Preview

Personal Narrative: When Words Fail, Music Speak

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1051 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Personal Narrative: When Words Fail, Music Speak
When Words Fail, Music Speaks
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. -Maya Angelou.
During my 6th grade year, I sparked an interest in the music world. I had attended a football game in which my brother played. It was my first time being at one of these games so when halftime was announced, I did not know what to expect. The band took their place on the field and started to play piece after piece. I was fascinated with how one stuck to a certain instrument and played it with ease. After the final song, they received a round of applause and headed back towards the stand. Throughout the rest of the game I was no longer to focus on the game that was taken place before me. I was intrigued
…show more content…
I wanted to be like all my other friends and play the clarinet, but instead I was chosen to play the flute. I did not understand at first why Mr. Peirce wanted me to play the flute, I thought it was complicated and would be difficult to function. We started by fingering and playing one note at a time repeatedly until each note was well played. Next, we started playing notes together to make sure we knew how to go from one to the other smoothly. Lastly, we learned scales, also known as playing the letters of the staff up then down. Soon after having these lessons of learning how to finger the notes and how to correctly blow in my mouth piece, I realized it was much easier then it looked. After a year, I was moved into the high school band. There were a small number of flutes, so we had to play very loud. We started by learning small songs. By playing a new song every day, I started to memorize the keys which made playing much easier. As the months passed Mr. Peirce placed a music piece in front of us known as “Bella’s Lullaby”. I was then ecstatic! Bella’s Lullaby was the piece played in one of my favorite movies, Twilight. It took us weeks to learn and another to perfect. After learning the piece I finally knew what it felt like to hear music speak. The piece was full of emotion including a lot of crescendo and decrescendo. Meanwhile, after finishing the song, Mr. Peirce thought that it should be played amongst an audience. We were to invite all our family and friends to what we called a concert. After playing the piece, along with other small pieces that we learned, we were given a round of applause. That night, Mr. Peirce awarded me with the “Most Improved

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    My Musical Identity

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Music, in all its complexity can be seen as a living, breathing mechanism that has the ability to sink deep down into one’s soul and create feelings of awe, excitement and wonder. Music speaks to and connects people of all cultures, backgrounds and ideologies, creating a common bond between various members of the human species. When listening to a beautifully composed piece of music, I myself cannot help but feel connected to the instruments, the artists and the composer. It has been my experience that music not only helps me learn, but also helps me grow.…

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rachmaninoff stated, “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” Essential to all nationalities, generations, and people, music can make your soul soar, put you to sleep, or bring you to your knees in tears. All din and clamor goes silent. Every eye is riveted on the conductor. The baton lifts. Suddenly, in a myriad of melodies, harmonies, timbre, and texture, a whole new realm is unraveled. The extraordinary feeling of unwinding and renewing your mind by listening to the flow of music is inexpressible. Nothing compares.…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Learning piano was like learning a new language. It allowed me to communicate with others in a different, more expressive way. When I play piano, I am immersed in a different world where my creativity shines through. For the past ten years, I have continued my piano lessons and performed at many recitals and concerts. I have earned many accomplishments, including a gold cup and five consecutive Superior ratings from performances. Music has given me opportunities to let go and be myself. It has shaped me into an ambitious person, willing to try new things with an open mind. Piano has become so essential in my life and has helped me flourish from a shy girl into a confident young…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From my early childhood, all the way until now and I am sure to the future and beyond I have been fascinated by music. I have loved to listening to, playing, singing, and writing music as well. I can vividly remember when I was very young in our family room we had a stereo and my family and I would dance and play along to music. I specifically remember The Beatles and The Eagles. I had a small plastic snare drum that I use to use until sadly I stepped on it. Both of my Uncles played music and were in a band themselves. My Uncle Ed was a drummer and my Uncle Ronnie was a guitarist and a singer. I remember going to concerts for their band a t a young age as well.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Walking into the band room for the first time, the sound of every instrument being poorly played by fourth graders suffocated the room. The squeal of saxophones and blaring bass of tubas made it impossible to hear the instructions being given by the band director. However, none of that mattered to me. All I could do was to stare at the only thing in the room that was able to grasp my attention: a shiny, red drum set. I migrated to the back corner of the room where it sat unoccupied, took my place on the stool, picked up some sticks, and immediately felt at home. At that moment, it was clear to me that playing music was what I was meant to do.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Personal Narrative: Piano

