me and music

    Wow, writing this last blog post feels kind of surreal. Looking through my past blog posts, I feel really proud that I’ve been able to relatively (!!) commit to the topic of music. It’s been really fun looking for out of the box connections and a little difficult sometimes, but I think there’s definitely been a few stretches. High school has really taught about the kind of things I value, both in my personal and professional life. But since I’m still trying to keep to the musical theme, I wanted to talk about what I learned in my twelve years of piano study, and how it’s really changed my entire personality. I’m really proud of the pianist that I am today. Sometimes, when I look through my past recordings, I don’t even recognize myself. I know the thoughts that were swarming my mind at the moment, but I can’t believe that the person in the recording is actually me. Piano’s taught me how to work. Many people have this concept of work meaning to pour hours and hours practicing and running the piece through over and over again. But I’ve learned to rely on slow and spot practice. This usually makes up the bulk of my routine, and then I’ll work on accelerating my speed into performance range. Something else that will really stay with me is how personal music is to everyone. Everyone’s music tastes are so so different and really are often a reflection of their childhood. If you grew up listening to rock, then you’re more likely to enjoy rock. If you grew up listening to rap, you’re more likely to listen to more rap in the future. Music is something that’s so intimate to everyone, and I can’t comprehend how the arrangement of rhythms and sounds can create something that’s so precious to pretty much everyone in the world. It’s really the universal language. You don’t need to understand a language to enjoy music, and oftentimes, music relays intention to those around you. A great example of this is Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. It’s known to almost every soccer fan in the world because they would stomp and chant the quivering melody of the bass. They didn’t know the song name, didn’t know the band, and didn’t care to know either. Yet this melody was able to transform a crowd into action, signaling to them to join in and cheer on their team. I think it’s really incredible how music is able to create such an atmosphere, and I know this is definitely something I want to be a part of in the future. I don’t really know what my future holds, but I do know that music will always be a part of it.