Black Blondie on Music and Arts Education
photo by JanellePhoto.com
How did you get into making music, and how did arts education (or lack thereof) affect you and your music?
Liz Draper: My father is a professional drummer so I was around music my whole life. I remember taking naps in his bass drum ’cause it was the kind that had an open front and he had stuffed foam in there to dampen the sound, but to me, it was the coziest fort in the house. Arts education had a huge affect on myself and my music. Visual arts and music class kept me interested in my education. When I outgrew what was being offered in my small town, I was fortunate enough to be able to leave and attend two arts high schools (Interlochen Arts Academy, MI and Perpich Center Arts High in Golden Valley, MN). Without these options I may not have even graduated high school, but instead I was able to channel my energy in a positive way, and get scholarships for college.
Tasha Baron: My earliest memories of making music are of being about three years old and pressing down the sustain pedal on my mom’s piano and making the biggest, loudest, murkiest layers of sound possible. When I was nine I started taking piano lessons, later followed by flute and trombone. The music education that I received in the public schools played a huge part in how I developed as a musician and as a person. I was introduced to experimental improvised music, jazz (Abdullah Ibrahim, Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Mingus…), learned about and used alternate forms of music notation, music theory, given an assignment of composing a piece for orchestra (which was played by the school orchestra), played in a contemporary music ensemble, woodwind choir, jazz band and orchestra, all in public middle school and high school!
Kahlil Brewington: I was introduced to music at an early age. My father and grandmother were both successful musicians and so of course I was exposed to it and wanted to create music also. I didn’t have any formal training, but I did learn from other musicians, and by practicing and listening to as much music as possible. I don’t think it is necessary to have formal training, but I do think musical knowledge, passion and understanding are essential to creating music.
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