Education: The Power of Finding Your Music
Author: Audrey Kong | Category: Unkown category | Date: 01-31-2021
I am someone who listens to music at any chance that I get, whether it could during work time in my classes, homework time, during dinner, or even before I go to bed. Music has always had a large impact on my life as my whole family is very musical. I grew up dancing with my sisters while listening to musicals such as Mamma Mia, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and many more. Other than musicals, I would just listen to songs on the radio and I had never really established my own taste of music. It wasn’t until the 7th grade where I found the genre I really enjoyed listening to: K-pop.
When people think of K-pop, they generalize it as BTS or Blackpink, but there is a whole world of Korean music and that is what really got me into it. One of my favorite things to do is to venture into new artists, typically ones that are not big names, also known as underground K-artists. I enjoy finding new artists because they each have their own unique style, whether it could be their voice, their composing, or their overall feel. Like in Aaron Copeland’s, “How We Listen”, he talks about three different planes of listening to music: sensuous, expressive, and sheerly musical. I would say that I use all three planes when I listen to these new artists. When listening to a new song, I first check if the introduction sounds good. This is the most important because if a song has a bad introduction, then it makes the rest of the song bad. Then I check if it just gives me the feels, whether it could be sad, mellow, happy, or sometimes no feelings at all. For those songs that do not give me any feeling, I usually add it to a studying playlist because it helps me focus. Lastly, I listen for some good harmonies, runs, and for ballads, I check for the emotion in their voices and if just the pure talent of their voices. One of my favorite artists are the ones with soulful tones. It makes me so happy just thinking about it.
I believe that everyone may not be so technical when it comes to listening to music because they just have not been exposed to a wide variety of genres. Many choose to just listen to what track is trending that day or they even choose not to listen to music. I respect those who choose not to explore, but I think that music can change people’s lives and it is important for us to inform those who need it the most.
About: Audrey Kong
