Category: music

Playing an Instrument

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I’ve never really been one of those people who has an emotional connection to music. I’ve played so many instruments that I could be a one woman band, but never did I actually feel a strong connection to playing.

I started out with the piano, “the base of all music” said my parents. I played and performed in recitals for years, hating every single moment of it. I remember the lessons seemed to drag on forever and ever, making a one hour lesson seem like a decade. My piano teacher,  an older lady with no sense of humor or compassion for children, was also conveniently my next door neighbor; making it impossible to miss a lessons. Finally after a few years of sitting through endless lessons and playing out of key notes, I was allowed to stop play.

That freedom only lasted for a little bit. The next year I was forced to pick another instrument. This time not forced by my parents, but by my school.Every fifth grader in the public school system had to pick and instrument and either join the orchestra or the band. Of course I chose one of the largest/most awkward/ hardest to transport instruments. I chose the cello.

I played the cello for four years. I took private lessons, played in the school orchestra and played in 2 other out side orchestras. You could say I was a band nerd. I am one of the many that can actually say, ” that one summer at band camp…”.

Its been four years since I’ve played, and for some odd and unexplainable reason, I kind of miss it. I’m not really sure why because  used to fight my mom every single day about practicing and I used to dread going to rehearsals or lessons.

I think I miss it because it resembles my childhood. A time where things were so much simpler, a time where the only thing I had to worry about was making sure that my Halloween costume was cool enough, a time where I wasn’t being forced to make decisions that were going to impact my future.

Hello Adele

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This week Adele was a Phoenix.

photo credit: gettyimages.com

She came up from the ashes and built herself up again.

In 2012, Adele left the world of music and took an almost 4 year hiatus to focus on herself.

She took time to have her stranded voice rebuild and for her to build a family.

This week she has brought her name back into the tabloids, by revealing that she is going to release a new album, named “25” and she released a single from that same album called “Hello.”

The music video for “Hello” already has 11 million views and counting in the first day.

photo credit: rollingstone.com

I was walking by a group of people talking about Adele’s all-mighty comeback and they said something that struck me, “I thought that she was going to be skinny when she finally came back.”

Adele is amazingly talented and even though she isn’t the media’s picture of beauty doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t be celebrated

So take a listen to “Hello,” and you will hear how she has perfectly encompassed the emotions that so many of us have experience.

Boys with Attitude

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Photo Credit: http://www.ptable.com/Images/periodic%20table.png

Mr. Killeen assigned a project to his chemistry students to research an element of their choice, but there was also extra credit involved.

This extra credit was to create a periodic table song and play it for the class. One song definitely got my attention. That memorable song was from Liam, Kase, and Jacob’s LIVE performance.

Unlike the other songs – it was not edited, auto-tuned, and more on a laptop, but nevertheless, a performance.

When asked their group name before they went “on stage” their reply was: “White Boys with Attitude.”

The boys did a spoof of “Straight Outta Compton”, but instead of a rap, the boys were just shouting different elements on the periodic table. 

Kase, one of the group members, also dressed for the part in a hat, 3-D movie theater sunglasses, and a microphone.

“Straight Outta Carbon” was hit with the students, and a chemistry class one would be hard pressed to forget.

Piano Keys

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The soft pangs of the notes filled the air, swirling up from the grand piano all the way around the curving stairs and straight to the top of the high ceiling of the hallway. The girl sitting on the black leather bench had wispy blonde hair, her feet dangling far above the pedals.

She shared the small seat with her mother, a woman appearing to be in her forties. She had short dark brown hair, and her makeup was applied deliberately, giving her face a slight orange tint. As she pointed to certain keys and moved her child’s small wrists up higher, her brow creased and defined the onset wrinkles there.

They were an offsetting pair – the small girl’s fragility was evident next to the woman’s full frame. It was almost as though their appearance conveyed the unsung words of their relationship; the dominance of the woman over the powerless child. And as the small blonde girl clinked away at the keys, her small fingers were barely able to reach the far black rectangles, and so the woman pulled her hands further apart, stretching the little pads of her pointer fingers further than they could go, mounting a tremendous tension of tingling sparks in the girl’s tiny fingernails, ready and itching to explode.

A Night to Remember

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Tall, talented, and terribly handsome G-Eazy is hands down one of my favorite artists.

This man is a lyricist like no other.

