Interview with Chen Yang
After interviewing Moon Young about his definition of music, I started to see how music can have different definitions to each individual but still helps him or her in a very similar way. In order to confirm this conclusion further, I decided to interview a guitar player in our band Memento Mori, Chen Yang. Chen and I met in last September through a music club called Emrock. Because we both were so interested in making a band, we became close and started to play music together. As I went into his room I saw how important music was to him by seeing many guitars and amps connected to his computer. Because he seemed busy with homework, I promised Chen that the interview will take only about 25 minutes. "Hey Chen, when did you start music? I asked" "I loved to listen to music since when I entered elementary school. I remember how my parents bought me the first mp 3 player for my birthday present. I was so happy listening to Jason Mraz's music everyday through my first mp 3 player," Chen answered. "Oh right Jason Mraz is one of your favorite artists right? Then what important factor makes you love listening to Jason Mraz's music?" "Well I believe Mraz's music has definite color in it. Every album he makes have a definite meaning and audiences can tell what message he is trying to convey. I believe music is a great way to convey message, and Mraz always don't forget this important factor in his music. Every album has an unique color." This made me strongly nod my head. I personally have my favorite artists Buzz, Younha, and Tim Hwang. The reason that I love these artists are that they have definite colors in their music. I can see how they ponder every time before they make new albums. Every track of an album is trying to convey a message to audience. "I agree with what you are saying Chen haha. As I mentioned before to you I also love my favorite artists like Buzz because of the reason you have mentioned. Okay, then when did you start playing guitar? Also why did you start playing guitar?" "I started to learn guitar by myself when I was in 8th grade. One day I was just watching a television, and there was this music show going on. For the first time I saw a great guitar player Bon Jovi playing guitar so beautifully. I did not know anything about guitar, but I was just awed by how he wonderful plays. Like as I mentioned before, without lyrics he was sending a beautiful and sentimental mesage through just playing melodies," Chen replied. |
"Oh I see I see. Basically you found your definition of music by seeing Bon Jovi playing guitar right? Conveying messages without any lyrics. Yup that is power of the music."
Music surely is a powerful thing. It conveys meaning even without any lyrics in it. One of the reasons I started playing guitar was also similar to Chen's. Because I wanted to send my sentiments through just playing guitar. I was so glad to hear this reason from Chen. "So Chen without music how would your life have been?" I asked. Chen thought for few seconds before answering this important question. He seemed very careful and thoughtful on this one, showing how important music had been for his life. "I think I would have felt difficult fitting into American society, because of having no way to thoroughly communicate myself with others. Like when I came to America from China to study abroad, I felt so difficult communicating with other people due to my bad English. Therefore, I often felt isolated and lonely. However, music resolved this problem. By playing guitar in Jazz band in high school, I could really express myself thorough music and started to make many friends. Music made me convey my feelings to others and by using music as my language I could adapt myself into America." "Wow Chen that is what I exactly felt too! When I first moved here my English was also pretty bad. Therefore, I also felt very isolated. However, by joining band I could convey how I feel thorough music, and this made others to know about me. Music surely has been a crucial factor," I said. Seeing the time, I realized that I had wrap up the interview due to realizing my online assignment was due in 30 minutes. Therefore, I asked the most important question: "So the last question. I think I already got an answer for this, but just in case asking you to make sure. How do you define music?" "Haha I think you are right. I already have given answer for this. My definition of music is a way to convey messages. Because music is such a powerful factor, it allows us, even people from different countries, to easily communicate. This is how it always has been helping me to adapt in America. I will keep trying to play guitar to send my feeling and message to others. I also want to encourage others to use music if they are struggling in new places. Music is always there to help you!" Chen concluded. I nodded and smiled after hearing Chen's conclusion. Music is always there to help us whenever we feel distressed. This is probably why everyone loves music. I sincerely thanked Chen for his great interview and promised to have a band practice during the weekend in order to prepare for our next performance. |