Personal Narrative: Humorous Music

As has been said many times over, songs are a reflection of society. They give insight into feelings, moods, historical changes, and the overall atmosphere of the society. Our American society is diverse and so too is our music. There are many genres of music and there were many evolutions to create those genres. Further, what happens in society, the historical changes, also effect those changes.

“There’s a moment you’ve been waiting all your life for. When you find the very reason you’re alive for.” This semester included a small moment in my life, which had an impact on my life. My love for musicals began to heighten beginning college. I have created a fifteen-hour musical soundtrack playlist, to paying $400 to watch “Hamilton: An American Musical” in Chicago. Musicals have a way of inspiring individuals and have increased my drive to work in the entertainment business. This semester, I casually looked at what musicals were playing in the Indianapolis area, and I came across the musical “Finding Neverland.” I ended up getting tickets for the October 20 show. Little did I know this show would have such an impact on me.

I was on the verge of tears. Everything was so overwhelming, and I was having a terrible day. I took a deep breath, pushing down the ball of anxiety in my chest and blinking away the stinging behind my eyes. A moment later, those same feelings returned, as bad as ever. I have never been very good at pushing away or bottling up my feelings, and this time was no exception. Realizing I had no chance of making myself feel better before going to my singing lesson, I settled for simply holding back the tears, letting my other emotions run free, bringing physical pain to my chest.

Orchestra has always been one of my favorite classes to go to during the day. After choosing to play the cello in middle school, I continued playing the instrument in high school. It was in this class that I had made most of my closest friends, many of whom I still love to this day. I also loved how the rich deep tones that came from playing each note of the cello and how they were able to blend with the rest of the orchestra. I knew from my freshmen year that I wanted to get into the top class, Chamber Orchestra. I thought that I would have done everything in my power to get into the class, however when the time came I could not even bring myself to audition.

The events that took place on June 1st, 2013 is almost a blur, although, the sensation has always been ever so clear to me. I felt alive. I felt enchanted. And I felt wanted. Almost every little problem vanished for that one specific night. Who would’ve thought a single person can make you feel invincible? Cristian, was nearly the opposite the person I was. He was true rock and roll, and I was merely the product of the mainstream rock phenomena. He almost seemed very opinionated as I had always kept to myself, It was odd and a little unexpected. Although we both are very timid from the naked eye, to my surprise he was actually very witty and humorous. One lonely night at a park was the beginning of a very long and faithful friendship.

My parents separated when my brothers were nine and seven, and I was five years old. My grandparents live on the same street and developed a close bond with us. They felt music would be a good outlet for emotional stress. Benjamin and Nicholas started taking lessons for piano and guitar. I started playing violin through my elementary school. As middle school was approaching, Nicholas was considering playing in the school band, but guitar would not be a suitable instrument. My grandfather’s friend, Mr. Phil, said we could borrow his saxophone. It was a Tuesday night in the year 2009. Nicholas and I rode our bikes down to our grandparents so he could test out the classic saxophone. He picked it out and blew pure cacophony in the air. I laughed as he grew red in the face from blasting squeaks and squeals. After he set it down, nodding his head pridefully from the noises he produced from this big metal instrument I excitedly asked if i could try. My grandpa was impressed with my curiosity and encouraged me to give it a whirl. I put on the neck strap and connected it onto the heavy instrument. Nicholas

I have had a strong connection to music since the moment I was born. Even when I could hardly hold myself up by leaning on the living room couch, I would dance and jump up and down in nearly perfect rhythm to the beat of each song being played over stereo. On both sides of my family everyone is very musical. On my Dad’s side, starting as a teenager, my Grandpa when sing and play the guitar in bars while my Grandma loves singing also. On my Mom’s side, my Great Grandfather is a Pastor to this day, and leads worship at his little church in Indiana, that him and my Great Grandmother run themselves. My Great Grandmother loves to sing and play the piano. They have five children together and each and every one of them is musical one way or another.

