How I Taught Pop Music

Throughout my life, no single thing has had a greater impact than music. It has made me who I am today, and I cannot remember a time when music wasn’t a huge part of myself - my earliest memories all contain the music that my parents played. Beyond being a product purely for enjoyment, as it was for a long time in my earliest years, music has gone on to become a fundamental part of who I am, how I spend my time, and who I spend that time with. It motivates me to be better for numerous reasons. I credit my early involvement in music with most of the successes I have had to this date.

Throughout my life, I have been taken by music. However, it was not until my 8th grade year in middle school that I realized that I could be a musician for the rest of my life. Before that, music just seemed like something to keep me out of trouble. I wasn’t the best player at that time, and I still knew very little about it all. How could something like that ever support someone? Still, it was the only talent that I could find any success in, and it was still very enjoyable, so I wanted to still give it a shot.

From the day we’re in our mother's stomachs, to the day we die, we have always been listening to music. For me, listening to music all my life helped me develop a passion for it. When I was around the age of 6 my dad introduced me into the world of Rock. The very first band I remember listening to was System of a Down and ever since then, I fell in love with rock music and all its possible variations; for a long time this was all I listened to. It wasn’t until high school that I started listening to all sorts of genres and realized that I wanted to have a career in the music industry. That's when I learned about producing music.

Growing up I was always around musicians, and music interested me, but I was always steered towards more academics. I finally got into music in High-School. It made me rather nervous because here I was sitting in a room with people who basically played instruments and sung within the womb, and I was unable to even read music. So at first I asked my friends who were all music aficionados. Every second thing that came out of my mouth was a question about music. What was tone? How do I play a scale? What is moderato? And how on earth was I going to catch up to these kids? So especially in band I took control and I took my French horn home every weekend and practiced for hours, determined to meet my high standards.

Once i got to highschool i started to take my music a little more serious. I feel like i can express myself in music, just speak my mind. I’ve been writing since i was 10 years old, and started realizing recently that i feel something different when it comes to music. I just write about anything, whether its a dream, what i’m feeling or even things going on in the world. When we look at people we dont look deep enough, This is who i

Music has always played a governing role in my development during life. My first major connection with a song occurred when I was around nine years old. A majority of my time growing up was spent with my older sister, Melissa. We would always spend weekend nights in her bedroom with a group of her friends. I can vividly recall the setup of her room: the lights dimmed to an almost perfectly relaxed ambiance; a faint smell of vanilla and cinnamon (her favorite scents) from the candles burning on the dresser; and the television loud enough to hinder any outside noise. Often, these nights would consist of binge watching T.V. shows and story-telling among my sister’s friends, who at the time were much older than me. It was during one of these nights that a commercial came on, displayed by a channel called “VH1.” A music video came on the screen; The song was “How to Save a Life” by The Fray. As the song progressed the room was filled with the seemingly instinctual singing of her friends, almost up-to-par with the rhythm and

In the age of the Internet and social media, current events and pop-culture phenomena’s are literally at our fingertips and because of that the question arises, “Should we include references to pop-culture and current events in the classroom?” More specifically, “should these topics be included in the music classroom?” This has caused some debate between music educators many questioning if there is even a need to include current events in the classroom discussion. In this paper, the author will attempt to shed light on those two viewpoints, as well as discuss the benefits of both the inclusion and exclusion of pop-culture in the music classroom.

Music has been a part of my life for over half of it. I started piano when I was about 6, and did orchestra in 4th, 6th, and now 7th. I always enjoyed learning more about the instruments I played. But

Music has been a part of my life since the beginning. My Grandma Hammond, a music teacher, had me start right off into piano when I turned 7 years old. She has been my music teacher since then. I was taught all genres of music starting from classical to what is popular now. My favorite genres to learn were Jazz and Rock music pieces. I remember when I was the age of 12, I begged her to let me learn and play the song Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen for one of my music festivals. My Grandma disagreed at once about my idea because it was required of the piano students to play a classical piano piece. I was a good student and learned that festival piece, but little did she know I would also teach myself Bohemian Rhapsody and play it after my classical

When I was about 12 years old, I began teaching myself how to play. As the years went on and I practiced in my room, I became a decent guitar player and singer. Eventually, I performed in front of my family, friends, church, and school. Music is something that I have a great appreciation for because of the power it has. Music can bring people together, fill a room with the strong Spirit of Christ, or simply help a person escape from the world he lives in for a little while.

I chose to major in music education because of my love of music and a desire to pursue a comprehensive and versatile music degree. As a student of Gordon Stout and Conrad Alexander, I have excelled musically as well as academically. I maintain a 3.9 cumulative GPA, and have made Dean’s List every semester while working two part time jobs and volunteering for various organizations. Although I enjoyed student teaching, I found my passion during the internships I had at the esteemed not-for-profit art organizations: Handel and Haydn Society, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and Little Kids Rock. Planning, organizing and executing various performances, fundraising events and educational programs is exciting and gratifying

A musician’s ultimate purpose should be to create a combination of words and sounds that can heal the soul. This is why I spend countless hours after school and on weekends recording, writing, and producing music. When I get to college I will major in music production, yearning to be with other musicians who share my passion. Music gave me a home when I did not have one, now I know where I

Since a young age, I have always felt a connection to music. I first started playing it when I was 3 and would play pieces by ear on the piano. As I got older, I started taking lessons and learning more about music as a whole. I took piano lessons for 4 years, and after that I switched to the alto saxophone. I have been playing it for 5 months now, and I greatly enjoy it. I still play piano, but I have begun playing it without a teacher. I practice saxophone every day so I can get better at music and learn more about it. I play as much as I can to be the best musician I can be. At my previous school, there were no music programs. I have worked hard to catch up to my class and play at the same level as them. I try to play as much as possible

The stigma associated with pursuing an education in the musical arts affects the decision of many musicians nationwide. The appeal of guaranteed financial and career stability of STEM and other paths of high demand jobs is very difficult to pass up, even by the most dedicated musicians. Then, the input and advice of outsiders come into play. These onlookers not only encourage study of the hard sciences and a foolproof path to success via university, but they also totally and blatantly discourage and belittle the intelligence, rationality and integrity of not just the paths of musicians, but all liberal artists. Don’t you want to make money? What do you mean you won’t have internships, don’t you want a job? How are you going to survive? This blitzkrieg of questioning and doubt, though theoretically peripheral to the bigger picture, is reasonably common, however, severely unjustified. Pursuing a formal college education in music is easily one of the best things you could do for yourself, regardless of whether or not this is the career path of your choosing. As a student of formal music education, you are actually being trained in more real world skills than most other majors, which will prepare you for many careers, making you stand-out amongst the masses. Being a music major, you learn more than just music, you learn problem-solving skills, how to communicate and collaborate, and how to overcome failure, which are all essential skills to have as a professional in today’s day

Music has undoubtedly changed over the years and most people have a persona definition of what music is to them. The simple definition of music according to author, David Ludden, (2015) “Music is a universal language.” (par. 1). People use music to tell stories and communicate. Much like Taylor Swift writes songs about her past relationships, I personally see music as a detour to get things out in the open without having a personal confrontation. I see music as stress reliever, especially when writing; it’s a way to say what needs said but with the soothing sounds of a guitar or piano in the background of your thoughts. Like the diary 2.0.