Scholarship Essay I can’t remember a time before I had such a deep love for music. Though my parents wouldn’t enroll me in piano lessons, my interest didn’t waver. Instead, at 10 years old, I resorted to teaching myself piano. The songs I had once listened to so casually now had a new meaning and the once abandoned electronic keyboard I had in my basement gained a new purpose. I’d hear melodies and replicate them, which resulted in me learning Beyonce and Wizkid songs, contrasting the Mozart or Beethoven classical pianists my age knew. In the 6th grade, I joined Band. I took what I learned from class and applied it to piano. I'd practice piano and increase my musical knowledge through Youtube, learning basic scales, notes, and chords. Believing I could go farther with my skills, I decided to learn more Music Theory throughout middle school. With this, along with learning songs by ear, I quickly began to recognize complex chord qualities such as seventh and ninth chords. I started memorizing my favorite chord progressions and replicating them on my piano, which led to me creating my first original compositions. In high school, music became an integral part of my life. I decided to challenge myself with another instrument. Not yet knowing how to play, I purchased a guitar freshman year, believing I could learn the same way I learned piano. I was able to intersect my piano and aural skills to create my own melodies, some of which would move myself to tears. I became obsessed with this feeling; the euphoria that followed playing the perfect chord at the end of a cadence. I committed to practicing for 30 minutes a day, which by sophomore year, turned into one hour, which by Junior year, turned into two. I’d often get lost playing and two hours blended into five or six. Blisters developed on my fingertips, marking the hours I’d put into playing. From high school to me now, a rising Junior in College, I continued this routine, only missing a few days a year. In 2022, I auditioned for my dream school, NYU with a live jazz guitar performance. I worked on it for months and I was accepted! The summer before my sophomore year, I composed, performed in, and engineered two projects and released them within two months of each other. Every chord progression felt like a mesh of colors coming together in a painting. I love expressing myself musically, utilizing the skills I’ve honed in on throughout my adolescence. Now developed blisters on my fingertips would be pointed out by friends, however, every time I feel them, I’m reminded of the moments of solitude in my room attempting to become a better instrumentalist. I’m reminded of the minutes I spent playing a riff over and over again, not for perfection, but merely because I was so entranced with the way it sounds. Music has changed my life in many ways, but especially in how it taught me discipline and determination. It gave me the belief that I can do anything I set my mind to. I remember wishing to play “I Miss You” by Ichika, the song that inspired me to purchase a guitar at first. It’s amazing to think that after two years, I was able to play that song exactly, from learning it by ear. Music has changed the way I view challenges, especially when I look at the musicians that inspire me and the hardships they faced. I know I am able to do it too.

The area of music I'm entering is Music Technology, which includes producing, composing, audio engineering, and electronic music performance. I've loved music ever since I was little, teaching myself music theory and piano at around 10 years old. In the 6th grade I joined band class. I would take what I learned from class and apply it to piano at home. I’d practice piano and increase my musical knowledge through Youtube, learning basic scales, notes, and chords. With this, I was able to recognize advanced chord qualities and scales in an instant. I purchased an electric guitar Freshman year of high school believing I could learn the same way I learned piano. I committed to practicing for 30 minutes a day, which by Sophomore year, turned into one hour, which by Junior year, turned into two hours a day. From my senior year in high school to now, I practice at least 3 hours a day. I’d often get lost playing that two hours blended into five or six. While doing this, I also practiced singing daily, and piano and music production multiple times a week. Doing these almost daily since January of 2020 has allowed me to progress immensely. In my career, I have demonstrated proficiency in using multiple DAWs, such as FL Studio, Logic, and Pro Tools, allowing me to successfully produce and mix music. As a versatile musician, I am also a proficient guitarist and vocalist. I take pride in being the producer, writer, instrumentalist, performer, and the engineer of all of my original works. One notable achievement is the success I've achieved on TikTok, accumulating 450,000 likes in a little over a year by sharing my music, along with a total of 200,000 views on my YouTube channel where I showcase original music and covers. I'd love to become a full time musician. I've created multiple projects, including two EP's this summer, where I produced, wrote, mixed, mastered, and performed on every track in them which has helped this dream come into fruition. When I wanted to produce music freshman year, I learned audio engineering through Logic Pro and FL Studio, programs I still use today. Although certain VSTs or virtual studio technologies I use on these programs contain a plethora of different sounds and sequences, I want to eventually be able to create my own sounds from scratch. Instead of only having an ordinary career as an audio engineer, I plan on utilizing my degree to create my own sounds in my music, further immersing myself into the production process and making my music all the more personal and original. Further into the future, I'd love to involve myself with multimedia projects. Earlier this year, I was able to intern at Q Department, a production company, where I learned sound design elements, gained mixing techniques, and composed to multiple advertisements overall. This included creating mnemonics and jingles. With my time here, I've strengthened my interest in composing/arranging for media and producing music overall. I want to extend this into many multimedia aspects. I'd love to compose for movies, advertisements, and especially video games on a grand scale in the future. I work towards this by producing music almost everyday, consistently practicing singing and guitar, and overall exercising creativity.