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I have played piano and violin since I can remember. It could be that I have a bad memory, that I didn't do anything until I was in second grade, or that making music was not something I wanted to do and couldn't.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My love for music began in middle school. At that time, I was socially awkward with very few friends. To compensate, I buried myself in music. My dedication led to many honors and admiration from my peers. However, when I got to high school, my relationship with music fundamentally changed. The arrival of an overly demanding teacher coupled with a long episode of depression robbed me of my passion to play. As time progressed, the pain I felt became too much to bear, and I became desperate for an outlet in which I could express myself positively. My quest led me to music once more, but classical was no longer the genre of choice. It was in hip hop and rap music that I found the will to overcome mental illness.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ten minutes is all they get. Ten minutes of nearly constant simultaneous movement and playing; along with being aware of each step and how it's taken, where is taken, and how big it is taken. Awareness of positioning, posture, drum major, spacing, tempo, guiding, and each other. In ten minutes everyone in the stand will see what people spent hours going over; running and rerunning it again. If someone second guesses, messes up, goes out of tune or steps wrong, they don’t get another quarter or another inning to redeem themselves. All they have are those ten minutes from when they are called to attention to when they march off the field.…

    • 1770 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato once said, “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.” My passion for music began at a young age. Hearing Chopin’s Ballade no.1 in G-minor was life changing to me. Whereas this may seem cliché, the unique textures, rhythms, and chord structure kept me on my toes. Because of that one experience, I took an interest in music. At the time, I insisted greatly on playing the piano. Unfortunately, we weren’t fortunate enough to pay for lessons or to even purchase a piano. In result, I chose to play clarinet. During my sixth grade year, I practiced vigorously to earn the spot of being first chair. Throughout my sixth and seventh grade years, my band class would have chair tests to see who was the most…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I chose this picture of me playing trumpet because it reflects upon my most primordial activity, music. By any means I am not the best at playing the trumpet, but I find it to be one of my more enjoyable hobbies. I listen to music constantly, whether I'm studying for a test, reading a book, hanging out with friends, I'm usually always indulged in some sort of music(mostly classical music). Music to me is like an adventure, travelling through a variety of emotions the composer lays out ahead of you. I am so grateful for music, without music I don't know what I would do with…

    • 107 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Music has played a significant role in my life from the time I was born. First, my name came from a very popular singer/song writer Melissa Manchester that my mother really loved. I remember growing up she used to sign and dance to her music one of her favorite song was “Shine like you should”.my mom still listens to her music today. I remember always listening to older music that seemed to have a lot of sole growing up such as Air Supply, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and even Marvin Gaye. I have always listen to music when I am happy and just want to groove or even when I am feeling sad and need to listen to a song that I can relate to for feelings…

    • 1276 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Musical Autobiography

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I come from a family with a rich background in music. I don’t know a single family member that can’t play at least one instrument or doesn’t know how to read a piece of sheet music. When I was very young my mother would play music for me and sing to me. My father would also play the drums very loudly so the entire neighborhood could hear. Due to the fact that I was brought up around so much talent and music appreciation, naturally I decided that I wanted music to be a large part in my life forever and I want to be able to share it with the world. When I was in elementary school I decided to join the choir. This was a big moment for me because music was what made me want to get up and live my life, it was always something to look forward to.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Credibility Statement: As an average college student who has trouble focusing on just about everything, I have not only conducted personal music studies, but further researched the effects of music in the daily grind of students and people alike.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    |alkesh dinesh mody institute for financial and management studies , mumbai university Santacruz (e)-98 |…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Interest in Music

    • 774 Words
    • 23 Pages

    My interest in music was well established at the age of 11 when I started to learn Harp. It all started one day during the music lesson in school, that I was impressed by this magnificent instrument and its reverberating, angelical sound. So I moved to first learn of the basic techniques and consequently deepen my study into the history and theory of Music, and afterwards joining a Harp Ensemble wanting to gain more experience playing the instrument. Since then, I got more opportunities to perform in front of an audience and motivating myself to continue to learn the techniques use to play harp. Among my most meaningful performances, I think the ‘Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation Little Heroes Sharing The Love Concert’ has been the most worthy one because this concert in particular had the objective of raising funds to provide medical help to poor people in Africa, that cannot afford medications. In this occasion I felt the matter was not just about playing in concert but through the power of music I got to instrumentally help a cause. Besides that, at the age of 14, I began to learn the piano, and since strengthen my techniques at stroking the cords, the fluency of movement in my fingers and the expression I conveyed in the piece. The biggest challenge that I had to overcome was the fact that I was often compared to other students that were younger than me and more skilled than I was because of having learned the instrument at a younger age. Even so, I did not let this factor take me down or my passion for music because everyone has a different way to interpret a melody. I must say that practicing consistently everyday has been my winning card when I reached to further improve my technique. I did not let criticism get to my nerve but instead I empowered myself in front of my competitors and I think I have achieved a better perspective about music and how to use it. In three occasions, I was asked to compose three songs using the program Sibelius, which…

    • 774 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Good Essays