Essay on The Great Gig in the Sky

As a child, I vividly recall my grandfather playing his mandolin at every family event. Under the control of his musical spell, everyone would burst into celebration. It was a family tradition that still warms our hearts as we often reminisce today. When my grandfather passed away, I was surprised to find that he had left me his beloved instrument. While I always had the desire to play, I didn’t know where to begin. Inspired, I entered a music school at the age of eleven where I eventually graduated and became a teacher. I was anything but a natural, and my inability to perform during my early years caused many nights of frustration. I spent countless hours practicing to compensate until I was finally asked to perform in a concert. I can still remember the

1) How would you convey the message of the book “Half the Sky” to family, friends, and colleagues?

I hurried to get dressed with a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up past my cast. I also wore a red tie and black skinny jeans. I could only sing so we had to use the track guitar. Last thing I had to do was my vocal warmups. I finished and went to the side of the stage. My mind was swirled with thoughts as the video ran and our cue was said to go on stage. My microphone was on me and I was as ready as I was ever going to be. We all ran on stage and started to play. We started with undisclosed desires. Since I didn’t have my guitar to play it gave me a chance to rest and just

The other side of the sky a memoir, by Farah Ahmedi, is an autobiography about the author when she was a girl, and her struggles to survive while taking care of her sick mother. This book gave me a different perspective on the life of others. While we get water from the tap and Farah gets water from a well. When they sleep on the floor they always hear bombs. WHen i sleep on my bed i hear cars and firecrackers. Farah's struggles are different than mine, there are some similarities and struggles i share with her. We both have a family which we love and quarrel with, we both work (in different ways), and we both have an interest in beauty and fashion. Every life and culture is different, but there are those small things that everyone has in common, even though our lives might be completely different.

As a child I frequently made up little songs, and there seemed to be a constant stream of music in my head. I could see myself in the children she was observing and like them I didn’t have a framework for my experience – it was just my life. Whether it was singing while playing, tapping out some rhythm, singing at the top of my lungs to a favorite song, or goosebumps from hearing “Hall of the Mountain King”, it all felt familiar and warming. It has also made me aware of the musicking I continue to make every day in small ways here and

Everyday hundreds of young girls become victims of sex trafficking. In the documentary “Half the Sky “as told by Nicolas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times teaches us of such heinous crimes. Amongst sex trafficking stories as told by the young ladies who have lived through them, we are also introduced to gender inequality. Such continents as Asia, Africa and Egypt have the highest crime rate of sex trafficking. Nicolas Kristof reports to us from poverty-stricken area and parts of the world so dangerous that local law enforcements won’t go into.

Growing up on a small farm in Purmela, TX, I was a shy kid with big dreams. My family all played musical instruments and we would go to my grandpa’s house often. Besides church, it was there where I watched my dad spill his sorrows, achievements and stories through his songs. With my grandpa on the fiddle and my cousins on various instruments, they would play on his back porch for hours upon hours. To a 10 year old kid, that back porch seemed bigger than the Grand Ole Opry. I loved to listen but it wasn’t until I turned 20 years old, that I picked up my first guitar. My dad surprised me with it one afternoon, and his exact words were, “you better learn how to play this thing”. So, I did and six weeks later I wrote my first

I walked into the band room after the bell rang, The flutes always went before us so I had half an hour to calm my nerves, I went into the back room to practice. The time came for woodwinds to play, I was a wreck, my palms were sweaty, my heart

Then Mr.Dangerfield decided to do a performance of The Princess and the Frog. So the afterschool program prepared to do the play. We would be doing the background music. Several weeks later, he decided to give an early preview of some of the music to the whole school. He let the students in higher grades perform. Then I saw an empty piano. I thought, Well, I’ll be in the real show (which turns out later I wouldn’t be in). Why can’t I be in this One? and walked on up to the piano and started playing along. When I did that, everyone was surprised. After we were done, I got a standing ovation. Everyone was happy. Then I went back to regular classes, and I knew that I could play piano. But that was a long while ago. So through all this time, I practiced whenever I could and could remember to. I became excellent at playing by ear. But then, my music died for a little while. Later on, middle school fifth and sixth grade rolled around. We had music class again. Then my brain remembered all the songs, the notes, and the music came back. Sixth Grade rolled on in, and hit me hard with more work, more responsibilities. Yet through this, my musical life survived, thriving on those moments when I could be alone and just play anything on the keyboard. First half of the year, we had Japanese. I hated that class, and couldn’t wait for when we switched to music. Then the halfway point of the year, and I started music. In fifth grade, we used recorders. But now, we used pianos. My main instrument. My music grew even more as we learned more and more on the piano, did more music. Then, as the end of the year started coming in, Ms.Barsamian, the music and drama teacher, decided we would do a little piano recital. She gave us tons of songs to choose from. But there were none that resonated with me, that I enjoyed playing, that I could connect to. And then I remembered. A song I had

It was late into the evening when I returned to my high school’s football field to recollect the jacket I had left back. It had finally come, it was the night of my last marching band rehearsal. In that moment, I was alone, but as the neighboring building lights dimly poured into the field, I could imagine the arena glow with life as I thought of my four seasons of marching band. It was at this location, out of many, that provided me the opportunity to share unique memories with my peers and develop my greatest talent: playing the clarinet. I initially chose my instrument without understanding as an elementary school student what band was, but through my first set of rehearsals, I quickly realized that playing an instrument was harder than I had anticipated. That, however, did not discourage me. I grew fond of playing and was determined to practice daily technics that would strengthen my musicianship. As I played into middle school and high school, my lung capacity, along with the ability to keep tempo, improved, but I believed by then that my performances should exemplify more than my skills. Through my participation in marching band and Wind Ensemble, I’ve aspired to take not only the audience, but myself included, into a world beyond music’s notes and phrases. I find comfort to know that I can create something out of pure air and have others find happiness within it. This is what kept me playing for nine years. I have incorporated music deeply into my life, but I believe it does not define me. Instead, I have learned valuable lessons that have benefited me off the stage such on time management and discipline and have grown alongside my talent.

Working with music takes a certain type of patients. That’s why when I knew this project was present, I had the perfect person in mind because I worked so close with this person once before. So, I decided to gather my resources and get in contact with our family friend Dr. Snodgrass who is the superintendent of the Fort Osage R-1 School District and ask if I could receive her email so I could set up a facetime call with her and get this interview on the road. Her name Is Erica Gregory and she is a high school band teacher at Fort Osage located in Independence Missouri. The reasons I decided to interview her were simple. First, she was my star time teacher which meant she was my study hall teacher. As a freshman coming into high school and being placed in a study hall class

A roaring applause shook me to my core. I bow. The applause got louder, my heart rate accelerated

Our music starts, and we all glide across the dark stage like angels. I can feel the hot lights on my face, and the beating eyes of everyone in the auditorium as my solo part begins.

On the first day of school, with sweaty palms, I walked into the band room. To me, the appearance of the room was foreign, with its high ceiling and panelled walls. I sat down next to Caitlin in one of the many oval-backed chairs, which were meant to help maintain posture while playing. When the teacher, Mrs. Lynn, came in and took attendance, she asked what instrument each person played. There were four pianists including me. We were told that we would

Nothing seemed as nerve racking as being the last person to get up and share my work. I felt as if this was a waste of my time, and no one would enjoy my song. However, I overcame my nerves, and hit play. Almost immediately I could sense the mood in the room changing with the beat of my song. My audience started to nod their heads, and smile in their seats. **I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy and accomplishment. I was proud to come home with something that I could show off as well as document my progress. **