He reigns from Oakland, California, which is only a mere 7 hours northeast of Ventura County.

He has come to Southern California to perform for the past few years, but the timing has never worked in my favor – until this year.

The arrival of the concert could not have come sooner, because the anticipation was killing me.

It was the last night of the “From the Bay to the Universe” tour, and it was going to go out with a bang.

After waiting in line we finally got to enter the venue. With friends in tow I walk all the way to the pit of the concert hall to prepare for the night of my life.

A DJ appears who plays a potpourri of electric music and classic rap remix’s to get the crowd excited for the opener.

Two hours after we entered and watched three different opening acts, the curtains finally close so they can get the stage ready for G-Eazy.

The whole theater starts chanting his name in bubbling excitement, and then we begin hear a countdown from 60 seconds.

Three, Two, One…

The curtains open and the night has officially begun.

The set list he created was unreal, and every single person was dancing more than they ever had in their entire life.

I wish I could go back and rewind time so I could experience the immense fun I had last night at the show all over again.

I have been to many concerts, but this was like nothing else.

As the last song of his encore ended, confetti and smoke rained down on the sold out crowd.

Walking out of there with a smile, last night will go down in history.
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P!nk

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Four years ago, I was watching the Grammy’s with my mom, and saw what I thought was the most amazing performance I had ever seen – or was going to see. P!nk sang her song, “Glitter in the Air,” meticulously while doing acrobatics in midair. I’m not joking. That takes some serious skill, and I was properly impressed.

Of course, P!nk is not exactly one to slack off after delivering only one stellar performance, so she set about proving me wrong two years later during the 2012 American Music Awards, where she executed a flawless ballet routine with a partner to her popular song “Try.” The performance showcased her incredible talent, strength, and flexibility. All while singing. When I thought I would never see a more impressive performance than “Glitter in the Air,” two years prior, I had most definitely been wrong.

Then P!nk went and broke her own personal awesome performance record during this years Grammy’s. She combined her two previous performances, set to her song “Try.” But she didn’t stop there, and she went on to sing her song “Just Give Me a Reason,” with Nate Ruess. In all, the performance was incredible.

I was so impressed with these performances that I sent the three links to my dad – who had an appropriate reaction: “She is a badass.” That about sums it up. And if you haven’t seen the videos, go see them.

Beijing Opera.

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Beijing Opera, also known as “Peking Opera,” is one of the most representative performing art of Chinese culture. It is the largest Chinese opera form, and is extolled as “Oriental Opera.”

Having a history of 160 years, the Beijing Opera is developed from absorbing many other dramatic forms, mostly from the local drama ‘Huiban’ which was popular in South China during the 18th century. It is a scenic art combining music, performance, literature, aria, and face-painting. The performance focuses on the technique of expression and different roles have different meanings.

Some main roles in Beijing Opera are: Sheng, a common name of male characters; Dan, the general name for female characters; and Jing, which refers to some male characters with particular appearances or personalities. Lots of them are based on the real historical people.

Another feature of Beijing Opera is the facial painting, also known as Lianpu. Lianpu is regarded as the colorful dressing on actors’ faces. The colors are varied with each characters to represent different themes. For instance, red symbolizes loyalty, such as Guanyu, a great general during Three Kingdoms Period (220-280). Black signifies honesty and frankness.

Beijing Opera portrays the soul of Chinese national culture. It is the unique and eternal treasure of China.

The Monkees.

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VH1 documentary Behind the Music featured a 1960s band, “The Monkees” in the year 2000.

The show portrayed a profile of the Monkees starting with interviews with band members to tell the story of their rise from “pretend” band to bona fide pop stars, ones who sold 35 million records in 1967 alone.

The story began with the excitement of Monkees’ fans. They were screaming and so eager to break a fence to hug their stars.

Then following with archival footage and some stills, the story went back to the fall of 1965, when Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, a pair of producers from Columbia Pictures, came up with an idea for a television series about a rock group.

Inspired by Richard Lester‘s groundbreaking comedies with the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, Rafelson and Schneider imagined a situation comedy in which a four-piece band had wacky adventures every week and occasionally burst into song.

The production began with The Monkees in early 1966 on NBC with fairly high popularity. The group contained four members – Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork and each of them was unique.

Later on they decided to form a real band instead of the comic actor-musicians. At their peak in 1967, the band outsold both the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

The show ended with each member’s life after the era of “Monkees” and their high point revival in 1986 in L.A.

