Personal Narrative: The Music Man

Although there are many objects and things that can define my culture, I believe that my music taste, my language and my manners makes me who I am today.

I have been performing in a symphony orchestra since I was eight. Most kids at the age of eight were skinning their knees on the playground, but I was forming blisters on my fingertips trying to put my finger on the right notes. My God Mother would always tell me, “In order for you to be the best, you have to face your fears.” I didn’t fear performing in front of crowds until I was given the opportunity to be the soloist one evening.

Hi, I am 20 years old, I've been making beats for six years, working at being a Producer and Engineer for two years and I want to learn more! I know that if I were to be a part of greater producing processes and the Music Industry, my skills and talents will shine but more importantly, grow immensely.

I have very little confidence in singing and performing in front of people, so when I tried out for the talent show at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, I legitimately

As I consider my past and everything that’s happened, I don’t think a single character fits exactly how I feel about myself. Thankfully, I chose someone who shares the same experiences. In the beginning, she wasn’t rich, but she wasn’t poor; she wasn’t popular, but she was loved by those closest to her; and she obeyed the rules, but she never let anyone take advantage of her. I like to think we have similar stories, seeing as how both of us had to go through the same situations. As you may be wondering, her name was America Singer, later referred to as America Schreave, from the Selection series by Kiera Cass. Because we’re the same age now, I relate to her even more. I understand how she feels because I’ve lived through the same struggles

It had been a cool winters morning as I walked through the school. “Morning Callum,” my friend called out as I placed my bag into my locker and then carried my guitar into the school’s hall. Our Jazz band had been selected to play on assembly, so I, along with the other members of the rhythm section, turned up early to set up. Setting up the stage for Jazz band mainly involved ensuring there was enough stands for the horns section. The remainder of the preparation was spent on setting up the drum kit, vibraphone and amps for the guitar, bass and keyboard.

I feel like the music industry today is a far cry from the music industry of old. I feel like only within the last couple years, where being a songwriter has come back to being more popular, has the music industry, as a whole, taken a turn for the better. It has become more about the music for some artists and less about the money they could potentially earn. I feel like the genre of music that has the most amount of artist not making their own music is the pop genre. Sometimes, I hear songs sung by some of these boys and girls about love and relationships and I wonder if they’ve ever truly experienced what they’re singing about. Or, if the song was handed to them by one of the label executives and told “That will be a hit!” I feel like most

Recording Arts is a career field in which sound is recorded. Recording Arts plays a major role in life because sound is everywhere. Sound is in the video games we play. Sound is in broadcasting. Sound is in TV and film. Sound is in the music that we listen to. Growing up, my life evolved around music. I started guitar, piano, and drums at the age of 14. When I first enter high school, I joined chorus. It was a great experience. I learned to scat and how to sing like Louis Armstrong. The next year, I joined the band. I played every instrument that I could play. That includes guitar, piano, drums, and bass. I never took it serious until I started to play the bass. I fell in love instantly. I performed at talent shows and anywhere that I could perform.

I began screaming my head off, ultimately waking up my entire household. I can remember the beating of my heart, sweaty palms and shaky voice. Reality then began to sink in that the musical would be on my shoulders. In that moment I began to doubt myself. I only had the experience of two plays and being in the ensemble of a musical. Could I do this? And even so how did come they chose someone like me? A million negative thoughts began running through my head, and looking back, those thoughts motivated me to work my hardest in order to prove that I belonged. Taking that last bow on the transformed stage changed my life

My transcripts show that I only participated in band my freshman and sophomore years. Band became a necessary sacrifice because I still needed to fit in graduation requirements and a load of AP classes to my junior and senior year schedules; however, my music career did not end! I found a way to continue playing the bass guitar in my church praise band, and I am currently going on my sixth year of playing. I will be flexible in continuing my music career, whether it be in a class or a club, because it is definitely an activity that has become important to me.

As we began to learn our singing parts and I heard all the beautiful voices surrounding me, I had a moment when I thought, "Oh my, God. I don't think I'm talented enough to be a part of this cast. At some point someone, or all of the production staff, is going to realize that they made a huge mistake." As I drove home I kept telling myself that I am going to need to work extremely hard and bust my little booty to prove that I belong in the cast.

I came to Ridge Family Center for Learning in second grade. On top of being “the new kid” in school, I didn’t know anyone besides my neighbor. She had been going to this school since kindergarten and I ate lunch with her and her friends everyday. One day, as I ate my usual PB & J, she said “Are you excited for the musical?” Apparently it happens every year, yet I was not aware of this. Naturally, being a little kid, I was excited and screamed “Really? I love watching people perform!” My parents loved musicals and took me to see my fair share of them. She gave me a strange look and laughed. “You don’t get to watch. We’re performing on the stage, silly!” My jaw dropped. All I could think about was how scared I was. I was about to sing on stage in front of 200 parents.

I realized I wanted to get into music and producing when I received feedback from friends, and family that I had talent after the first song I released, and after time passed all I received was just good feedback, of course, there were some negative opinions but I keep my head up. When I started writing/recording music I just saw it as something to do for fun, it became one of my serious hobbies after a while. That push I was given by friends and family has led me to believe I could make it in the music industry. That’s how the idea of getting into music came about.

For my first arts experience I chose to attend the Marian University Department of Music Faculty Recital. This production took place on January 24th at 4 pm in the Bishop Chartrand Chapel in Marian Hall. There were 6 performers with the help of Maureen Walton as the accompanist. There were some songs that stood out more than some such as the first piece called Poem.

In the past, I was informed by a college professor that in the state of Indiana only a select few colleges offer a music business major. While researching a position within the music industry, I’ve learned that this occupation is unique and takes a certain type of individual. After endless searching and finding things that interests me the most, I have chosen an occupation that I believe best suits me. Pursuing a career as a web content producer interest me because of multiple factors: a high salary that I could definitely live well on, the utilization of the skills required that I now possess, and music internships that could help me get ahead.