amadeus -Syndrome, envying those around me for being what I wasn't). Without it, I wouldn't have kept looking for my real calling, which is writing.
The additional factors, such as my lack of drive to practice (no passion, no practice) and my total fear of actually performing in front of people, which real musicians thrive on, contributed to me ending my involvement with music. The true death-knell, however, came when I lost a lot of the mobility in the left side of my face to an attack of Bell's palsy. The trumpet had been my main instrument, so I when I couldn't tighten my lips to form the embouchure to play anymore, I lost the last of my interest in music.
Also, if I ever had the choice of going back in time and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life earlier by erasing my time as a "music kid," I wouldn't take it. I had some amazing experiences playing at being a musician.
For example, how many dilettante musicians can say they ever had the privilege of playing in the pit orchestra of a musical? I can. I played the trumpet in the pit of our school's production of The Wiz, and I love it. I got to be a part of easily the best show the school had put on in all the years I'd been at Central.
Also, how many other dilettante musicians can say they helped launch a new urban music program? I can. I was part of Orchestrating Diversity's (now known as El Sistema Orchestrating Diversity, thank you big grant money) first summer music program and remained part of the program for the first three years As I member, not only did I receive a college-level education in music history and theory (much of the latter admittedly zoomed over my head), but I also got the chance to play unabridged professional orchestra level music.
How many dilettante musicians can say they got to play real symphonies by Beethoven, overtures by Mozart and Rossini, and concertos by Schumann? Well, there's at least one.
The result of this extended trip into the world of music where I didn't belong was that I gained a true appreciation for real musicianship. The seemingly simple, but much neglected, ability to just play an instrument well is never lost on me.
It's because of this that I found myself in total conflict with the pop culture of my generation. Most of the music my contemporaries were listening too (or rather, tormenting their own eardrums with), I couldn't stand. This was in the day of Justin Bieber's height of popularity when Lady Gaga was slowly on the rise and Keisha's breakout. I couldn't stand any of their music.
[Quick note before I proceed further. I've since changed my opinion of Gaga's music, but I'll explore that in another essay.]
The main reason I couldn't stand any of their music was their lyrics. I'd discovered, just by listening to their stuff that most of their lyrics focused on three topics (which remain cornerstones of Pop-Music to this day): LOVE, MONEY, and FAME.
If you're wondering why the so-called Millennial Generation (particularly those born in the 90s) are obsessed with these three things, BLAME THE MUSIC THEY LISTENED TO IN HIGH SCHOOL (and their parents who allowed them to listen to it).
These three subjects seemed to be so shallow, so unimportant that I just couldn't stand listening to any of their stuff, no matter how catchy it was rhythmically.
So I went through the latter part of my teens without listening to much contemporary music.
Instead, I discovered old music, particularly Jazz.
There's another good question. How many dilettante musicians can say they got a chance to play Jazz in front of a good audience? Again, at least one.
So, I started listening to the greats. Coltrane, Gillespie, Mingus, Davis, Simone, Franklin, Charles, Armstrong--these people, to me made music, but more than that, they made American music and much of it was made purely in the moment of improvisation. Extemporaneous Art, there's nothing like it.
I figured I would never find any contemporary music I liked.
And then came YouTube.
I was browsing one day through the vid service (and this was after it had been sanitized by the great and power Google), and I came across an early video of a musician I'd never heard of.
Her name was Lindsey Stirling. She was popularly known, from a stint on America's Got Talent as the "Hip-Hop Violinist". For me, she was just the answer to my prayers (excuse my language. I'll get to that in another essay, too).
Here was a Violinist playing EMD (electric dance music, if you didn't know), and she made it sound fantastic. It was intricate, original, and her music videos were works of art in and of themselves. I became an immediate fan and subscribed to her channel. By the time I'd joined her fandom, she was already putting out videos with original music on a regular basis, so I got the chance to see them before her albums shot her to fame, (which was well earned and deserved).
Nevertheless, I wanted more stuff like Lindsey's music. From her, I found The Piano Guys. Again, here were classically trained musicians playing contemporary music, except they took it one step further. They didn't just play in a contemporary style. They frequently performed mash-ups of multiple songs. They were even able to take songs by a Pop-Group I hate (One Direction) and do covers of their songs and make them BETTER.
From them, I found groups like Postmodern Jukebox, Stringspace, Simply Three, and Break from Reality, who all did the same sort of thing. They took contemporary music and gave it a Classical or Jazzy make-over.
These artists allowed me to find my kind of music. I call it the Music of Confluence (pretentious, I know). They were able to bring old-school musicianship to contemporary music and make it into this wholly different and interesting entity.
Since finding these kinds of artists, I found other, more traditional groups I enjoy too (Imagine Dragons, and Lorde being two examples), but undoubtedly, the music where the old meets the new is truly my kind of music, my favorite
kind of music.
*No copyright infringment intended. All images are the property of their creators and owners.*
Starting in middle school, and proceeding through the entirety of high school, my main elective was playing music. In middle school, I played only the Trumpet, which was always my main instrument. In high school, I added the Upright Bass to my skill set, along with a little bit of Violin and the Baritone (which is basically a mini-Tuba that you play using the same finger combinations as the Trumpet). So, at my peak, I played four instruments. Not bad, right?
However, I only played music. I never considered myself a musician. To be a musician, by my definition, implies virtuosity, advanced skill, and possibly even the ability to compose one's own music. To be a musician means someone lives and breaths music. To be a musician means a person has a passion (That's a word you'll be seeing on the blog a lot. Look out for it) for music.
