My Musical History

Way back in the old school days, I used to play violin and flute. I began playing violin in 4th grade. I LOVED it! I always wanted to play a string instrument. I used to listen to Vanessa Mae, a talented violinist, who was known for playing the electric violin. I remember I was the first person in my class to be able to read sheet music without numbering the fingering of the individual notes. I was constantly duking it out with another girl who shall remain unnamed for the coveted 1st chair position. However, I always felt I was unfairly awarded the 2nd chair spot simply because the 1st chair had two older sisters who were previous students in my director's orchestra. No worries. In 6th grade, students had the option of joining band. I thought woodwinds were the prettiest sounding instruments so I picked flute. My older cousin also used to play flute so it seemed like an easy pick for me. I quit orchestra in 9th grade because our marching band, which I was a part of, was picked to go to peform in the Rose Bowl Parade to celebrate the millennium. I was so caught up in playing flute that I did not see the significance of being in orchestra anymore. By senior year, my flute and I parted our own separate ways. I felt that our symphonic band no longer possessed the same lustre it used to have several years ago. After the Rose Bowl, our program seemed to go downhill. Perhaps it was because I was a freshman when I went, but it never seemed like we could outdo the Rose Bowl experience or perform at the same caliber as we did back then.

Nowadays, my musical entertainment comes from bands I listen to for pure enjoyment. One of my favorite CDs of all time is "Give Up" by The Postal Service. The CDs I purchased (I bought them at the same time) was "Highway 61" and "The Time's a Changin'" by Bob Dylan. If it weren't for taking Soc 102 with Steve Sherwood in my sophomore year, I never would've been exposed to this type of 60's folk music. My favorite CD at the moment, however, is "Light Grenades" by Incubus. They are truly one of my favorite bands of all time. Their last CD "A Crow Left of the Murder" was fairly blah but this one has really made me nostalgic for old Incubus.

I actually have been interning in the interactive entertainment (video games) industry for the past year. I work specifically on the production side. Although I have not worked much with sound and music, I think it's interesting to take into consideration the genres and different song tracks that will be implemented into a video game. In my opinion, music is such a powerful player in the interactive experience. Choosing the right score or song can make a significant difference. I think it's also cool how we are seeing more music-inspired games out on the market such as Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution.

I am interested in taking ethno 5 because I want to expand my music knowledge repertoire. Initially, I did it for work-related reasons. I wanted to get a feel for different regions of music because I felt it could lend a more global perspective when I am playing through a video game. I potentially have the power to change the music that may be put into the game, so it only made sense to expand my music saaviness.