Have you ever met a person who says they’re not that into music? Those are the kind of people I know I can form quick opinions about, because you simply can’t be any fun if you aren’t that enthused about the single greatest creation on this earth. If you’ve read anything else that I’ve written or know anything about me really, you know that music is my one true love. I spend all of my time thinking about, listening to, or playing music. I believe that music is the cure for almost anything, and it is certainly the key to life.
I think I’ve always been infatuated with music. My mom could, and happily would, tell you many stories of me singing loudly in the car, shower, and many other embarrassing public locations that suggest music has always been something that captured my attention. I started piano lessons when I was six, and something just clicked. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a fantastic pianist, but the foundations of my entire world began in the front parlor of my music teacher’s house every Wednesday at 4:30.
Joining middle school band was the next logical step in my journey, and it might have been the most impactful decision of my life. I know this is dramatic, but it didn’t feel like a decision at the time. It felt like something I was supposed to be doing, something I should have been doing all along, but simply hadn’t had the opportunity yet. I desperately wanted to play the saxophone, but I eventually settled on the trumpet because I was a miserable saxophone player. The trumpet felt like the opposite of my personality. Bold, brassy, and loud, it was a lot of things that I am decidedly not. It was fun, but not entirely me, so in high school I decided to give the French horn a shot.
The horn was really everything I wanted in an instrument. It has a beautiful tone, some amazing features in orchestral works, and most of all, it’s difficult, like really difficult. I’ve never been one to back away from a challenge, so I loved putting work into something that paid off in the form of beautiful music. This was the beginning of my understanding that music is the lens through which I see the world, and therefore my personal key to life.
Over time, I have come to realize that almost all of my close connections in life were made through talking about or playing music with people I love. At any given moment in time, there’s about a 90% chance that I would rather be listening to music, especially with people who love it as much as I do. Music taught me the value of community and gave me a space to grow that community into the amalgamation of ridiculously awesome people I am lucky to surround myself with today.
The other big lesson that music is teaching me over and over again is the value of believing in yourself. I am not a naturally confident person, but there is no way to exist in music without taking a risk. At some point in time, you are going to be wrong and probably do it loudly, but life moves on and time and time again you are reassured that the world will not end because of your mistake. You learn, you grow, and you move on because there are new, better mistakes to be made. That is where life and music overlap. You learn from everything you do and it all becomes a piece of something bigger. The work is never done because you are never done, but every once in a while you get to stop and realize how lucky you are to be part of the process at all.