Question 1: How would you describe your musical identity? What artists and musical sound(s) represent you, and how do they resonate with how you “see yourself”? How does this identity resonate with certain kinds of icons and indices related to this music? (Make sure you understand the difference between these two ideas!)
My musical identity is hard to clearly explain, because, just as it is hard to explain or clearly quantify my personal identity, summing up the collection of experiential data and the changing nature of those experiences is difficult and a process that is not an exact science. However, viewing musical identity as a process defined by time periods and my experiences does help, as I often personally define my own musical identity as not only a performer, but also the listener, largely of the master soundtrack for every coming of age movie from around 2007-2014. The musical sounds that I find represent me are often kinds of upbeat rock and pop, like Jimmy Eat World or The Wanted, or slower, driving sounds that ground themselves more in Pop/R&B sound, artists like Dean Lewis, Snow Patrol, or The Lumineers. These sounds and artists ground me in my experiences and my childhood, and let me experience the world as though it's an endless experience of becoming, rather than a stagnating pond. In that relationship of becoming, as well, is the importance of my musical identity in the aspect of my role as a performer. The icons of driving, upbeat guitars, high and belt-y male singing voices, and quick but simple drum patterns feel like a fire or running feet, and are able to connect me to the feeling of adrenaline and moving forward, and the same is true for my journey as a performing musician. I am able to create something in my journey ever forward with the driving heart of the music, making a “different form of art and activity entirely” that should be “conceptualized and valued as such” (Turino pg 25), as the becoming and transformative aspects of my participatory modes of performance like group improvisation shine through. Similarly, the index of this music with the coming of age movies that I experienced the music in for the first time, and the instant association therein that I use to explain my musical taste to someone, helps me connect to my roots and create a bigger thread throughout my life where I can connect back to those feelings when I see movies like 10 Things I Hate About You or The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It's about the ability to connect and communicate with the past, learn from it, and take its spirit into your fights in the modern day. Connecting with the past, and with other people, after all, assists in the most important aspect of both the music that I love and the music I love to create: that people with differing levels of musical skill, who can connect the music to the knowledge of the past or the potential of the future, can “bolster confidence among the less secure” (Turino, pg. 51) and assist in creating an ensemble and an experience insistent on becoming and transformation. Life is participatory, and just like the music that shapes my personal identity, it gets better the more people who are confident to join in and help it become or turn into something beautiful.

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