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Musical Autobiography

I have come to realize that there is nothing in this world that lasts forever. There is

always an end to everything, whether good or bad. There have been some people who have

argued that voices and sounds never die. Some melodies have been passed down from generation

to generation. Some songs have lived in our hearts forever, regardless of who we are or where

we came from. Having said that, since I am a human, I am no different from anyone else. Some

pieces of music have impacted my life. I listen to music every day because it is part of my life.

For me, music is my passion because it can reflect my inner world. Music can make me

comfortable on a sad day and joyful when I am cheerful. Moreover, music brings memories back

since the music I like is connected to a particular moment of my past life. Like everyone else, my

family and friends have influenced the music I love.

My family was religious, and I grew up in a small town in Michigan. Since I was a baby,

I have loved music. It was a tradition in my family to play music whenever possible, whether it

was on the radio, television, or instruments. When I was young, I would turn on the radio and

listen to music stations because music always gave me the form of my feelings. The funny thing

is that I never dreamed of becoming a singer but was fascinated by music. My mother is the one
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who initiated my love for music today. She would sing to me to sleep, and I remember she would

sing when doing chores in the house, whether washing the dishes, driving, or cleaning. Today

she blames herself for my habit of playing music while doing any activity there.

As I grew up, my parents wanted to turn my love for music into something more

involving. They enrolled me in this musical program when I was eight years old. We were taught

how to play instruments in the program. However, I never liked playing the instruments. Instead,

I wanted to listen to other kids play. It took a turn when I got jealous of how the other kids were

good at playing the instruments. I got fond of playing the piano, although I was not good at it.

Before I progressed to middle school, my father bought a home piano. I used to share the piano

with my siblings. After school, my mother used to take me to the musical program and pick me

up. Sometimes I would be exhausted, but my mother was demanding, and she did not listen to

any excuses. After learning at the program, I would practice at home.

In middle school, my parents enrolled me in a music class. My mother encouraged me so

much and ensured I took the class seriously. She spent time with me after school to ensure I was

practicing. I liked playing classic rock and pop music since it is the music my parents listened to.

"Nothing else matters" by Metallica was my favorite song to play. I played this song at school,

and they loved it. This particular song was essential in helping me deal with my feeling and

control my emotions. This song taught me not to care what other people think or know, and it

comforted me. I learned to face life as if nothing else mattered.

The church has been a natural incubator for nurturing my music. My parents took me to

church at a young age. It was in church where I went underwent major developments. It was the

church that invented the current music notion and refined it. Music has been a key piece in the
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process of worship. I was part of the praise and worship team in the church. We dedicated a lot

of energy to developing musical skills to perfect our worship. This experience was crucial to

developing our musical skills as well as passing existing musical traditions to us the young

generations. There were old books with the engraving of early music notations and some of the

features I could recognize were a stave of lines with blobs for the notes. The stave had 4 lines

instead of 5 the blobs varied in spacing, the rhythm was not clear and it was subdivided into bars.

Growing up, the church influenced many of my favorite artists. As the church continues

to preserve spiritual practices through music it has noticeably shaped many artists. For instance,

Kanye West’s “ Jesus walks” this song is a mixture of choir vocals with Hip Hop rap. Growing

up I looked up to these musicians, they blended trumpet and piano sounds so well with Hip Hop

beats. To appease the congregation in church, we would mix gospel hymns, classic rock, pop

music, and Hip Hop while retaining the values of Christianity and spreading God’s love.

Watching artists like Carrie Underwood receive Grammy awards was very motivating. I loved

when we performed at functions and special Christian events throughout the year. Some church

members would invite us to perform at their weddings or during funerals. The exciting part of

performing at events is that they had varying demands for music at their events. Some requested

a mixture of gospel, Hip Hop, and pop music and this was my all-time favorite. The church

influenced me into liking Hip Hop and pop music more.

Growing up, my family listened to mostly classic rock, and sometimes they would listen

to pop music. My mother would blast these songs whenever she was working in the house. My

parents were Metallica die-hard fans. They would play their songs on trips, especially during

summer, and I could enjoy every bit of the journey. My father bought us tickets for the Metallica
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day concert on my tenth birthday. I had never been happier in my life. My siblings and I danced

until it was late. Even though I had never seen my father dance before, he was so good at it, and I

was so impressed. The more I listened, the more I loved the music. As I was growing up, Justin

Timberlake was my parents' favorite pop music artist. At my high school graduation celebration,

we danced to "my love" by Justin Timberlake, and those memories come back every time I listen

to the song. I remember when I was young, they would argue with my aunties and uncles about

which songs to play during family get together. When my uncles got the chance to play, they

used to play country music and the oldies. These songs did not boost my mood or stimulate my

creativity. I wondered how anybody loved these songs. I always felt these songs were too old for

a teenager like me. These experiences drove me to hate country music and the oldies.

In high school, most of my friends listened to Hip Hop, R&B, EDM, and pop. We usually

had conversations about music every time. My friends would compete in singing the songs in

class as I watched them. It made me feel left out. After school, I would listen to the songs they

were battling in class. One day I surprised my friends when I got into a Hip Hop rap battle, and

they said I was pretty good. I felt really good. In a short period, these class rap battles turned into

freestyle rapping. Two students took a timed turn to demonstrate creativity and flow ability.

These freestyle rap battles started without a beat, and then we advanced to freestyle rapping with

beats. Students would boast their abilities to brag, boast and humor their opponents. These

singing competitions made me love Hip Hop and EDM music more.

My family and friends have significantly influenced my taste in music. Hip Hop, classic

rock, and EDM is the kind of music I love. My high school friends have influenced my music

taste in hip hop and EDM. I loved how they brought out the creativity in everyone and, at the
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same time, had fun. Being able to bring out the creativity in me and fun is what dictates my taste

in music. My family is the main influencer in music taste for classic rock. At those concerts, we

went to listen to Metallica songs were always the best. On the road trips, we were on listening to

classic rock and pop. Memories of those road trips come back whenever I listen to the songs.

Listening to these genres of music makes me happy. On the other hand, metal, country music,

and oldies are music genres I dislike. These types of music are too old for me and do not excite

me.

Over the past decade, I have had the chance to witness my growth and taste in music.

Most of my life has been centered around music. Since birth until now, music has been with me

every part of my journey. Music has helped bring my family closer during difficult times. Music

has been there for me during hard times. It has been a powerful tool to help me get in touch with

my feelings. Now I have every reason to appreciate music. It has helped me to this far and it has

given me a career.