Musical Influence

I've grown up with a tentative connection to music but since I reached 6th grade in elementary school I've been interested. I know this because I started playing violin for half of a semester instead of my physical education class. This stopped as soon I reached reached middle school (7th grade) when I started band as a percussionist. This continued until I graduated high school from Poteet High School. Through band I've been introduced to many different types of music. Below is an embed of our show that earned us the title of winners of the 2005 U.I.L. 4A Texas state marching contest. A higher quality video can be seen from the official band website, here.

Percussion allowed me to play a large handful of instruments ranging from timpani to marimbas to snare drums to an assortment of obscure instruments. During marching season I primarily marched with cymbals but I was lucky enough my freshman year to be on the sidelines with something we call "the rack" which includes a wide variety of instruments that provided a large collection of timbre which presented not only a musical challenge but a logistical because we had a large amount of different sticks, mallets and instruments that me and one other person had to shuffle around throughout our 7 minute performance. You would not believe how hard it was to do a thumb roll on a tambourine with a crescendo while being drenched with rain. If you watched this close up it truly was an art.

In addition to the marching band culture, band also gave me a view of more classical music during concert season which required a U.I.L. solo, ensemble, and countless full band performances and contests every year. Furthermore, being part of the percussion also allowed me to be a part of our annual percussion ensemble concert which was very challenging, rewarding and fun. Below is a performance of "Karn Evil 9." This is a good example of the types of performances that our percussion took on.

In regard to my more personal taste in music, I have learned toward a more alternative rock style which focus on an interesting story, but I'm not usually an active listener to music, which is something that I think I should change. I did have to actively listen during my time in high school but since that time I haven't used that skill hardly as much as I would like.