The Interview with a Groove

 

Believe it or not, we are all musical talents in our own art. This begins from the very first whistle we make as a child to the first song that we sing out loud from our favorite musical artists. We all may be musical enthusiasts, but our musical journey is what defines us and makes us unique. Everyone has a different journey in what music they listen to and what genre of music they listen to. We will focus on my friend who will go by the name of John, and his musical journey.

John’s cultural background is of a Chinese and Asian heritage. John is 18 years old and I interviewed him about his musical journey. The interview was conducted online using Discord, a chatting app on our desktops. Unfortunately, we didn’t have webcams but knowing John as well as I do, he was probably wearing a hoodie because he likes that style and he also wears glasses.  I asked him what the first genre of music he listened to was and he replied “Hip-hop”. I asked John who his favorite artist was and why. He said “I don’t have a favorite artist that is currently alive, but my favorite musical composer is J.S Bach who is from the 17th or 18th Century. This may be typical, but his music demonstrates the use of polyphony (the combination of two or more melodies at once). He is like a founder and father of classical music.” When I asked John this question, I was amazed because I did not expect this answer and he taught me what polyphony is and demonstrated it with his piano. The typical answer I was expecting as a response from this question was something like “I like the artist and his music because it is different and unique and interesting for me” or something like that. I asked John if he was more interested in listening to other people’s music or creating his own and he said he prefers making his own music. I followed that question up by asking him how his journey of creating his own music began. He said “I started off with a free version of FL studio production. At first I didn’t know anything about music theory or nothing and I randomly placed notes until it sounded good”. I then asked Did your cultural background influence your taste in music in any shape, way or form? John replied “No – Not into cultural music it was kind of forced down my throat and I didn’t like it”. I then asked Do you feel that the genre of music that you listen to has the recognition that it deserves. John replied, “No because classical music is very looked down upon by the mainstream media, such as America’s Got Talent where classical music is seen as boring and there is some bias towards it”. The last question I asked John was If you could go back in time to change one thing about your music taste growing up, what would you change if you were to change anything? John replied “I had the perception that music was culture and I was stuck and forced into that one. I would tell myself that there are lots of different genres of music and to start practicing piano”.

John and I have some similarities in our music journey. Growing up, I too had the perception that music and culture were coexisting. If we ever walked around the neighborhood, we were able to identify individuals by their music. If there was Guyanese music then they were Guyanese, if they played Spanish music then they were spanish. However, I eventually grew up and was exposed to different genres of music and realized that any kind of music can be liked by anyone. John and I are also similar because we both like to create music. My journey into creating music began around 8th grade when I got into rap music. I was listening to an artist named Logic and his songs Ballin and Flexicution, which gave me a new take on rap because I did not like mainstream rap or music besides Eminem. Fast forward to freshmen year of Highschool, all my friends from my middle school had a different lunch period than me so I didn’t know anyone. I met a friend in my health class named Christian and we had the same lunch period so I sat at his table, which was filled with all freshmen who didn’t know each other. In order to pass time, we would play with cards and start making raps that sounded very absurd but was a ton of fun. I picked up this hobby after that year as creating rhyming verses for me is fun.

John and my musical journey are different as well. From what John told me, he was mainly interested in classical music and he rejected the music that came from his cultural background. I on the other hand am interested in multiple genres of music. This includes rock, heavy metal, pop, rap, Electronic, Punjabi and a few others. Music wasn’t forced onto me like John, but I gradually got hooked into music that came from India the more that I associated with people who were from my background. Music has also enhanced my knowledge of the culture and language that my parents taught me. Also, in the last question I asked John if there was anything that he would change from his childhood in terms of his musical journey and he said he would. Personally, I wouldn’t change a thing about my childhood in terms of music because the ability for me to enjoy different types of music allows for me to relate to many different individuals and types of people and it shaped who I was growing up.

In conclusion, cultural background can have a substantial role in one’s taste in music. John felt that his cultural music was being forced onto him, which is why he rejected it. On the other hand, music from my cultural background enhanced my ability to understand my language better and see what environment my parents came from. Cultural background does have some role to play in one’s taste in music, but it is not the only factor. As individuals age, they are exposed to different people of different backgrounds and are exposed to different genres of music, which can influence what they listen to. Nonetheless, everyone has a musical journey that is different from everybody and that makes them unique.