The Music I Listen To (And Some I Don'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 outside influences. In general, I listen to a lot of rock, alternative, and some jazz. Most recently though, I've been listening to Indie French music and yes, I am completely aware how pretentious that makes me sound. I stumbled upon this song by Stereolab, got it stuck in my head and then fell down a rabbit hole. 

A piece of music that is quite near and dear to my heart is a classical piece, the genre of music I spend most of my time playing. My Opa's (grandpa) favorite piece for the piano is Claire de Lune, so I learned it for his birthday when I was twelve. At the time, I wasn't really proficient enough to be playing it, but I worked really hard and then placed 3rd in a state competition a year later. Even though this piece really stretched me, it helped me grow as a pianist a significant amount. Playing this piece made me want to pursue music as a career. This is one of my favorite recordings played by Kissin, not just because his playing is very beautiful, but also because his hair is very entertaining. 

Some music I don't really connect with is the K-pop genre in general. I tried really hard to like it when some of my friends got into it, but all i can say is they are excellent performers and dancers, but I just don't enjoy the music. The singers are great, I'm not just a big fan of the songs themselves. This was the song that ended my stint of trying to like K-pop music. 

One last song! I am a firm believer that there's no better way to get to know someone than to know their music. (Hence, me trying to like K-pop music.) I always try to listen to some of my friends music to get to know them better. If I don't like it, I at least try to understand it to speak their language a little bit. One of my best friends recently passed away, and her favorite artist was Ricky Montgomery, so I thought I'd add a song by him.