With what felt like one of the first true days of summer, with a warm breeze and the subtle and nostalgic scent of bonfire wafting through the air, I made my way into Stevenson High School. Once I entered, I quickly purchased one ticket (which was a pamphlet) for The Spring Orchestra Concert. It felt a tad bit bizarre to be as excited as i was for this particular concert, but there were a few contributing factors: My dear friend Josh Maj was playing the Cello tonight, and I desperately wanted to see the musicians perform “Gauntlet” which is a classical piece that we at Homadeco frequently use in our productions. My acquaintances and I quickly took our seats, and soon right after the prelude pieces had begun. I didn’t know what to expect in

I believe in radio music; it has the ability to change one's mood in just of a blink of an eye. I never realized how my mood can just change from the mood of the song. One minute you can be cranking up the volume and singing loudly with your groups of friends to where you're just in silence looking out of the window just drowning on your thoughts. I remembered this day that when my mom and I had this huge fight so I locked myself in and started to get into my playlist. A few moments later I found myself singing along and dancing, like I wasn’t upset. The song that was playing Santeria by Sublime. The story behind that was when I was in California visiting my dad and we were just jamming out to this song. During that time frame, it was the

There were once four friends named Cole, Anthony, Paul, and Tyler living in the suburbs of Murrieta. They enjoyed hanging out, but could never find anything to do for fun other than listen to music. One day Anthony picked up a guitar and started playing very well. Tyler says, “Hey!! I didn’t know you play an instrument. Did I ever tell you guys I play bass?” When suddenly Anthony had a bright idea and suggested the friends to start a band together. The friends were hesitant because they didn’t think they could create any enjoyable music. Anthony tried his best to convince them since they could all play instruments, and the friends finally agreed to form the band The Furious Four. Anthony was lead guitar, Paul was rhythm guitar, Tyler was bass and Cole was responsible for lyrics. As they began their first practice session the next day, they realized they needed a drummer. Paul says, “You can’t have a good band without a drummer”, so the friends decided to do some searching for a new member to play the drums.

It is already eleven at night and the whole house sits in darkness; the rest of the family either sleeps peacefully upstairs or plays video games in the basement. My sister, Gracie sprawls out on the couch, the bright screen of her laptop lighting up her face. I sit across from her - bored and ready to go to bed - mindlessly flipping through movies on our smart TV. Although I am not interested in the big seventy inch screen, I am interested in spending time with my sister while she is on break from college. Seeing the option for Spotify music, I click the icon as an idea pops in my head. My sister and I did not bond over much; however, music happened to be one of the only things that unified us. I get up and start playing a random song from

“Guys, guys, there is a huge bird over there. Look, up there!” My sister, Lika, and our neighbor, Selena turn their heads simultaneously. I see the fierce beast perched upon the brick roof of another house. The bird stretches its wings, claims the sky as its domain, and demands that its presence be felt. At the sight of bird, we all become silent, observing all of the bird’s features. I believe it is a peregrine falcon. This prediction came directly from watching that majestic, world’s fastest bird in my favorite show, Wild Kratts, and unfortunately, I was wrong. Afterwards, Selena confidently points out the bird’s radiant, amber beak and therefore, believes it is an eagle. I have no rebuttal.

Have you ever made something from nothing? Drawn air into your lungs, and made magic come out? I admit that there are many kinds of magic in this world, but few are as intimate as singing.

If anyone would have asked me when I was five years old if I would ever play an instrument, I would have never considered the prospect. I never considered myself to be a good musician, nor did not find it remotely interesting. However, one day in music class near the onset of fourth grade, a teacher came in to speak to us about joining Orchestra. At first, I felt inclined to not give the idea any form of thought, until she began to play various songs in sequence. Before that day, I only imagined that a violin was used to play varying forms of classical music, but she began to play the theme from the movie “Jaws” instead. This rendered me speechless and perplexed as to how she could play such a powerful song on a violin. Once she finished playing, she left forms behind for us to join the Orchestra. I did not grasp the amount of work and time that I would be forced to dedicate myself to in order to play as well as she did, but it did not matter. Shortly after deciding that I

Thank you for acknowledging my thoughts and feelings whether they are positive or negative, justified or unjustified, right or wrong. I feel safe being myself knowing I can not be perfect and you will still love me.