Musical Autobiography

My love of music stems from family reunions when my Grandpa, his brothers, and his sons would all gather in one room and play their instruments. Appalachian mountain music was the order of the day, and the guitar, the violin, and the banjo sounded throughout the entire house as the smells of home cooked food wafted through the halls and filled our nostrils. I was also introduced to the music of Elvis Presley and The Beatles at these reunions and this was the music that defined my childhood. I learned how to horribly play the guitar with tab music for their greatest hits, and I also learned how to tinkle around on a piano with sheet music for the same songs. I still, to this day, listen to the music and you can even sometimes hear me singing the tunes that everyone else seems to have forgotten or abandoned. My love of music, however, does not stem only from Appalachian mountain music, Elvis, and The Beatles. One of my relatives on my mother’s side was from India, and, being always interested in that chapter of our family history, I was taught to belly dance. Belly dancing is one massive workout for your entire body set to the music of India, so with all of the training that I had, I became very familiar with Indian music and eventually grew to love it intensely. I really can’t tell you any specifics about composers or instruments, but I can give a dancing lesson or even come up with an original dance upon one hearing. Having to do this during my training, I was able to truly comprehend how my body and its movements fit so well with the music opening up before me, and I was finally able to grasp exactly why both the dancing and its music were beautiful. Both are an art form and I still love to dance whenever I can—although that can be difficult in a dorm room. One final way I was influenced by music is perhaps the most significant details that define my life. Being interested in films and the making of films my entire life, it was only natural that I found my way into the soundtrack section one day after seeing a movie in theaters. Now, practically all I listen to are movie soundtracks, which only enhance the viewing experience. I am able to see and hear the art of the film now, as every trombone slide or oboe solo or cello drone contribute to the pictures in some way. The music itself performs as a different venue of expression and development of the characters on the screen, and you can get such a better picture of the story and its nuances if you know the music. The music imitates the life on the screen, just as music imitates life in the real world. The music I listen to imitates my life: I’m interested in practically everything, so it only makes sense that I listen to Appalachian, Indian, and modern instrumental music.