How to find new music!

So one part about music that I love so much is that there is so much of it. There are concerts going on all the time, either at small coffee shops in the area or at big venues around the world. To me, it is a great experience going out to see one of my favorite artists to find a new artist that I really enjoy, as one of their opening acts. Check local coffee shops, music stores, creperies, etc. to see if they host live music on weekend nights. Ticketmaster and Live Nation are great places to start for bigger venues and bigger artists. Also, signing up with sights like Goldstar sends you emails that give codes to extremely discounted tickets for upcoming shows. There are also many other ways of finding new music. One which used to be more popular was music stores. Back when cassettes and compact discs used to be the norm, you could go into a store to buy a new album and find many cd players demoing other new music. I would always spend a lot more than I planned to whenever I went to places such as tower records. One great music store that I still love to go to is Amoeba Music. If you have never been, I would definitely recommend checking one out because the one in Los Angeles has the biggest physical music library I know, and I'm sure the others would not disappoint. Now I know I have not even begun to touch on the main ways of instantly obtaining new tunes, but that will have to wait until next time. To be continued...
-Emilio

What is Music?

Music is something different to each person. It is something universal as well as individual. Sometimes I stop and think about pursuing a career in music and ask myself, "What are you doing?"There is not much concrete product to what I am doing and rarely does it ever make someone rich. Music for me is something else. It gives me a feeling inside that I cannot deny. Enjoying live music, creating music with others, or learning something in my music studies gives me such joy. It is there with me through anything that I am going through. This past week, the director of the vocal department at Long Beach was talking about this and said that as a choir, we give "meaningless sounds meaning." If my music gives someone the feeling that I get when I listen to others' music, then I am satisfied. For me, this is what it's all about. It's about making the world a more enjoyable place through sound. I don't know what my future holds, but something tells me I'm headed in the right direction. I may not succeed, but I will not live regretting the fact that I never tried. If anyone else feels this way about music or anything that they do, I encourage them to pursue it. In light of all this, I am giving a link to someone who I think exemplifies what I wrote about: Bob Marley- Jammin' (Live)
-Emilio

Music Intro

Hey everyone, my name is Emilio and this blog will be about all things music. For this particular one, I will give an overview of my musical background and then get into topics I would like to discuss in later blogs. I have always listened to music in one way or another. My father was a musician before I was born so there were always instruments around the house growing up. When I was eight years old, I tried playing guitar, but thought it was too complicated. During the summer, when I was nine, I began learning flute and had fun with it but stopped once school started again. I also had music class in fifth through eighth grade, but never paid much attention. When I was twelve though, I took up guitar again and fell in love with it. Since then, I have learned bass and started singing. My senior year of high school, I decided to join a chamber choir and take music appreciation class because music, in some way, is what I want to do with my future. I found a new passion in choral music and am now attending the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at Cal State Long Beach as a vocal performance major. Aside from the more classical style music, I have been in a few bands over the past years as well. I was in an alternative band for about eight months, a ska/raggae band for about eighteen months, and an indie band for a few months as well. Music for me is a way to express myself and is one of my gift. I listen to all kinds of music and within my blogging will discuss different genres, bands, artists, instruments, and anything else I find interesting about music. Feel free to argue, agree with, or comment on what I blog.

-Emilio