I’ve been surrounded by music ever since I was brought into
this world. I was enrolled in dance classes by the age of 3. Throughout the
years, I learned basics in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, various ballroom dances,
and even musical theater. I grew a love for this rhythm and balance I was
experiencing.
3rd grade was the very first time I ever learned
how to play an instrument. I learned how to play the viola and then cello a
year after. My mother thought I was a much better vocalist than a strings
player, so she enrolled me in our local church choir. I, surprisingly, ended up
loving that even more. During mass, I was able to read the hymnals and teach
myself basic concepts based on melodies and comparing songs.
Between middle school and high school, as good as I was, I
had to stand up to a lot of pop-style singing in choirs. Not that there’s anything
wrong with pop-style, whatsoever! I’m just more of a classical style because of
my church beginnings. I focused on my own sound and slowly learned how to
listen to a choir. And I mean L I S T E N. The blending of various voices
during a 3-part harmony is angelic and just send shivers that trickle down your
spine. It helped me focus on tuning notes if I felt flat or sharp within a
group (and that’s how I developed a great musician’s ear!).
Sight-reading and solfege became my best friends that always
went together. My choir director would go on to tell me I was one of the top
sight-readers in the class. This skill helped me join other choirs like Concert
Choir and Madrigal Singers. In college, I joined both the University Choir and Chamber
Singers.
As of now, I’m in hiatus. I have the need to get back out
there and perform again but it’s the matter of knowing where and how to start.
How did you start out as a musician? Write it out in the comments below!
