I’ve been writing music for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first song at the age of 7. Though my musical style and sound has evolved since then, it has always been a blend of moody mainstream with a twinge of experimental. When I was younger, however, I didn’t showcase the experimental side as much as I was a little hesitant about putting myself out there like that and not being accepted. Now though, as music becomes more and more generic and I don’t have the doubts and self-consciousness I did as a kid, I am excited to let this side come to life and showcase all aspects of my music.
How I got into writing music
Short answer, I grew up in a musical household. Classical music was a common occurrence and my older siblings began playing the violin very young. As the youngest, and possibly the black sheep of the family, I didn’t follow the same path of violin but I had quite the voice for a kid. Luckily, my family noticed and pushed me to sing inside the house and outside. Soon, music teachers noticed and I was placed in voice lessons and a touring choir by 11 years old. I even participated in solo ensemble where I sang a beautiful Italian aria, and received the highest rating in middle school, something typically achieved by high schoolers. Singing was my passion and behind the scenes I was also composing music.
Eventually, my singing and composing went from angelic and breathtaking to moody and often sad as I entered my teenage years, but the skills I learned in my classical voice training like reading music and sight singing still provided benefits to my songwriting even as my style evolved. As a singer and songwriter breaking away from the accompaniment of a pianist from church, voice lessons, and choir, I needed an instrument for my songs. Since I could read music well, I was able to pick up enough piano to write my own music. Though I do not consider myself a pianist at all, I was able to get by. I also decided to learn guitar. My older brother already played, and since he was my idol growing up, of course I asked him to teach me. Once I was comfortable with some chords, this marked probably the first biggest moment of change in my musical style and songwriting, from angelic child classical singer to moody teenage singer songwriter.
Shifting towards experimental
As my music identity shifted towards moody acoustic singer songwriter, my songs were quite well received. I was asked to perform at a small local venue, told to get my songs recorded by many people, and had a music magazine write a short piece about me. Unfortunately, at that time in my life, I wasn’t equipped to pursue music to the extent I wanted to. Looking back, in the right situation a young artist really could have started gaining traction as all those events aligned. However, it wasn’t in the stars for me at that time, and that is for the best.
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Opinions about my music didn’t start polarizing until it got a little more experimental. Instead of everyone appreciating my songs, voice, and talent, people either loved it or straight up disliked it. Now, I am finding this to be more and more the case, but it is great. I want people to love my music and that inevitably comes with people who will hate my music. I don’t want a bunch of people just liking my music. While there is nothing wrong with that, that isn’t my style, my goal, or my purpose as it would feel generic and mediocre to me.
Everyone should be experimental
As I was receiving feedback on my new song release, a lot of the feedback was related to being “too experimental” for the reviewer’s taste. I was taking this as a negative thing at first but I realize it isn’t negative at all. As music becomes more and more generic, experimental music or music that takes an experimental approach is needed more than ever. While it won’t be appreciated by everyone, especially playlists geared towards broad audiences, it will keep music fresh, alive, and real.
When I speak of experimental music, I am talking about music that goes outside of normal bounds. This can mean different things. For one example, a song meant to be mainstream music that pushes the boundaries of the typical style or sound of mainstream music could be experimental. Another example could be a song that doesn’t follow the usual composition style for a genre. Experimental could even mean experimenting with new sounds added during the production process. Anything outside of normal bounds can be considered experimental.
In order for music to stay fresh and evolve, there needs to be boundary pushers. There needs to be experimenters. Yes, it is true experimenting may come with dichotomous responses to your music- people will either love it or hate it, but it is definitely needed in the music world. Without real and raw boundary pushing music, it will all become monotonous, mediocre, and generic.
~GLITA
