Musical Autobiography

Songbirds whistling melodies on the treetops. Windows misty with condensation. Car engines rumbling at a steady frequency; usual characteristics of a dreary September morning symphony. Around this time, an average elementary schooler would be cuddling under their blankets, chowing down on their morning cereal and listening the theme song of Curious George. Not for me, however, as I had to attend school early to have a chance at participating in the before-school band program. Little did I know, walking into that classroom was the most important decision of my life. Mr. Dunlop, at first, was an exceptionally mean and moody instructor. I was accustomed to teachers displaying content with my work and allowing me to drift towards a state of complacency. In my first day of band, however, Dunlop heavily criticized the musicality, or lack thereof, of my clarinet playing. Instead of growing dejected and quitting, he ignited a fire in my eyes, a fire that can only be

It is an artform, and art mimics and expands upon characteristics of reality. A song is comprised of individual notes, which are just simple representations of the frequency of air molecules moving throughout the air. They all play an equally important part in establishing a key and the chords that the key derives from. These chords determine the mood and direction of the piece in question, and thus art is born simply from manipulation of air. One can find parallels in almost every aspect of existence. This essay is comprised of words structured in a way to display my personality, which in turn is comprised of hundreds of billions of neurons firing in harmony. And these neurons are simple chemical reactions that work unconsciously to compose my conscious self. This realization that everything in the tangible and intangible realm originates from individual factors all stem from Dunlop pushing me to being committed to