The performing arts I'm entering is music technology to be specific, which includes producing, composing, audio engineering, and electronic music performance. I've loved music ever since I was little, teaching myself music theory and piano at around 10 years old. In the 6th grade I joined band and I would take what I learned from class and apply it to piano at home. I’d practice piano and increase my musical knowledge through Youtube, learning basic scales, notes, and chords. With this, I was able to recognize advanced chord qualities and scales in an instant. I purchased an electric guitar Freshman year of high school believing I could learn the same way I learned piano. I committed to practicing for 30 minutes a day, which by Sophomore year, turned into one hour, which by Junior year, turned into two hours a day. From my senior year in high school until now, I practice at least 3 hours a day. I’d often get lost playing that two hours blended into five or six. While doing this, I also practiced singing daily, and piano and music production multiple times a week. Doing these almost daily since January of 2020 has allowed me to progress immensely. In my career, I have demonstrated proficiency in using multiple DAWs, such as FL Studio, Logic, and Pro Tools, allowing me to successfully produce and mix music. As a versatile musician, I am also a proficient guitarist and vocalist. I take pride in being the producer, writer, instrumentalist, performer, and the engineer of all of my original works. One notable achievement is the success I've achieved on TikTok, accumulating 450,000 likes in a little over a year by sharing my music, along with a total of 200,000 views on my YouTube channel where I showcase original music and covers. I'd love to become a full time musician. I've created multiple projects, including two EP's this summer, where I produced, wrote, mixed, mastered, and performed on every track in them which has helped this dream come into fruition. When I wanted to produce music freshman year, I learned audio engineering through Logic Pro and FL Studio, programs I still use today. Although certain VSTs or virtual studio technologies I use on these programs contain a plethora of different sounds and sequences, I want to eventually be able to create my own sounds from scratch. Instead of having an ordinary career as a audio engineer or data analyst, I plan on utilizing my degree in my music to create my own sounds, further immersing myself into the production process and making my music all the more personal and ultimately creating genre bending music. Further into the future, I'd love to involve myself with multimedia projects. Earlier this year, I was able to intern at Q Department, a production company, where I learned sound design elements, gained mixing techniques, and composed to multiple advertisements overall. This included creating mnemonics and jingles. With my time here, I've strengthen my interest in composing for picture and producing music overall. I want to extend this into many multimedia aspects. I'd love to compose for movies, advertisements, and especially video games on a grand scale in the future. I work towards this by producing music almost everyday, consistently practicing singing and guitar, and overall exercising creativity.

The performing arts I'm entering is music technology to be specific, which includes producing, composing, audio engineering, and electronic music performance. I've loved music ever since I was little, teaching myself music theory and piano at around 10 years old. In the 6th grade I joined band and I would take what I learned from class and apply it to piano at home. I’d practice piano and increase my musical knowledge through Youtube, learning basic scales, notes, and chords. With this, I was able to recognize advanced chord qualities and scales in an instant. I purchased an electric guitar Freshman year of high school believing I could learn the same way I learned piano. I committed to practicing for 30 minutes a day, which by Sophomore year, turned into one hour, which by Junior year, turned into two hours a day. From my senior year in high school until now, I practice at least 3 hours a day. I’d often get lost playing that two hours blended into five or six. While doing this, I also practiced singing daily, and piano and music production multiple times a week. Doing these almost daily since January of 2020 has allowed me to progress immensely. In my career, I have demonstrated proficiency in using multiple DAWs, such as FL Studio, Logic, and Pro Tools, allowing me to successfully produce and mix music. As a versatile musician, I am also a proficient guitarist and vocalist. I take pride in being the producer, writer, instrumentalist, performer, and the engineer of all of my original works. One notable achievement is the success I've achieved on TikTok, accumulating 450,000 likes in a little over a year by sharing my music, along with a total of 200,000 views on my YouTube channel where I showcase original music and covers. I'd love to become a full time musician. I've created multiple projects, including two EP's this summer, where I produced, wrote, mixed, mastered, and performed on every track in them which has helped this dream come into fruition. When I wanted to produce music freshman year, I learned audio engineering through Logic Pro and FL Studio, programs I still use today. Although certain VSTs or virtual studio technologies I use on these programs contain a plethora of different sounds and sequences, I want to eventually be able to create my own sounds from scratch. Instead of having an ordinary career as a audio engineer or data analyst, I plan on utilizing my degree in my music to create my own sounds, further immersing myself into the production process and making my music all the more personal and ultimately creating genre bending music. Further into the future, I'd love to involve myself with multimedia projects. Earlier this year, I was able to intern at Q Department, a production company, where I learned sound design elements, gained mixing techniques, and composed to multiple advertisements overall. This included creating mnemonics and jingles. With my time here, I've strengthen my interest in composing for picture and producing music overall. I want to extend this into many multimedia aspects. I'd love to compose for movies, advertisements, and especially video games on a grand scale in the future. I work towards this by producing music almost everyday, consistently practicing singing and guitar, and overall exercising creativity.

