My Discoveries
I have discovered a lot of things, but the most important to me is music. Music
means the world to me. It brings me joy and happiness, it cheers me up when I’m down. Without
music, I don’t know where I’ll be today or who I am today. All the different instruments, all the
different sounds. Some are deep, some are wild, and some are gentle. With my experiences, I can
say that none is bad, and all is good. I have been dealing with music for almost ten years now. I
play five instruments, piano, violin, guitar, cello, and drums. I discovered the specific sound of
each, and the different techniques of each. I learned not to give up; it takes a lot of courage to
give something up. I don’t think I ‘m the type of person who would give up easily, I think I am
the type of person who’s not scared to try new things. Of course I had goals, and I still have
goals. My goal is to discovery more instruments and more sounds so that the word “music” can
actually sink into my head.
It was when I first started playing the piano. I was only five years old, but I fell in
love, with something I will always love. At first, I didn’t get the point of pressing a whole bunch
of black and white keys, and then later on I discovered that the black and white keys can make
splendid sounds. I played the piano for five and a half years, and I learned a lot. Not only on the
music sheets, but also life improvement skills. I learned how to read the music, at first it was
extremely difficult, but after years of practice it became easier. First I played easy pieces, and
then I learned how to play hard pieces like Bach which I really enjoyed. I discovered that the
piano can make a lot of different sounds, sounds that’ll make someone say “wow.”
I stared playing violin during my third year playing piano. I saw that most people
around me could play more than one instrument. That’s when I wanted to try violin. I noticed
that this instrument is a lot different than piano. The look, the sound, and the volume. The sound
of a violin can be described in many ways. In most people’s mind, violin is played softly, and I
agree. I loved the G string because it is the lowest, also the fullest. I didn’t really like this
instrument, not because of how tough, but because of time, I don’t think I have enough time to
play it. Every instrument is hard to begin with, but no matter what I wasn’t willing to stop.
Violin was so different from piano and back then I was really little and I just didn’t think that I
could handle two instruments at the same time. Reading the music was like a piece of cake
because I already learned from playing the piano, but having to actually perform it on the violin
was hard. I don’t like to give up, but I had to because I couldn’t handle two instruments at the
same time at such a young age.
After playing the piano and the violin, I wanted to try something new; this
something is now my favorite instrument, guitar. I started playing guitar when I was ten, also my
second year in America. At first my parents wanted my little brother to play guitar, so they
brought him one. I thought that it looked very interesting, and it attracted me. So I made the
decision to start playing it. I first started playing using my little brother’s guitar. I revealed that I
could go crazy with this instrument. I like to play pop and rock songs, I also like to sing while I
playing, it’s one of my favorite things to do in my spear time. M y favorite song to play is “Take
Me Home, Country Roads.” I played for a few years and I told my parents that I like this
instrument. So they got me my very own guitar, I was so excited I cried out happy tears. For this
instrument, I discovered that you can go all wild along with crazy.
As I got older, I really wanted to join the high school orchestra, but I wasn’t good
at the violin, I could pick it back up, but I wanted to challenge myself. I started cello as my
challenge. Yea I know, that’s a lot of instruments already but I have one more after this. I can say
that cello is one of my favorite instruments. It has its own unique sound, it’s deep, but warm and
it’s despondent, kind of fits the season fall. Sometimes I think of it as a human’s voice, because
it has its own tone. It is of course bigger than a violin, a lot bigger. For this instrument, when I
play it, I can feel myself melting into it, as if like I am part of the cello. I fell in love with this
instrument the second I played it. It gave me a lot of strength, and I felt powerful.
The last instrument I want to share is drums. Now this one is the one I started
most recently. I wasn’t really into this instrument at first, but as I played along the way I learned
a lot. Like guitar, you can go all wild with this one. At first, I started with only a practice pad,
afterwards I got a complete drum set for better practice purposes. I discovered that you have to
have your rhythmus right in order to play along. I discovered the uses of different drums sticks,
they give you different sounds. My favorite drum stick is the AJ4, because it’s light, and it gives
off a quieter sound. Drums can be loud, but there are special drumheads called silence strokes
that can solve the problem. I got to explore many more things, like what each drum sounds like.
Each drum/cymbal has its own particular sound. I think that drum is one of the easiest
instruments to practice. The reason I started drums is because I want to go into the band, if I
can’t go into the orchestra. This is not just a backup plan, it’s something I love, and something
I’m passionate about. Something I would always do, and never give up.
Once again, my discovery is music, I have discovered a lot, but not enough. Like I
said previously each instrument has its own unique sound. I’m glad that I know how to play all
those instruments. They keep my life going. I learned so much over the past few years about
music I can’t really believe what I’ve done. I now know a lot of things I shouldn’t do and a lot of
things I should do. If you want to master at something, practice is required. You’ll never be good
at something if you don’t practice. It’s just like drinking water, if I don’t practice, I don’t feel it. I
believe that music will be with me forever and ever. I will pass it down to me future generations,
so they can learn what I learned. Not only does music keep me happy, it’s also full of surprises. I
want to learn more, and I want to be able to play more instruments. I think my talent is that I am
musically inclined. I should be grateful of this talent and use it wisely. I didn’t give up any
instrument, all the instruments I played I still play. If I were to start another instrument, I would
choose to play the harp. It’s played my many famous musicians, and it’s rare. It has so many
strings, and I just can’t wait to learn more about it.
Lisa Cheng
Peninsula Academy
Non-fiction Discovery Writing
Pattern C