Greyson looking for Music in Diverse Cultures

 I love new music. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I listened to over 1600 different artists last year, and I am very lightly trying to hit 2000 this year. For this assignment, we were asked to pick 4 cultures, and I picked almost completely randomly. I believe everywhere in the world has good music, so Venezuela, Ukraine, Colombia, and the Philippines are no different. This is a great chance for me to get closer to that 2000 artist goal, and learn about really exciting music. First is Venezuela in South America. In Venezuela, there are many different traditional styles of music, most of which are tied to a dance. Joropo is one of the many styles with a dance. There are 3 regional distinctions of Joropo including llanero, oriental, and central. These variations can be distinguished by the instruments used, the tempo, outfits, and dancing style. In joropo llanero, musicians play the harp, the cuatro (a 4-stringed plucked chordophone), a drum, and a bandola (another plucked chordo...

 Oh boy, was this a wonderful interview. I gave an interview to one of my close friends from climbing, Dylan. He is a 42 year old engineer who is currently designing a AI powered boat. We climb together, and he is one of my very close friends, though I do make fun of him for being as old as my dad. To start the interview, I took inspiration from Dr. Vaneman and asked, what is the definition of music? He got quiet for a minute and was very indecisive. Firstly, he said it was a form of entertainment, then he thought about the act of making music and the enjoyment that comes from that. Lastly, he said, in very engineer fashion, “Scientifically, I would say it is a combination of sound waves that are pretty”, and then we rambled about how freeform jazz isn’t pretty. I next asked what his earliest memory of music was. He spoke about how some of his earliest memories were of him sitting with his mom in the living room while MTV was playing, listening to Madonna and Paula Abdul and Michae...

 I grew up in Anderson, South Carolina. When I was 5 (I think), my family moved from our first house, “The Dunn Rd House” to “The Middle House” and then to “The Carlisle Place House.” There, I got this wonderful gift of a cardboard guitar. I played with this little guitar for. ever. Like I played this thing constantly and I am completely sure only a 6 year old could not be tired of the one minute of song that it played. That wonderful song was Two Princes by The Spin Doctors. I have one very vague memory of playing the little cardboard guitar in our mudroom that had this very strange white piece of furniture (I just found out it’s called a hoosier cabinet) and our green couch. It was a great day. The next song that I have a number of memories with is One More Light by Linkin Park. My dad and I used to listen to Linkin Park all of the time, and this song especially has a place in my heart. One memory I have with this song is the finale of A Million Little Things. My parents had watc...

 Hello friends! My name is Greyson Powell , and I am a Music Education major at Converse University . My main instrument is the cello , which I have been playing since I was 9 or 10. Before that, I started piano lessons when I was 6 at the heed of my piano playing great-grandmother (Thanks Granny). My dad plays the drums and electric bass, and my mom sings. While I have never enjoyed writing music, and I do think I should try it again, I have always enjoyed experimenting with sounds and noises like whistling strangely and tapping my fingers in fun polyrhythms and things.  I grew up in Anderson, South Carolina , and I have never lived anywhere else until now! I have 2 siblings, a 12 year old brother named Keean, and a 3 year old sister named Ivy. Along with music, I also run for the school, rock climb lots, and play volleyball when I can. Seen in the picture is my wonderfully expressive brother cracking me up. It was very, very hard to pick a piece of music that I often enjoy r...