The whole story brought the audience back to the 1960s which would be mostly favored by elder people, but it also provided the younger a sense of older generation’s life.

It could not be more comfortable to sit down and enjoy the past glory through the Monkees’ music.

Spirits of music.

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During this summer, I met a subway musician at the Times Square Station, NYC.
It was a really, really hot afternoon and the air was just sticky and burning beneath the ground, especially in the subway.

His name was Peter Joseph Paul, a one-man-band, who played in the subway station with his music despite of the heat.


As a New york born musician, Peter formed his high-tech one-man-band and began performing in the Times Square subway station in 2007. And since then, he began to play at the station every Sunday evening from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Using the latest technology and electronics, Peter plays complex drum beats with his two feet, sings and plays guitar, all at the same time.

Sponsored by MUNY(Music Under New York), Peter is also an accomplished audio engineer, arranger, producer and songwriter. And his musical career started when he was 12.

(Picture from starnow.com)

“I write approximately 1-5 songs daily,” Peter said. “I have been writing for over 30 years.”

So far Peter has published two CDs  with his own songs – “Energy” and “Sum Night.” And the  next CD will be a masterpiece composed of many new styles of songs and more instrumentation, according to Peter.

“I don’t push my CDs on people,” Peter said. “If people like you, they will come up and ask you.”

During my visit, I met lots of underground musicians from all over the world and played various instruments. All of performances were exciting and enjoyable.

They are just the spirits of music who fill the subway stations with joy.

Now I See You.

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“One-two-three, turn; One-two-three turn.”

Following the beat, I watched myself in the mirror as someone else.

She turned slowly with caution and every movement she did seemed so fragile. She stepped forwards and then backwards so skillfully, as if nobody could trace her pace. Her face, however, was a little nervous. Everything was perfect except one thing – confidence.

Then the music ceased.

I walked closer to the mirror and tried to touch the person in it. But I couldn’t see her anymore. She faded away with my curiosity and hope. At that moment, I assured myself that one day I would find her back. And since then, she became my dream.

I was six.

A year later I went back to that dance studio with a group of kids who were much older than me.

I gripped my mother’s hands and I could clearly feel myself shaking with fear.

The first dancing class of my life was vividly impressed in my mind. I was the youngest dancer in my class, but the most talented, my teacher Ms. Li told me. I hurt so bad when the teacher stood on my both knees in order to stretch my legs. I hated Li.

Since then, my spare time was filled with dancing and Saturday’s schedules changed into a regular pattern with two hours dancing class in the afternoon.

I cried every single time before I stepped into the classroom to see Ms. Li. I was frightened by her serious face and the intolerable pain she gave me. But I would always dry my eyes completely and then turned to the studio happily like nothing had happened.

I endured all the pain and after class, I would always spent some extra hours practicing at home.

God, I wish I could be a dancer in the future. I did love dancing.

Two years later, I was surprised to see my great improvement.

“Thank you all for these unforgettable three years. You are all wonderful dancers. Now it’s time for you to put on these ballet shoes and be a beautiful swan. Don’t forget to think about yourself when you dance. Use your heart to dance, not your body. ”

Ms. Li sobbed a little when she left and gave me a smile and I swear that was the warmest smile I had ever seen. I didn’t hate her anymore.

I put on my pink ballet shoes. It took me half an hour to tie them well before I could actually stand up with them.

I was shocked. The person in the mirror was incredibly gorgeous. It hurt a little bit when I stood with my toes but all the pain vanished as I started to dance.

The music pushed me into a fantasy in which I was able to touch my dream. I spun around like an innocent swan.

I danced and danced, for a long time.

That was the most beautiful eight years in my life.

After attending high school, I could not dance as much as I did before. But the joy of dancing has never disappeared.

I am not going to be a professional dancer anyways, but dancing is still my dream.

Dancing was the only way I can communicate with my soul and whenever I feel upset, dancing would comfort me and helped me to forget the pain.

I learned a lot from my experience of dancing. I challenged myself and struggled to present perfection.

Dancing taught me about life. Dancing provided me confidence and leads me to realize that dream was not always unreachable.

Putting on my pink ballet shoes, I took a deep breath and said to myself,

“One-two-three, turn; One-two-three turn.”

Following the beat, I am trying to find myself in the mirror and suddenly a confident smile emerged.

Now I see you.