Commentary Opening Yourself Up to Music’s Astonishing Variety By Haley Chrisco (February 3, 2004)

I remember riding in our bright blue, Pontiac minivan with my mom and singing at the top of my lungs to Steve Perry, Sade, Sarah McLaughlin and many others. My mom would always play this game with us in which my brother and I would have to listen to the music and pick out an instrument and sing the tune the instrument played. I loved playing this game so much that I would look forward to going on the long trips to my grandma’s house just so we could listen to the music on the way there. As I would sit in the middle row, I would listen to my mom as she pretended to be a saxophone, and my brother would tap his feet to the same beat as the drum. This was such as amazing pastime, and it expanded my view on music. 

When I was in the fourth grade I started playing the violin. I had started playing right after my parents got divorced. I soon learned how great it felt to just play anything that I could. Although I had just started, it felt like such a relief every time I would play. I think that was the way that I coped with my parents’ divorce. I would just open up my music book and learn all I could about the notes. I kept playing the violin until I was in the eighth grade and then stopped. I really wish that I had kept with it; because it is just so amazing how playing an instrument can make you feel. 

Not only did I play the game with my mom and learned to play the violin, I also listened to classic rock. When I would go to visit my dad he would always have the radio on 97.5 KMOD. Whenever I was in the car I would really want to change it to a different station, a station that was playing N Sync or Backstreet Boys. My dad would constantly refuse and I would get angry. Even though I wouldn’t like to admit it, I did really like that music. I would catch myself humming along and singing some of the words. I couldn’t believe it, it wasn’t cool to listen to "old people music," as people in my grade liked to call it. 

I love to sing. Now, I will sing anything and everything. A lot of times I will just make up a beat in my head and hum to it, no words, just sounds. I’m hearing sounds all the time, and all of it sounds like music. Just a tapping of a finger, or someone walking down a hallway is music. I love just listening to anything. When it’s quiet I don’t feel right. If it’s ever quiet I’ll sing to myself, or drum something on my desk, or on whatever is near me. 

Nowadays, I really like to listen to classic rock which is my favorite. I used to only listen to rap, and then I realized that there are other kinds of music besides rap. I still like rap and pop, but not as much as rock. I love to listen to the instruments it requires to pull off all of the awesome sounds in a classic rock song. The guitar is such an amazing instrument. I would really like to be able to play the guitar but my fingers aren’t capable. So, instead I will just stick to singing. 

I haven’t had cable since this summer so I’ve been listening to the radio more than usual. Usually I listen to 99.5, which is a "POP" music station. I started realizing that they would always play the same songs over and over again. I decided to change the station, which was a new thing because I never really changed it before that. Did all the other stations that played different music all the time amaze me? I had never really appreciated the variety of music that is out there until this year. I’m sad that I’ve lost time, but from here on out I’m dedicated.

All of the soul and heart that goes into a classic rock song is so great. When these songs were produced, even if the band might have been on drugs, the talent they pulled off is excellent. The way that they put their notes together and how all of the instruments correspond in just the right time is so breathtaking. Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd are all my favorites. Some people might not think that I’m a "hard core" fan because those were the most popular bands at that time, but those are the ones that I know. I know many classic rock songs, but not all their artists. But who cares, if someone likes something let them, it doesn’t mean that you have to like it too. 

Music makes the world go around. Whether you notice it or not, everything makes noise. No matter what kind of noise it is, it’s music. There are patterns in music and many people might not believe it, but everything has a pattern to it. Now whether you like pop, rock, rap, or classical, it doesn’t matter. Different people think in different ways, some people might hear one thing and another person might hear something else. If you hear something and it gets you interested and makes you happy then that is what you like. More people need to open their minds and experience the wonderful ways of music, including types that they traditionally haven’t listened to. I know I have and it’s made me such a happier person.