My favorite song on brat is without a doubt "Von Dutch". The thing about this song that really excites me is the production and mixing. The mixing on this song has inspired me so much, as I'm a music producer and audio engineer. I was able to learn multiple techniques that makes vocals stand out with this song alone. One thing I love about this song is how space is applied. Charlie xcx's Brat has allowed me to conceptualize how space and silence in music is just as effective as the sound. In the first chorus when she sings; "Von Dutch, cult classic, but I still pop," there is a pause with the vocal echo and a kick being heard. She follows this with the lyrics "I get money, you get mad because the bank's shut," where there is another pause. This sequence continues throughout the first chorus. As a musician, I often get carried away with filling spaces with chords, harmonies, and instruments in order to create impact, but with this song, I was able to see how the pauses and silences were utilized to create intensity. Charli's use of pauses and silence in the first chorus is contrasted in the following chorus, with her filling up that silence with abnormal ad-libs, furthermore creating an even more impactful and catchy section. Charlie's ad-libs are panned, distorted, and delayed in conjunction with the continuous lead vocals. My favorite part of this entire second chorus is the sound that follows the line; "Yeah I heard your little secret, put your hands up." This scream-like, reverb heavy sound is out from left field and especially adds to the intensity that was built throughout the song. I'm obsessed with the delay effect on "Eardrums" in this new chorus. I drift away as the ad-libs delay and distort, as if there's an absence of time. She then comes back in abruptly, continuing the hook and snapping back into the world of Von Dutch. The last couple times she repeats; "I'm your number one, your number one," she plays around with the rhythm, contrasting the rhythm of how she said these lyrics in previous sections. Charli creates individual identities for the different sections throughout Von Dutch, despite them consisting of almost identical lyrical content. She does this through emphasizing previous lyrics, changing the rhythm, distorting, and mixing them. I love this song so much because of the way Charli is able to elevate something seemingly simple into a masterpiece!

My favorite concert memory is also my first concert memory! It was when I went to see the talented musician Snoh Aalegra with one of my cousins. I remember when I scored the tickets originally, I was supposed to go with my classmate since we bought them together. We were so excited to see Snow Aalegra , especially since she just released an album we were obsessed with at the time; Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies. "Lost You" was my most played song the year the album released and I couldn't wait to hear it live and in person! A couple weeks later before the concert, my friend that originally bought the tickets with me told me she needed to study for school and take the time to really focus, so she was kind enough to give me her ticket for free. Luckily, my cousin was also a huge Snoh Aalegra fan, so I asked if she'd like to come with me to the concert to which she'd accepted! The show took place in Detroit, and since the tickets were general admission, me and my cousin were determined to make it there early. We arrived to the venue 3 hours before opening time, and to our surprise, the line was shorter than we expected, allowing us to secure an amazing spot. There was also an opener, named Ogi that blew me and my cousin away. Immediately after she performed I was determined to look her up on all platforms and follow her. I still enjoy her music today and she has come such a long way! Once Snoh Aalegra came out, I was able to hear all my favorite songs from current and previous albums, including many of my favorites! I remember being so inspired by her performance, it helped me gain the confidence to begin performing as well. What made this extremely memorable was more what happened after the concert. Once Snoh said her goodbyes to the crowd, me and my cousin left the venue and she drove home while I waited for my brother to pick me up. I walked around the outside venue when I heard music coming from a car speaker. Intrigued, I walked towards it to find a crowd of people, presumingly people that just came from the show. More people began to follow the music and enter the crowd. Tevin Campbell's Can We Talk was playing with the crowd cheerfully singing along to it. Couples and friends were dancing, strangers were joining in, it felt like one big cookout. It felt as if everyone already knew each other. It was so beautiful to see as I genuinely felt like a part of a greater community. I still watch the video I took of the crowd today, despite this happening 2 years ago now. It always reminds me how much music can bring people together.