Jenny Dalton on Music and Arts Education

photo by Clark Patrick

How did you get into making music, and how did arts education (or lack thereof) affect you and your music?

I’ve been making music for as long as I can remember, even before I can remember. My first memories of making music were when I recruited my brother and sister to be in my band when we were toddlers. We played the blues on plastic toy instruments. When I was in elementary school, I started playing on a tiny synthesizer and continued onto the piano. I never took lessons, but taught myself how to play by ear. When I learned how to have my left hand, right hand, and voice all doing different things, that’s when I started to write the kind of music that I still make today.

In school, I loved being in choirs. When I was in the third grade, I sang a solo part in a play that caught the attention of a prestigious choir director in the audience. I joined that choir and met some great friends, went on fun retreats, and became a section leader. Those were some of my favorite memories. By the time I got to high school, the choir director there didn’t like my friends and me very much (we got into trouble a lot), so he put me in the lowest level choir. I always felt bitter about that and thought, “someday I’ll show him.”

This post is part of our 60-hour blogathon in support of music development and literacy within the Twin Cities. We appreciate you visiting the site – but before you go, we ask that you consider clicking the Donors Choose banner below and giving what you can to help enrich the lives of a number of local children through music and reading. Thank you. – Culture Bully