My Life Set to Music

Running head: MYLIFESETTOMUSIC

My Life Set to Music

Katheryn Petrik

Kaplan University

HU300-03 Arts and Humanities: Twentieth Century and Beyond

Susan Brown Ed.D

October 16, 2011

My Life Set to Music

Music has always played an important part of my life. My siblings were much older than I was so I was exposed to music from the fifties, sixties and beyond. My parents made us all take piano lessons so I was also exposed to classical music at a young age. I remember sitting at the piano with my oldest sister and she would play the songs that were popular of that time in her life and I would sing them. Then I would try to play the piano as I saw her playing. Of course, at that time I was playing by ear which got my parent’s attention so I also started piano lessons at a very young age as well.

The music I associate my childhood with would be songs such as Tom Dooley and the music of the Beatles. While my sisters and brother listened to such people as Elvis Presley, my parents listened to songs from the 1940’s such as the big band songs of Glenn Miller. Being of Czechoslovakian descent we also listened to polka music and the folk songs of my grandparent’s youth. By being the youngest child of four and with my siblings being so much older than I was I spent a lot of time alone as the other children were in school. I was always outside singing to my dogs and cats or whatever animals I could gather up to be my audience. The style of music that I listened to would also be indicative of my mood at the time. Even as a child, if I was happy I would listen or sing light-hearted songs and if I were sad they would be much slower and sadder songs.

As an adolescent I had learned to play a variety of musical instruments as well. I would listen to the music of Pink Floyd, “Dark Side of the Moon” and “Wish You Were Here”, and Elton John, “Tiny Dancer, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, when I was in a mellow mood. When I felt rebellious, I listened...