My Musical Culture

Hey everybody! I'm Julie. I am currently a music ed major. My primary instrument is French Horn, which I have been playing for almost 8 years. I had my heart set on horn since the age of 5 when I saw it on an episode of Barney.  While most of my energy goes into the horn, I am also learning piano, guitar, and ukulele.

I've lived in Spartanburg my whole life and only really traveled for high school band. The furthest we went was to Grand Nats in Indianapolis. I have three 16 year old sisters (triplets) that like to drive me crazy, and a mom who is my best friend.

Music has been a part of me since I was in the womb. My mom has always played music, sung to me, and danced around with me. She introduced me to classic rock, disco, and a lot of other genres. Then when I started elementary school, I had the absolute best music teacher in the entire world, Mrs. Bagwell. She encouraged me to do choir and violin while I was there, and it was a blast. My mom gave me a love for music, and my teacher inspired me to pursue it as a career. Mrs. Bagwell passed away a couple of years ago, but I recently found out that she graduated from Converse with both her bachelors and masters degrees in music ed. I decided to take this as a sign that I am in the right place. I look forward to teaching young kids in the future, providing them with a creative outlet and passing on the love for music that I was blessed with.

It is a little bit difficult to pinpoint the most crucial parts of my own musical culture. I am always listening to new music and finding different artists. If I was writing this a week ago or a week from now, the following selections would probably be vastly different. But here goes...

1. My current music consists of mostly rock and psychedelic rock. I just absolutely love the sounds of the 60's and 70's. I have since I was little but recently I have been rediscovering the music my mom raised me on. Now as a young adult I'm better able to connect with the emotions and experiences behind the lyrics. One song I have gained a new appreciation for is Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas. I recently really payed attention to the lyrics and after some quick research I learned that the song is a parallel between Kerry Livgren's musical career and his spiritual journey. In the song he is encouraging himself to keep searching- he'll find what he is looking for. This is something that resonates with me, as I've recently been on a sort of self discovery journey. That being said this could totally fall under music that is deeply personal. The catch is that all of my music is deeply personal. If I can't connect to it in some way, then I'm probably not going to listen to it.

I also recently discovered one of my now favorite artists. Donovan is a singer songwriter who was very prominent in the 60's. His music is a blend of folk and psychedelic rock, and most of his music is positive and light-hearted. For example, I Love My Shirt is a song solely about appreciating his wardrobe. These days there is so much negativity, that listening to Donovan is like a breath of fresh air for me. I've been getting plenty of fresh air because he was my 2nd most played artist on Spotify Wrapped last month. His stage presence also makes me really happy. Watching a funky (now aged) hippie man sitting cross legged on a stage, grooving with his guitar is fail-proof for putting a smile on my face. He's just so happy to be doing what he is doing. He isn't in it for money, or fame, or women (he has been married since 1970 and it is the cutest story). Although I love all of his songs, Sunshine Superman is the one I have been playing the most recently. 

2. The first example of music that is deeply important to me is that of Conan Gray. After finding him on Instagram, I went down a rabbit hole on YouTube listening to his back story and the way he got into music. He very quickly became a comfort artist. There are certain aspects of his journey that I relate to and I enjoy the way he turns big emotions and turns them into catchy stupid pop songs (his words). His lyrics are pretty surface level, but I think that sometimes you need complex lyrics, and sometimes you need watered down pop music that you can scream in the car and just let it all out. His music is extremely cathartic for me. He has this really fun, energetic stage presence and I love listening to him talk in interviews. He takes inspiration from Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift. One of his latest singles, Astronomy is about his best friend and the fear of them drifting apart someday. It is currently my favorite and it's been hitting especially close to home lately.

Another example of music that is deeply important to me is Nina Simone. She grew up in Tryon, NC which is just a short drive from where I grew up. She started playing piano from a very young age. I love her music and I love her as a person and activist. This is why I couldn't wait to drive up to Tyron with my best friend one weekend to see her childhood home. You can't go into the house or anything, but it is a protected landmark. Just standing in the front yard and knowing that so many years prior a young Eunice was playing in this same spot is a remarkable feeling. She also holds a special place because we actually ended up stuck at her house for several hours. In trying to do a 3 point turn when we were leaving, a back tire of the jeep went off the road and got stuck and we had to wait for someone to come rescue us. While slightly embarrassing and inconvenient, it did give us the chance to really sit and appreciate the house.This is her cover of Leonard Cohen's song Suzanne. It's an all time favorite.

3. I can groove with just about any genre of music and any artist, but there are certain specific limitations. Rap music past the 90's is a no from me. I respect the origins of the genre and I like older stuff, but the current scene is just not my jam. Think that Pete Davidson and Timothee Chalamet SNL skit. It could just be one too many interactions with wannabe rappers at my high school. The other side of this is a lot of modern pop artists, especially ones that fall similar to Ariana Grande. Aside from maybe two of her songs, I just can't listen to her the way a lot of my friends do. Part of it is that I have trouble listening to music I can't sing along to, which means I listen mostly to male singers that fall in my vocal range. Another part of it is subject matter. To put it in pg terms, I prefer lyrics that are more emotional to physical. I think this reflects in my choices above. Finding an example of rap was difficult but this popped up on Spotify- no offense to anybody who enjoys this.

4. Of course what would this post be without a little taste of classical music? Of course I listen to classical music, but more in my studies than my free time. I present to you one of my favorites in this genre. Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. I have always been inclined towards the romantic period, especially Tchaikovsky's works. The horn in this piece is *chef's kiss*. The horn solo is one of the first I worked on in high school, just for the fun of it. It is in the second movement, soon after the 16:30 mark. Another one of my favorite classical works is Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. We played it in my high school wind ensemble when I was a senior and it just makes my ears happy. Sometimes there is no deeper connection to be had than that, and that's fine. I have recently learned that something doesn't have to be extremely personal to be enjoyable. Things also don't have to be the best out there or even "good" for you to like them. If it makes you happy, then it is completely valid.