Everyone has a song that makes them feel loved. That makes them cry. That makes them dance. Music has become one of the most universal influences in the world. No matter what you’re feeling, there is a song to match it.

Luckily for me, every song is an inspiration. Being an aspiring musician, I have started to listen to the words a lot closer. Music has become the only outlet that I can have complete control over, and it never fails to comfort me.

If I’m upset, I’ll listen to country music, the lovey dovey music that would drive any normal person up the wall, or just my favorite songs. When I’m in a good mood or I’m just happy, I’ll listen to more pop and R&B music. Any random occasion, you’ll hear classic rock or that weird indie stuff most people can’t comprehend. You can never tell what I’ll be listening to, and it always changes. Because I change.

Ever since I was a little kid, my dad has kept me involved in music. He went to the state level in choir when he was in high school and of course, a lot has changed, but music is music regardless. He helped teach me how to sing. He helped with piano. He kept me going even when I didn’t feel like it.

I remember my dad leaning over me at my piano and picking out notes to teach me “A Fountain Filled With Blood.” It’s something I will never forget, and I still play that song when I have free time.

Luckily, I took music and ran with it. I have been writing poems, stories, and lyrics that could be put to music for years. Whenever something bad would happen, I would grab a pen and paper. Whenever I had time to think, that pen and paper appeared all over the table. It became a release for me, and when I had a song in my head, it finished itself. I can remember many occasions when I started writing and couldn’t remember when I had finished a second song.

Now, I take all of those jumbled up words and put them to music. Sometimes I don’t even use the words. Sometimes I just sit at the piano and play around until I hear something I like. And sometimes, I think of a tune and put it to music. It’s becoming more of a challenge, but I like it. It’s awesome that the one thing that challenges me more than anything else is the same thing I love more than anything.

Unfortunately, music isn’t all about the passion anymore. Music has become a straight path to fame and fortune, while the actual heart and soul gets thrown out the window. Have you noticed how many songs on the radio are productions? How many use auto tune to the point it’s noticeable? And if you have an electric keyboard, it’s not hard to hear the recorded notes in the background.

Sadly, this is what people consider great music.

Don’t get me wrong, I like contemporary music as much as the next person, but I have come to realize the value of the art. Being so influenced by my dad, I grew up listening to classic rock music. As I grew up, it changed a lot. From pop music, to rock, to screamo, to alternative, to just about everything.

Now that I’m older, I don’t have a favorite. The ones I listen to most though are R&B or classic rock. Bands like Fleetwood Mac and Def Leopard have become my go-to playlists. Even listening to oldies like Marilyn Monroe, The Cardigans, or Elvis Presley, you can hear how raw the recordings were.

I will say that I miss the way music used to be. Expressive. Raw. True talent.

Music shouldn’t be about what you produce in a studio or on a computer. Yes, the technology is amazing, but it should be used to enhance the natural talent you have. Luckily, I know people who believe the same thing. I live with two of them.

Being so exposed to music, and having such an motivation to be involved with it, makes my life a lot better than it would be without. I can’t imagine my life without music, and I wouldn’t like to.

It’s become my life, my stress reliever, and my muse in itself.