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Personal Narrative Essay: How Music Changed My Life
Everyone has a passion for something, whether it be sports or public speaking. Well, for me, that passion is music. I have always loved music, and that love has increased more and more over the years. From being in music classes for most of my high school career, I have felt a lot of love and support from my friends and teachers. When I had realized the family bond there is in musical groups, I never wanted to leave. As I was often in either band or choir, I would often see the joy of my teachers when things went according to plan and when we played or sang something amazing. One piece in particular comes to mind. While in my junior year of high school, I was in the chamber choir. My choir director had introduced us to a Christmas piece called “Go, and Tell It on The Mountain.” This arrangement of the song was a very jazzy version of the original piece. After several days of practicing in class, my director stopped us and asked us if we had thought about the words and what they meant. This really took me back, as I had never really been asked such a question before. This experience let me gain more gratitude for the words we were singing, and it helped me to be more expressive and have a love for the music. By the end of singing this piece at our concert, my friends and I were tearing up at the message of joy that the song gave to the audience. I want to help students realize the joy of music and the way that it can touch the souls of the people who listen to them. I want them to feel that they can be united as a family of musicians, that, no matter what part they sing or play, each one of them matters and contributes to the ensemble. I also want them to feel how blessed they are for being able to create music with the talents that they have.
I have felt deep emotions when singing in choir in high school, but nothing has compared to having the privilege to sing in the Brigham Young University Men’s Chorus. Several times I have felt overwhelming joy or deep sadness from singing songs in that choir. For instance, one of the first songs we sang was an arrangement of “How Great Thou Art.” In that song it spoke about the wonderful creation of the earth, the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us, and the power of the Atonement in our lives. Every time we sang that in class, I nearly wept with immense sadness and deep joy at what we were singing about. Countless times our director, Rosalind Hall, would also be in tears because she could feel the joy of music radiating from those men who sang the truth of Jesus’ Creations and His Atonement. From this experience, I have felt the power that music has in our lives and the way that it can change people.
In high school, I always considered myself lucky to be in such amazing groups with such amazing people. When I wasn’t doing as well as I thought, I would often ask myself if it was worth the effort to be in these good ensembles. When I thought about it, I would always think about what my middle school band director always said to us. He would say, “Each of you has a part to play here, each one of you matters. To this ensemble, to me, to your friends, your parents. But you should always matter to yourself.” This has stuck with me throughout all my years in junior high and high school. Even to this day, when I don’t feel like I’m worth it, I always remember what my band director said to us. I want kids to feel like they belong together, and that they matter. Not just to an ensemble, but to me, their peers, their parents, and most importantly to themselves.
I have always been told how talented I am. I’ve gotten comments from my friends, my teachers, and even my parents. Often, my parents would tell me that I should share the talents that I had with others. I had always learned in church about sharing our gifts with others, so I had always kept a high standard when I practiced, so that I could share my talents with others and make them feel happy and to help them feel joy. I have many younger siblings, and when they were all little, I would always sing to them to make them happy. This was especially apparent when I would sing to them as infants. Many times I would have to put them down for naps or calm them down when they were screaming. When I did, I would sing soft hymns to them and within a few minutes, they would calm down or go to sleep. I would often pray to God for allowing me to have this gift of music and to have the opportunity to be able to share it with others.
Music has changed my life in so many ways, and it will continue to change my life as well as others’ lives. I have seen the ways that it can bring joy into not only the lives of the audience, but to the lives of the performers as well. I have seen the ways in which people can contribute to the ensembles that I have been in. Often people don’t think that they matter or that they have an important part, but in reality, everyone is important. I have also learned about how using our talents for good purposes can bless the lives of others. Overall, music has influenced many of my decisions in life, including what college I wanted to attend. I want to be able to share the effects of music with everyone that I meet.
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Role of Music in Our Life Essay
Music is one of the greatest and most mysterious spheres of art, which is worth admiring. It is music that speaking to our heart makes people laughing and crying. Music is one of the strongest means of a persons inspiration and one of the most important part of our life.
