The Music-Picking Post

I've been asked how I find the bands I feature on Musical Mondays. My answer begins with a brief history of the importance of music in my life.

I started playing piano young.

 Well, not this young. I was in first grade when I started taking lessons. I'm not sure how old I am in this picture--maybe one or two? The woman helping me "play" is my Aunt Charleen.

I took up this weird little harp thing next. (At age three.)

Not really. But I did start singing in a city-wide girls' choir and playing violin in my elementary school's orchestra in fourth grade. I started playing the trumpet in fifth grade, and in high school I played in marching band, symphonic band, and jazz band.

Yes, I said marching band. Someone snapped this horrible picture of me while we were warming up for a competition on a very windy day in October 2007. I was a senior in high school. (We weren't in our uniforms yet, and I'm not showing those to you today.)

I'm not in as many ensembles as I used to be--I currently only play in my university's jazz ensemble--but music still plays a big role in my life. And while I like playing it, I like the feeling of creative togetherness with other musicians more. I love being in perfect sync with other players--thinking in the same tempo, articulating notes the same way, increasing and decreasing in volume together--and I like to find that in the music I listen to.

So first, I look for good music, meaning an interesting use of voices and/or instruments. Delightful surprises like changes in tempo and dynamics don't hurt either. My piano teacher is Chinese, and when I mastered piano-basics she said, "Girl, you gotta the notes, now you need to play the music." She told me that over and over again (and she still calls me "Girl" when we run into each other at places like the grocery store), and it's true. Notes and lyrics aren't the same as music.

Second, I look for creative and clean lyrics. I'm a Christian, and I take Philippians 4:8--"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (NIV)--to heart. I'm not completely against swear words that make creative sense, but I would prefer not to have certain words and rated-R situations set to music in my head all day. Similarly, many of the songs featured on Musical Monday come from Christian bands, but many do not. Good music comes from many different kinds of people, and I appreciate artists with a realistic yet--even if ever so slightly--optimistic mindset.

And now for the practical part about locating good music:

I recently discovered Pandora--free Internet radio--and it is a great site for discovering artists that sound similar to artists one already likes. Also, many musical artists, like Joy Williams, are on Myspace. She's an artist I like, and her Myspace page will illustrate these next few tips. I go to artists' Myspace pages to get acquainted with music before buying it; the listening is free. And if you do find a band you like, chances are the band lists their influences on their Myspace page. Joy Williams does, and her list contains artists I looked up and ended up liking. Some artists also Myspace-friend other artists, and it's worth clicking on the artists an artist you like has friended. (For example, Joy Williams is friends with Brooke Waggoner, Katie Herzig, and Butterfly Boucher--all artists I ended up liking and featuring on Musical Monday. Also, these artists had lists of artists they liked, which led me to even more good music.)

In addition to that, some artists are involved in more than one project, like Joy Williams, who is in a duo called The Civil Wars when she's not singing alone.

And since this is a book blog, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that authors sometimes post playlists to their books. If you like an author's book, you might like the music they use for inspiration, too. Finally, if you have friends who like the same movies/books/ice cream flavors as you do, chances are you'll like some of each other's music, too. Try having an iPod party, by which I mean listen to music that each of you like and swap band names, not musical files. I've found new music this way.

Questions? Comments? How do you find new music?