I grew up listening to folk and folk rock because it was the music that my parents listened to. It’s fitting actually as folk is traditionally defined as music that has been transmitted orally with sometimes unknown artists. Folk and folk rock has evolved since then of course as there are many folk artists and bands that are classified as being a part of a ‘folk revival”. I have come to appreciate all versions of folk through a growth in a love for the instruments and the sound that comes from folk. The guitar and mandolin were very present instruments in my household, so often, my brothers would play the music we knew so well. The first group I had a real love for was the Avett Brothers. The simple strums that develop into full blown rock outs were always the perfect road trip remedy. My parents often played Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Peter, Paul, and Mary. I quickly came to love and become familiar with their tunes and would be surprised when those songs came on as I got older and I found that I knew nearly every word. I absolutely knew every word to nearly every Lumineers, and Mumford and Sons song as I got older and began to develop my own taste in this genre. My point in this entry is not to spill all of my family’s music interest and monologue about random artists that maybe have no meaning to anyone who reads this. I simply have realized that I have a particular taste in music, and I have found that this music is what I turn to when I need comfort. There is a trend in the way that I approach new artists, and I know where that love comes from. If you haven’t backtracked your music interests, I would encourage a look down memory lane. It can be fun to see where you have come from with the music you love. It can be interesting when you compare your taste to others and find that you have commonalities or complete differences. We all started listening to music somewhere. I started with folk.
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Growing up, I listened to whatever my brothers listened to and more commonly than not, that music was sung by predominately tenor or bass voices. Because of this, I often would sing in a very similar register to these artists as I would copy the way that they sang. This started to change a bit as I got more into musicals and grew into my middle school years with pop Sopranos and Altos. This introduced my voice to a new register and a different range of exploration for my voice. The downside was that these singers almost always ended their pieces with some out of this world belt that I would attempt to imitate by scream singing in my basement. It really wasn’t until I got into choir in high school that my individual voice has individual abilities and ranges. With this knowledge I have discovered artists that I feel I can reasonably learn from without straining and damaging my voice. A few years ago, I went to a concert for the band “Wild Child.” Not only was I impressed by the impressive array of instruments used in each and every song, I was blown away by lead singer Kelsey Wilson. The thing that made this band so special for me was how care free and in love with their music they were. Kelsey had an impressive and casual range that mainly resonated in a lower alto range, but in powerful moments would resonate in the higher soprano range. The thing that has impacted me most about this band and Kelsey in particular isn’t the precise skill and wild belts that I had previously experienced. It was the power behind the emotion in their music. And the thing that is most cool about this emotion is it isn’t limited to the heart wrenching ballad music that is usually deemed “emotion filled”. It is all of their music. Including the somewhat goofy and upbeat music. I have learned what it means to find meaning in every piece I am singing through that opportunity to see this group live. There was meaning making in every. Single. Piece. This is something that I hope to give any audience when singing in a choir. Even if you don’t know the words or recognize the language, it is possible to still feel everything the signer is conveying and giving. I believe that is the raw power of music. -Grace |
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