It is obvious that like any other form of art music has its own language. Pictorial art speaks with us by means of paints, literature with the help of words, and music by virtue of magic sounds of various musical instruments. All the branches of art are tightly interconnected with each other serving the one goal â to bring up the sense of beauty and harmony in a person.
It goes without saying that every individual is talented in its own way. From early childhood, a person unconsciously tries to express oneself by means of art. Some child may be noticed in a process of painting, while another hums in a low tone his favourite song. It is of great importance to recognize a childs inclinations in order to develop them in a full manner in future.
True art forms an aesthetic sensibility and it is very important to instill in children love for beauty from the cradle. The development of creative potential, nice sense of beauty and possibility to notice something unusual are those factors that help artistic people in creation. The creative approach helps a person in his daily activity. Moreover, the admiration of beauty provides us with additional energy in overcoming difficulties.
Those people who have a sense of beauty are optimists and dreamers in a certain manner. As a rule, they possess qualities that are necessary to be successful in life. That is why it is of great importance to introduce children to the world of music, poetry, pictorial art and literature, because art promotes a childs pursuance of beauty and ideal.
It is also noticed that art education promotes the cognitive development of a child. As a rule those children who attend musical classes have better progress in education.
At the same time, children should not be forced to deal with activity to which they have no propensity. It is a task of parents to recognize a childs inclinations and abilities. There may be found numerous examples when a child who has been compelled to attend music lessons leaves his study, finding himself in another sphere of art. For instance a parent, impressed by a virtuoso guitar technique of his favorite musician, decides for himself to do his best in order his child to become a great guitar player, while his child has inclination for drawing.
There are also examples when a child with an obvious aptitude for music has no desire to attend music lessons. In such a case, motivation plays a very important role. There are many possibilities to cultivate love of art in a child. It is possible to visit an art museum or a concert of classic music. It does not matter if a child pays more attention to the mere process of visit than to an exhibition in itself. The key point of such a visit is to stimulate childish interest. The appreciation of masterpieces in a museum will be later.
While motivating interest for music many teachers pay much attention to concerts, in which a child is involved. They say that a feeling of anxiety before such a concert is changed with a sense of euphoria and satisfaction after a successful playing. This factor serves as a key point in motivation.
It is impossible to imagine our life without art or music. It creates a new world of thoughts, lofty sentiments and passions. It is art that makes us spiritually wealthy.
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IvyPanda. (2020, July 3). Role of Music in Our Life. https://ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-music-in-our-life/
"Role of Music in Our Life." IvyPanda , 3 July 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-music-in-our-life/.
IvyPanda . (2020) 'Role of Music in Our Life'. 3 July.
IvyPanda . 2020. "Role of Music in Our Life." July 3, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-music-in-our-life/.
1. IvyPanda . "Role of Music in Our Life." July 3, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-music-in-our-life/.
Bibliography
IvyPanda . "Role of Music in Our Life." July 3, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/role-of-music-in-our-life/.
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Last updated March 22, 2024
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Blog > Essay Advice , Personal Statement > How to Write a Great College Essay About Music (with examples)
How to Write a Great College Essay About Music (with examples)
Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University
Written by Alex McNeil, MA Admissions Consultant
Key Takeaway
Ask any admissions officer if theyâve read a college essay about music, and theyâll definitely say yes. Between music extracurriculars and academic interests in music, itâs is one of the most common college essay topics.
So does that mean that you shouldnât write your college essay about music?
Not necessarily. But as with any common college essay topic, some approaches are better than others.
Letâs get into it.
Why you should (and shouldnât) write your Common App essay about music
As we explained in our Stanford Items exercise , writing your college essay on a common topic isnât off-limits. In fact, most college essays share common topics and themes. Trying to find a completely unique, never-been-done-before topic is almost impossible. And writing about a quirky topic in hopes of coming across as unique usually backfires.
In other words, itâs likely that youâll write about the same topic as someone else.
The problem arises, however, when you write about a common topic in a cliche way . Cliches are always a danger in college essays, but in especially college essay topics that tend to surface again and again.
To avoid cliches, your college essay about music needs to be deeply personal, specific, and meaningful. Youâll want to let go of any over-generalizations or truisms and focus on the details of your own story.
