"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Okay I've tried running a blog before and it failed miserably so here goes try #2.
A lot of people ask me how I got into music. So I decided to write a blog about it and also why I do music now.
Well, it all kind of started when I was a wee kid at around the age of five...I had a toy keyboard that I lugged around and my parents heard me play a song by ear. Thinking that I was musically gifted or something, they immediately put me into...piano lessons. :P
I also sang solos as a little kid at church but I actually quit singing for the longest time, ashamed of singing in public.
Of course at first, I hated playing classical music but after a while, it started becoming a lot of fun. I joined my elementary school string ensemble as a violinist and continued playing violin all the way until high school, where I played double bass (I know...drastic switch, remind me to tell you that story another time).
Along the way, I picked up a variety of instruments including cello, viola, guitar, synthesizers, flute, french horn, accordion, harmonica, drums, etc. etc. My musical style also changed - from a classical pianist, I became a full-fledged pop/rock artist.
A lot of people ask me how I got into music. So I decided to write a blog about it and also why I do music now.
Well, it all kind of started when I was a wee kid at around the age of five...I had a toy keyboard that I lugged around and my parents heard me play a song by ear. Thinking that I was musically gifted or something, they immediately put me into...piano lessons. :P
I also sang solos as a little kid at church but I actually quit singing for the longest time, ashamed of singing in public.
Of course at first, I hated playing classical music but after a while, it started becoming a lot of fun. I joined my elementary school string ensemble as a violinist and continued playing violin all the way until high school, where I played double bass (I know...drastic switch, remind me to tell you that story another time).
Along the way, I picked up a variety of instruments including cello, viola, guitar, synthesizers, flute, french horn, accordion, harmonica, drums, etc. etc. My musical style also changed - from a classical pianist, I became a full-fledged pop/rock artist.
But it wasn't until high school that I really started to sing again. After trying it out a couple of times and having people ask me to sing, I started to get more comfortable with it and enjoy it more.
So why do I still do music? I think the song is my "teacher", it's taught me how to live life and love; it's taught me how to be myself and no one else.
Yes, we live in a society that values practicality and at first, music may seem unnecessary as it has no utilitarian purpose. By writing a song, you can't plant a harvest or hunt animals or anything of that sort. Which is why today's budget cuts are slowly killing education in the arts while placing more importance on mathematics, science, and language. Yet, I'm a strong believer that the experience of human life is summed up into something more than an equation or a method.
Remember the first time that you fell in love? Or that day you got into that college? Or the night that your grandfather died? There's no number in the universe that can quantify those experiences. No, the most important moments in our life go way beyond the test tube or the math equation. In that same way, music is so special and cannot be quantified.
Of course, in life there are so much sound that blows in our ears. In life, we're all trying to find a way to belt out that special chorus of ours amidst the chaos. We're in the symphony of life and all of us are slowly listening for that riff, those melodious phrases, crescendos and decrescendos, harmonious hooks that bring meaning and soul into the dissonance and odd notes of our lives. All of us are the same - the composer, the scientist, the mathematician, you, and I. There's a melody written there in your blood, in your veins.
So why do I still do music? It's a physical representation of "me". What will you choose, the song or the silence? Will you raise your voice and sing with your head held up high or will you turn the other way? The symphony of life is all around us bursting with life, tension and resolution, dissonance and harmony. There's a musical education that goes far beyond the school. I know I'm not scared to sing my song so don't be afraid to sing yours! Raise your voice with me and enjoy the wonder of our lifesong until that final note rings.
Yes, we live in a society that values practicality and at first, music may seem unnecessary as it has no utilitarian purpose. By writing a song, you can't plant a harvest or hunt animals or anything of that sort. Which is why today's budget cuts are slowly killing education in the arts while placing more importance on mathematics, science, and language. Yet, I'm a strong believer that the experience of human life is summed up into something more than an equation or a method.
Remember the first time that you fell in love? Or that day you got into that college? Or the night that your grandfather died? There's no number in the universe that can quantify those experiences. No, the most important moments in our life go way beyond the test tube or the math equation. In that same way, music is so special and cannot be quantified.
Of course, in life there are so much sound that blows in our ears. In life, we're all trying to find a way to belt out that special chorus of ours amidst the chaos. We're in the symphony of life and all of us are slowly listening for that riff, those melodious phrases, crescendos and decrescendos, harmonious hooks that bring meaning and soul into the dissonance and odd notes of our lives. All of us are the same - the composer, the scientist, the mathematician, you, and I. There's a melody written there in your blood, in your veins.
So why do I still do music? It's a physical representation of "me". What will you choose, the song or the silence? Will you raise your voice and sing with your head held up high or will you turn the other way? The symphony of life is all around us bursting with life, tension and resolution, dissonance and harmony. There's a musical education that goes far beyond the school. I know I'm not scared to sing my song so don't be afraid to sing yours! Raise your voice with me and enjoy the wonder of our lifesong until that final note rings.