Personal Narrative: Soloist

I was born and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi, an area immersed in a relaxed coastal culture and a vibrant jazz and blues heritage. Gulfport is located right off the Gulf of Mexico and less than an hour from New Orleans, Louisiana. Living near the Gulf, heavily influenced my childhood, I would spend weekends at the beach, and long hours traveling to distant islands far from the coast I called home. The music you would hear at the beach were always from timeless Americana artist; such as, Bob Dylan and Jonny Cash. My parents, not musicians themselves, were infatuated with the music of the late 1980’s from artists like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Journey. My particular favorite artist from that time period was Queen, and my love for rhapsody

We all have stories and memories tied to songs that have become a part of who are. Remember the violins playing in the background while watching a sad movie or the song that helped you through difficult times or the song you and your friends sang while attending a concert? Whether it’s on the television, the radio, in a movie, in the car, or at a sporting event, music is everywhere. Feeling the rhythm of music brings us so much joy and excitement but playing musical instrument is even more fulfilling because it has many benefits. Everything I do revolves around my music. I have been around music all my life, whether it was listening to it or playing it. I’m very passionate about music and I love playing an instrument. The instrument

Author, Annie Dillard, in her passage, “The Stunt Pilot,” explains how her attitude towards her understanding of art changed after meeting stunt pilot, David Rahm. Dillard’s purpose is to explain how meeting Rahm and seeing his performance transformed her, and helped her to understand what it means when work becomes art. She adopts a tone of awed appreciation in order to convey to her audience of highly literate adults how profoundly Rahm affected her.

Meet my Jazz band. This is a picture of us in New Orleans my junior year during spring break to play Jazz. I decided upon this picture because this band has had such a profound impact on how I frame my future.

Music can bring the brightest of joys that keeps us moving through our dull and boring lives. An example of this joy is Ishmael Beah’s life as a boy soldier in his book A Long Way Gone. As he tells you his story, he tells of his dance group with his friends, the times he heard music in the middle of war, and how music saved him from the madness that brewed within him. Music has the unique ability to create peace in a person’s life despite the difficulties surrounding them, and to bring a constant reminder of who they are as a person.

Throughout the novel A Long Way Gone, music is used as a motif. Music is used to distract or calm the soldiers in rehabilitation, as it has the ability to trigger emotional responses. Also, music is used to remind the soldiers of their innocence and life before the war. And lastly music is used to create common ground amongst strangers.

Mental health is becoming a major section of health care. The movie “The soloist” exquisitely demonstrates how mental health is very important to make a living, take care of yourself and interact with the community. The Soloist film follows a journalist, Steve, who is on the hunt for a good story for his column in the LA Times.  He hears a homeless musician, Nathaniel, playing one day while on lunch who mentioned that he attended The Juilliard School.  From there on Steve tries to form a relationship with Nathaniel, a person who is much more to him than just a homeless musician. Nathaniel suffers from schizophrenia. Throughout the film, Steve learns how difficult it is to communicate with Nathaniel. The movie also exquisitely demonstrates the legal and ethical dilemma the mental health field can develop (Foster, Krasnoff & Wright, 2009).

Music carries each and every one of us to a new awareness. It can reach to the innermost part of an individual. Music can envelope our emotions from tears all the way to our joy. It captivates and motivates. As I attended a concert on Saturday, November 7, 2015, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed with power and feeling to their audience. The audience ranged over four generations. For a band to begin forming by 1965 and performing by 1970, their music can punctuate and electrify the generation of today. By understanding the origin of Lynyrd Skynyrd, an individual could feel how this Southern Rock band injected sorrow, joy, and sometimes confusion in their electric jams. They loved their guitars. This group was not a Confederate flag-waving, redneck band. Their music

Saint Cecilia was believed to be born during the 2nd or 3rd century AD, but it is unknown the date of her actual birth. She has been claimed to be a daughter of a rich Roman family, which meant that she was Christian from birth. When she was young, she was promised to marry a pagan named Valerian. Despite this promise, she vowed to stay pure to God, and disclosed this vow to her husband when they married. She told him of an angel that watches over her and guards her purity. Upon hearing this news, Valerian traveled to Rome to see the Pope [Urban ⏤ 223-230] and see the angel that guards his wife. No one knows whether he saw the angel or not, but when in Rome, he was baptized by the Pope. When he returned to Cecilia, it is said that they were

Music is more than that it’s something beautiful produced based on the musicians. For example when we play in class when you feel the emotion and the feeling of playing it’s just so wonderful. Music is the way kids and people show their emotions although even on a bad day we try to play well because we do not want to be the big mess up in class. Music to me is the beginning of my passion. As students, we engage in learning through a more interactive and exciting learning experience. I don’t really like listening to normal music with no instruments. When there are instruments and no words it’s like you get to add the meaning to the song. When I play my instrument I feel like I’m sending a small message and contributing to the overall message the whole band wants the audience to hear. Music means a lot to me I can’t say it’s my world yet because I have a long way to getting

Perry Band Olympics. This phrase both excites and terrifies every band student in Ankeny. Every year, our directors selects different songs for their students, and the students spend around six weeks practicing. My junior year solo was the hardest solo I’ve prepared, it challenged me in ways that I had not been prepared for.

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything” (Plato). If my childhood was filled with anything: it was imagination. From my earliest memories of my cousin, and I putting on a sold out concert on my papaw’s front porch; to putting my baby dolls to sleep with lullabies. Music has always been a big part of my life: it was the one thing I could always count on, no matter where I went; and that still stands true today.

“Politics can be strengthened by music, but music also has a potency that defies politics.” This quote by Nelson Mandela summarizes the relationship between music and politics, and how important and unique their connection is. “This relationship is important because music has the power to enforce and the power to challenge politics”. Music has this power because it contains the potential to influence individuals, which can result in political movements, and even cause cultural change. The influence of music genre, Rock ‘n’ Roll, has heavily impacted the culture and society of America in several different ways. One of the most influential effects Rock ‘n’ Roll music has on America is its power to unite and divide individuals during troublesome periods. The unison and division of American citizens has been displayed several times throughout history, but perhaps the most important is shown in the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.

Growing up I was consumed by an interesting assortment of music. Musical influences were thrown at me from all directions. Whether it was the rock and roll and punk rock music my dad listened to, or the country and pop music my mom listened to, my ears were always full of different arrays of music. Having my grandma blasting gospel music and my older sister jamming Disney, music became a very influential part of my childhood.

Most transformative moments in life can be caused by the smallest of occurrences in life. Often people do not even realize that a pivotal moment in their life is happening. Someone may realize when they are mature enough that there was one special moment during their childhood that ultimately determined their lifelong goal. For others, they probably realized an “aha” moment right when it happened and from then on decided that they knew what they want to accomplish later on. I actually have taken from both sides of the spectrum from realizing that one special transformative moment but also not even knowing that it would end up steering me towards my current career choice.