Music Autobiography

As I entered into this world I never truly examined the purpose of music or the reason for its existence. According to the Oxford dictionary, music is a vocal or instrumental sound combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expressions of emotion. How amazing is that something so simple can be so magnificent that it can even affect us emotionally? As I reflect on the life of my own, I am beginning to realize that there is something special about music. What’s amazing about music is that its expressed differently to every single individual. Not everyone enjoys music the same way or has the same taste in the different genre of music. I am lucky to experience music in two different cultural environments where music is expressed
in many ways.
As I look back into my childhood, I can remember my first experience with music to be around the age of four. This was in the country of Guyana which is the only English speaking country in South America. In Guyana at the age of four, I was given a lot of freedom if I finished all my chores. My family owns a large portion of land where we had a large farm of different types of fruits and vegetables. We also had chicken, cows, goats and other animals around. Even at the age of four I still had my fair share of work on the field. When all my hard work was done, I used my privilege to meet up with my friends. We would frolic and play games till the sun set. One thing I remember was the custom made one of a kind drum set, it was a work of art. This drum set had shiny cans stacked all around a big old bucket. I remember it clearly because it was my first experience with music. We weren’t experts at playing the drums so we would just bash the cans and the buckets as hard as we could till we were drained of our energy. This was a very important part of my childhood because I was able to make incredible memories with my friends. At the age of five we migrated to the United States, luckily there were a lot of my family members there so I was able to still have an awesome childhood.
When I first arrived I was blown away, everything was completely different. It was so crowded and noisy, but very soon I realized that it wasn't noise at all, it was music all around. From the chatter of the tourists, to the buses stopping to pick up passengers, to even the sirens of the police cars and ambulances. I couldn't help but notice it all, it was such a pleasure and certainly an upgrade from my old makeshift drum set back in Guyana. If I had to pick my favorite type of music that I enjoyed ever since I got to the U.S, it would definitely be Soca. Soca is a type of music that is upbeat and makes you feel like you’re always at a party. Soca makes me happy as is always being played at every single family party I go to. While growing up in my neighborhood, Soca was always the best. When I hear a Soca song I can't help but sway to the beat.
On the other hand, I also have a lot of experience with Accapplla music. The reason being is that of my religion. I go to church every Sunday and sing various songs with the congregation (church members) in harmony with just our voice. I love singing together with everyone at church, but I am only decent at it. So yes, I know a little about music but I am not very knowledgeable about how it works or all the little strings attached to it, and maybe I'll never figure out the magic
of the beat but I know it will always be a big part of my life.