My Musical Anthology

Music has been a part of my life since before I was even born. My parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents were all actively involved in performing and listening to music somehow or another, making it inevitable that I would be exposed to various types of music in many different forms.

The first music that I can remember hearing was at the church our family attended every Sunday. The traditional hymns we sung reflected the beliefs of the congregation and helped bring us together in a very powerful way.

My great-grandfather was a virtuosic fiddle and piano player and would often perform folk songs for us whenever we visited. I loved watching him play but the best part was when his poodle, Pepper, would sing (howl?) along. Pepper loved to sing and would sometimes even beg my great-grandfather to pull out his
fiddle so that they could perform for us. If the T.V. show "America's Got Talent" had been around at the time, my great-grandfather and his dog would have made excellent candidates.

I was an Army Brat growing up and spent many years outside of the country in Germany. Here, I had the unique opportunity to hear authentic German music on the streets or at the market (usually bagpipers) and at restaurants (often they were brass bands). Even though I attended an American elementary school, we were taught traditional German folk songs. The elementary school I attended also had this strange tradition where, during lunch, students could stand up in front of the entire cafeteria (although teachers called it the “dining hall” in an attempt to encourage good manners and behavior) and sing various songs or chants. The most common one was “Rock the Boat”. Almost every day groups of students would stand up to sing (I did it at least once a week).

I also remember the first time I heard about the Backstreet Boys. I was still living in Germany and actually thought they were a group of boys who lived on the back street of our neighborhood. It wasn’t until my best friend shared one of their cassette tapes with me that I figured out they were actually a boy-band who lived in the States (and not in my neighborhood). However, even at my young age I was able to recognize that this group was not really worth it and instead began listening to a much more talented group… the Spice Girls.  

As I ventured further into the music world, I learned more about very different types of music. Naturally, I have listened to and played much classical music but also experienced the world of jazz while in high school. Jazz is so different than the music I was used to playing, but the more I listened to jazz performers (and the more I practiced improvising) the more comfortable I got and the more I began to appreciate this style of music.

I realize that this is really only the beginning of my musical education. There is so much more to hear and experience (some of what hasn’t even been created yet) and I can’t wait to learn more about different types of music not only in this class but also in my future travels and endeavors.