Because youâll need to write meaningfully and vulnerably, you should only write your college essay about music if you have something genuine and significant to say.
The Best Ways to Approach Your College Essay about Music
College essays about music arenât off the table, but you should be thoughtful in how you write about them. The following two approaches will help you avoid cliches and find an authentic, meaningful story that fulfills all the requirements of a personal statement .
Writing about music as an academic interest
If youâre interested in studying music in college, then you can consider writing your college essay about music as an academic interest. A college essay about your academic interest in music can show fantastic intellectual fit with a school.
Letâs say you want to study music theory or composition. You might write about a topic you find compelling, a problem youâve solved, or even a recounting of your journey becoming interested in the subject.
Or maybe youâre an aspiring performer planning on studying music performance. As an admissions officer, I read outstanding essays about students performing their favorite pieces, creating emotional music projects, and teaching lessons to young children.
No matter your topic, your goal with this approach is to show an intellectual spark, a curiosity and passion that will demonstrate to your admissions officers that youâll be a great addition to the music community on their campuses.
Writing poignantly about a deeply meaningful extracurricular
The previous approach is great if you want to study music, but what if music is just an extracurricular passion of yours? Donât worryâyou can still write about it.
In that case, the best way is to focus on meaning. Remember: personal statements should be deeply-meaningful reflections on your personal strengths.
To start, reflect on your music extracurricular. Is it playing guitar in a band? Playing trombone in your schoolâs symphony? Learning piano from your grandma? How your love of poetry turned into a love of songwriting?
Next, think about what strengths you have to showcase. If you play guitar in a band, maybe you want to highlight your collaborative spirit. If you love poetry and songwriting, perhaps you focus on your creativity.
Writing about your love of music in a way that draws upon your strengths will make sure that your Common App essay avoids the following two approaches and gives admissions officers a reason to admit you.
Approaches to Avoid
While the following two approaches arenât necessarily bad, they are the most cliche ways of approaching a college essay about music. You might want to consider avoiding them.
An inauthentic tale of triumph
Let me tell you a cliche story.
When I was in fourth grade, I decided to join the school orchestra. I found it exceedingly difficult at first. No matter how hard I tried, I never could seem to place my fingers correctly on the fingerboard. Every sound I made mimicked a screeching cat. But I decided not to give up. I practiced every day after school and on the weekends. By the time I was in ninth grade, I had made it into my high schoolâs top orchestra.
Is that a lovely story? Yes, absolutely. Is it hearty enough for a college essay? No. While it tells a good narrative of growth and progress, it remains on the surface of the writerâs life. It comes across as a convenient way to brag about your strengths instead of exploring them in a genuine way. In this example, the story also focuses on events that happened way too far in the past.
A song that changed your life
This approach is by far the most common cliche in college essays about music. Weâve all been there: a favorite song that transports you to a moment in your life whenever you hear it. It makes sense that youâd want to write about yours.
But thereâs a problem with this approach. Too often, it reads as trite or unoriginal, and the end result usually doesnât say much about the writer. And when it does, the message an admissions officer gets doesnât typically give them any more reason to admit you. Since you want your college essay to be meaningful, even vulnerable, and strengths-based, youâre better off choosing another topic that better speaks to who you are.
Key Takeaways + Examples
College essays about music arenât for everyone. But when you get it right, you can strike the perfect chord with admissions officers (youâre welcome for the pun).
As you go, dig deep, find something genuinely personal, and try to avoid the most common and cliche ways of approaching the topic.
Want to see some examples of college essays about music before you get started? Check out our examples, The Time Machine and The Band .
Liked that? Try this next.
The Incredible Power of a Cohesive College Application
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"the only actually useful chance calculator iâve seenâplus a crash course on the application review process.".
Irena Smith, Former Stanford Admissions Officer
We built the best admissions chancer in the world . How is it the best? It draws from our experience in top-10 admissions offices to show you how selective admissions actually works.
Home / Essay Samples / Music / Songs / A Meaningful Song in My Life
A Meaningful Song in My Life
- Category: Music , Life
- Topic: Personal Experience
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