family music culture

I would say that some of my key musical experiences growing up can be attributed to my mother and father. As a child, my father would take me to work with him doing construction work. He is a carpenter and all we would listen to is country music. It seems that many people who live in the country and work out doors listen to country music. At least that's the way it seemed growing up. I guess country music was the first type of music that I ever actually memorized lyrics and would sing along. The first album I ever purchased was a Billy Ray Cyrus album that featured the song Achy Breaky Heart. Though it's not something I listen to very often today, Country Music was my first favorite musical art form. Even though I have had extensive musical training in significantly more artistic music, I still consider country music a major art form.

My mother loved many different types of music. I give her partial credit for why I choose to play the trumpet. She loved listening to Christmas music. She particularly loved to listen to Christmas music arranged for different brass groups. She also loved listening to older pop groups such as The Temptations, The Beatles, The Jackson Five, The Rolling Stones, and many others. She would say things like "Brandon, Listen to that trumpet lick....You could do that some day". She was always a key source of inspiration in pursuing my music career (also a huge help with developing strategies in managing my classes when I taught band).

During my high school years, my brothers and I took an interest in rock music. Our favorite band was Metallica. A few other bands we enjoyed were AC/DC, Guns n' Roses, Megadeth, etc. We listened to these groups inside and out. luckily I participated in Band and Chorus which gave me extensive knowledge in music that was a little more artistic. like country music, I consider rock a major art form as well. It's just simply different from the type of musician that I aspire to become.