Day 8: The Power of Music

The Power of Music

For as long as I can remember I've been around music in one way or another. My whole family is very musical. My sister can sing and play some mad piano, my mother can sing, my dad can sing and play guitar, and even my stepdad can sing and he plays drums.

When I was in third grade I started in the school band playing the flute and I had played flute all through elementary and high school. For sixth and part of seventh grade I went to a private school where there wasn't a band, but I picked my flute back up when I transferred schools for the remainder of middle school.

I can say I'm one of those nerds that have the "one time in band camp" stories, but I feel bad for the kids that don't have those stories. Marching band was the best thing that happened to me in high school. My sophomore and junior years I had decided to go for my love of percussion and tried out for the drum line for marching band. I didn't quite make the drum line, but I made it into the "pit". You may ask what that is...

The pit is the frontline percussion group that doesn't march. They are on the front sideline of the football field and consists of the drum kit (if the show requires one), the malleted instruments like the marimba, vibraphones, xylophones, and glockenspiel (which I played for my first year on the pit). The pit also has the smaller instruments like the Tamborine, claves, and whatnot. Those two years that I was in the pit were probably the funner years. Yes, I loved marching with the flute for my freshman and senior years, but there's nothing like the pit.

At some point when I was in high school I decided to teach myself piano and I started singing. I wouldn't say I'm as good as my sister, but I guess I'm okay.

Right after I graduated I joined the worship team at my church and sang/played keyboard with them for two years before I went away to college for Vet Tech school.

After graduating Vet Tech school I moved to Alabama and cracked open my flute again for the first time since high school to join the Birmingham community band. That was fun! It was different and I had never done anything like that before, but those concerts and the music we played was a blast.

Today, I don't think I've placed my fingers on a keyboard in probably close to ten years and haven't touched my flute since the community band like maybe four or five years ago. It makes me sad not playing anymore, but I do still sing every day.

Music can do many things for a person. It's therapeutic. I even listen to music when I'm at work, playing softly in the background on the computer or my phone.

Some of my favorite artists include:

• Rascal Flatts

• Ed Sheeran

• Fall Out Boy

• Gavin Degraw

• Kari Jobe

• Linkin Park

• Mercy Me

• Newsboys

And much more

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