I did not. I merely had an interest.
Now, I don't mean to say that I didn't try to develop my interest into a passion. I actually made a concerted effort to do so. I chose to go to my high school in Saint Louis, Central Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), specifically because they had a specialized music program.
But it wasn't to be, and I knew that the moment I set foot in that school and found myself--a mere dilettante--surrounded by real musicians. These were people who had been playing music practically from the word GO since they were four and five years old. And, by the time they had made it to Central, they had the chops to show it.
I gained an instant perspective of my ability and my drive to keep playing music. I won't deny, it was a painful realization to have (you could say I suffered from a major case of Amadeus -Syndrome, envying those around me for being what I wasn't). Without it, I wouldn't have kept looking for my real calling, which is writing.
The additional factors, such as my lack of drive to practice (no passion, no practice) and my total fear of actually performing in front of people, which real musicians thrive on, contributed to me ending my involvement with music. The true death-knell, however, came when I lost a lot of the mobility in the left side of my face to an attack of Bell's palsy. The trumpet had been my main instrument, so I when I couldn't tighten my lips to form the embouchure to play anymore, I lost the last of my interest in music.
Also, if I ever had the choice of going back in time and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life earlier by erasing my time as a "music kid," I wouldn't take it. I had some amazing experiences playing at being a musician.
For example, how many dilettante musicians can say they ever had the privilege of playing in the pit orchestra of a musical? I can. I played the trumpet in the pit of our school's production of The Wiz, and I love it. I got to be a part of easily the best show the school had put on in all the years I'd been at Central.
Also, how many other dilettante musicians can say they helped launch a new urban music program? I can. I was part of Orchestrating Diversity's (now known as El Sistema Orchestrating Diversity, thank you big grant money) first summer music program and remained part of the program for the first three years As I member, not only did I receive a college-level education in music history and theory (much of the latter admittedly zoomed over my head), but I also got the chance to play unabridged professional orchestra level music.
How many dilettante musicians can say they got to play real symphonies by Beethoven, overtures by Mozart and Rossini, and concertos by Schumann? Well, there's at least one.
The result of this extended trip into the world of music where I didn't belong was that I gained a true appreciation for real musicianship. The seemingly simple, but much neglected, ability to just play an instrument well is never lost on me.
It's because of this that I found myself in total conflict with the pop culture of my generation. Most of the music my contemporaries were listening too (or rather, tormenting their own eardrums with), I couldn't stand. This was in the day of Justin Bieber's height of popularity when Lady Gaga was slowly on the rise and Keisha's breakout. I couldn't stand any of their music.
[Quick note before I proceed further. I've since changed my opinion of Gaga's music, but I'll explore that in another essay.]
The main reason I couldn't stand any of their music was their lyrics. I'd discovered, just by listening to their stuff that most of their lyrics focused on three topics (which remain cornerstones of Pop-Music to this day): LOVE, MONEY, and FAME.
If you're wondering why the so-called Millennial Generation (particularly those born in the 90s) are obsessed with these three things, BLAME THE MUSIC THEY LISTENED TO IN HIGH SCHOOL (and their parents who allowed them to listen to it).
These three subjects seemed to be so shallow, so unimportant that I just couldn't stand listening to any of their stuff, no matter how catchy it was rhythmically.
So I went through the latter part of my teens without listening to much contemporary music.
Instead, I discovered old music, particularly Jazz.
There's another good question. How many dilettante musicians can say they got a chance to play Jazz in front of a good audience? Again, at least one.
So, I started listening to the greats. Coltrane, Gillespie, Mingus, Davis, Simone, Franklin, Charles, Armstrong--these people, to me made music, but more than that, they made American music and much of it was made purely in the moment of improvisation. Extemporaneous Art, there's nothing like it.
I figured I would never find any contemporary music I liked.
And then came YouTube.
I was browsing one day through the vid service (and this was after it had been sanitized by the great and power Google), and I came across an early video of a musician I'd never heard of.
Here was a Violinist playing EMD (electric dance music, if you didn't know), and she made it sound fantastic. It was intricate, original, and her music videos were works of art in and of themselves. I became an immediate fan and subscribed to her channel. By the time I'd joined her fandom, she was already putting out videos with original music on a regular basis, so I got the chance to see them before her albums shot her to fame, (which was well earned and deserved).
Nevertheless, I wanted more stuff like Lindsey's music. From her, I found The Piano Guys. Again, here were classically trained musicians playing contemporary music, except they took it one step further. They didn't just play in a contemporary style. They frequently performed mash-ups of multiple songs. They were even able to take songs by a Pop-Group I hate (One Direction) and do covers of their songs and make them BETTER.From them, I found groups like Postmodern Jukebox, Stringspace, Simply Three, and Break from Reality, who all did the same sort of thing. They took contemporary music and gave it a Classical or Jazzy make-over.
These artists allowed me to find my kind of music. I call it the Music of Confluence (pretentious, I know). They were able to bring old-school musicianship to contemporary music and make it into this wholly different and interesting entity.
Since finding these kinds of artists, I found other, more traditional groups I enjoy too (Imagine Dragons, and Lorde being two examples), but undoubtedly, the music where the old meets the new is truly my kind of music, my favorite
kind of music.
*No copyright infringment intended. All images are the property of their creators and owners.*
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