Where Am I? Waking Up to Music In a Completely Different Place with Sophie (I don't have amnesia)

Whenever I ask someone to think of a song in the genre of bossa nova, without fail, each person will say "Girl From Ipanema".  This is no surprise, as it is the second most recorded song in history. Most people have heard Frank Sinatra's version, but it was also recorded by countless other artists, like Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and the list goes on. Originally written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinícus de Moraes, it became an international hit when it was featured on the Getz/Gilberto album. This album was unlike anything else of the time, and featured the new sound pioneered by João Gilberto: bossa nova. bossa nova, which literally means "new sound" or "new wave" was born in the clubs of Rio de Janeiro and emerged in the late 1950s.  It is one of the many children of samba, an Afro-Brazilian style of music that characterized by its highly syncopated rhythms, isometric melodies, and falling contour. This music and its accompanying dance style b...

Some Things You Should Know I chose to interview my mom! Her name is Keri Knecht Grosso. She got her bachelor's degree in piano performance here at Converse University back when it was still an all-women's college. She is truly a wonderful musician and probably the biggest (and my favorite) musical influence in my life. Now, she runs her own private and group lesson company called Grosso Music & Fine Arts.  Me: Did you ever take music classes or lessons? Mom: Actually, I just miraculously woke up one morning and could play. It was all right there in my head. I had perfect technique and everything. Me: No, but actually.  Mom: I started banging around on the piano when I was younger when Kurt (older brother) was taking lessons. But my mom said that I wasn't allowed to start taking lessons until the third grade. Then, I broke my arm in the second grade and they were like, "Good, that'll slow her down for a while". But I still played with my cast, so my mom fi...

The term "punk rock" usually conjures a particular image in people's head. The first thing that comes to my head is the Ramones. Then afterwards any leather-wearing, angry teenagers with crazy hair and piercings. The music is loud, angry, and characteristically reductive in terms of rock. Everything is cut down: simple chord progressions with no real soloing guitar, complex drum parts, and a simple bass line. The songs are fast-paced, lyrically focused and almost always incredibly short.  There's much arguing about what exactly defines this sub-genre of rock came from and who created it, but the sound originally came about in the late 1960s, a time of much political movements and social unrest. Many bands, later referred to as "proto-punk" bands, like the Velvet Underground, MC5, and the New York Dolls were making music very unlike the other rock of this period.  The shouting at the beginning of this live version of "Ramblin Rose" is a good example...

I must confess, I didn't really think about the role gender plays in music when I was younger because I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I'm primarily a classical pianist, so when I was growing up the important part was my playing, not that I was a girl. The first time I was ever concerned about the role of gender in music was after I started playing the drums.  I picked them up because I was filling in for a band that was missing a drummer, just like I've done with many other instruments. Suddenly, though, the thing that most people felt inclined to talk about was that I was a girl. It really annoyed me, because I didn't think that was very important. On one particular occasion, I had a man say, "You're a female drummer?! I've never met one in real life before," something that sounds alarmingly like someone would say after seeing a unicorn. And though it might be nice to be a unicorn, I can imagine they, like most female drummers, are tired...

Growing up in a family of musicians my whole life has exposed me to a great number of rituals that involve or center around music. I've turned pages at funerals, sung at weddings, played for church services, and acted as a personal roadie (which I like to count as weight training). By far though, my favorite musical traditions and rituals are the personal rituals of a family of musicians.  Gatherings in my family are always centered around music and food. Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are great because a lot of times they end up just turning into jam sessions. Music is a family affair, and sometimes referred to by my cousins as the "Fam Jam Band". There's always a piano involved, although who's playing depends on whoever can get to it first. But between my cousins and myself, we get a number of instruments involved: Guitar (electric or acoustic), bass, drums, trumpet, the harmonica, and (my personal favorite) the kazoo are just a couple of instruments t...

  Hello all! My name is Sophie and I'm a freshman majoring in piano performance major at Converse. I grew up in Florida in the Tampa area and have lived there pretty much my whole life. The Tampa area pretty much has two seasons: hot season and hurricane season. (We also have about two cold fronts a year but i've been told that doesn't count as a winter.) So, it's been nice to get to see the foliage after moving to Spartanburg.  I actually don't remember when I first started to play the piano because it was so long ago, but I like to say the official age was four. Both my parents are musicians, so music has always been a huge part of my life and a part of my family's life. One of the reasons I ended up here at Converse was because my mom graduated from here with a bachelor's in piano performance.     I listen to a pretty wide variety of music; what I listen to really depends on my mood. I inherited my parents taste in music, but I've also had many outsid...