Student's Musical Autobiography Essay - English Composition, Fall 2024

This essay presents a student's musical autobiography, reflecting on the evolution of their musical taste from childhood to the present. The essay begins by referencing Teresa Scollon's poem "Family Music" to highlight how musical preferences can change over time. The student then discusses their early exposure to pop music artists like Madonna and Mariah Carey, followed by a shift to rock music during their teenage years. The essay further explains how the student's taste matured to include classical music, particularly the works of Mozart and Chopin, which they find calming and reflective. The author attributes these changes to their personal growth and experiences, emphasizing how learning and life events shape musical preferences. The essay concludes by reiterating the impact of mental and personal growth on an individual's musical choices.

NAME OF THE STUDENT 1
Name of the Student:
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Musical Autobiography
As stated by Kirszner and Mandell, the genre of music is a constantly evolving one and it
is seen that the musical compositions of a particular generation are being composed taking into
account the gratification factors or the musical needs of the people of the concerned generation.
Adding to this, Garrido and Davidson have noted that this is an important reason why the
individuals often find it hard to relate with the music which they used to listen growing up or
when they were children. Teresa Scollon’s poem “Family Music” is an important one in this
regard since it highlights the music that she used to listen and also the manner in which she
perceived the same in the latter part of her life. My own musical taste had developed over the
years keeping in synchronicity with the growth of my mental faculties and also the learning that I
have acquired and this is the reason why the music which I used to listen growing up is
completely different from the one which I listen presently. The purpose of this paper is to present
a musical autobiography of myself on the basis of the music which I used to listen as a child and
the one which I listen presently.
Scollon’s poem “Family Music” tries to present an overview of the music that she used to
listen in her home while growing up and also during the vacations that she used to spend with her
family. In the very beginning lines of the poem, she indicates that in her family piano was an

NAME OF THE STUDENT 2
important source of music and thus the family used to play the same to pass their leisure time.
This becomes apparent from the lines of the poem “Banging on holidays like a piano tuner—this
tone, tone, tone, then the octave” (Scollon). However, growing up she releases the fact that it was
not the music of the piano which actually entertained her and the family rather it was
surrounding of the home or the home environment with its fire, the sound of the hissing of water,
the heat emanating from the burning wood and others which actually added to the beauty of the
music and helped them to pass their leisure hours. The lines of the poem “we’d hear water hiss
and wail as it heats and escapes…..That would be music” are important to note in this relation
(Scollon).
I remember that when I was a child the songs of Madonna and others were my favorite
and they always used to play in my home. At this point of time, I had limited understanding of
music and thus the trendy pop songs used to capture my attention. It is because of this that
growing I always used to listen to the different pop music artists like Madonna, Mariah Carey
and others.
I started listening to rock music and Metallica when I was in my teenage since the
majority of my friends used to listen to the same. This in turn offered us a common topic of
discussion and I was also attracted by the loud musical score of the different songs related to this
particular genre of music. More importantly, listening to these songs did not require any
significant application of my mental faculties and I was simply happy to pass my leisure hours
by listening to them.
Classical music became my favorite when I grew up and thereby I stopped listening to
pop songs and rock music. I must admit that listening to classical music gave me a calm feeling

NAME OF THE STUDENT 3
and despite the fact that there are no lyrics in the majority of the classical piano music yet I was
being able to understand them. I personally believe that my mental growth had a lot to do with
this and significantly helped me to enjoy the same.
Presently, I listen to either Mozart or Chopin when I have the leisure. I particularly like
the solemnity of the musical compositions of these artists and also the mental relaxation that I am
able to attain by listening to them. More importantly, the recent things which have happened in
my life and also the opportunity to escape from the present reality of my life that they offer me
are the most important reasons because of which I like listening to the musical compositions of
these artists.
To conclude, the musical taste of the individuals is reliant on their mental growth and
also the learning that had been able to acquire. This is an important reason why the music which
the individuals listen to in their childhood is no longer their favorite when they grow up. For
instance, in my own case the incidents which have happened in my life, my mental growth, my
learning and others have shaped my present musical taste.

NAME OF THE STUDENT 4
References
Garrido, Sandra, and Jane W. Davidson. "Music Throughout the Life Span." Music, Nostalgia
and Memory. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019. 99-123.
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas.
Pearson, 2016.
Scollon, Teresa J. To Embroider the Ground with Prayer. Wayne State University Press, 2012.