Sunny Writes: My Connection to Music

When I was a little girl, my family noticed that I responded very well to music. Whenever I would get upset, one of my three older brothers would wind up a music box, it would play a song, and the music would calm me down. When I was a baby, my mom discovered that I could hum one of the melodies from the music box in the exact same key that it was played. They then realized when I was about two years old that I have a very special gift called perfect pitch. Perfect pitch is an auditory phenomenon where people can hum notes and I can identify the pitch without playing it on the piano. A lady from South Korea gave me a piano when I was four years old, which I still currently play on. I started taking piano lessons from age 5 to age 15. I had a piano teacher who was very accommodating, yet he wouldn’t cut me any slack for laziness. I had to practice the piano for at least an hour every day.

When I was younger, I started to become fascinated by the human body and the aging process. This lead me to think about older adults who may be confined to nursing homes and cannot go out and experience music on their own. As a result, I developed a passion to play for nursing home populations and bringing music to them. That is exactly where my heart and my passion are today.

I still respond very positively to music. I could listen to a song either on the radio or on my phone, and depending on the beat of the song, my body responds. Sometimes I move, and other times, I sit and reflect. There are certain songs that I listen to that cause me to look back over my life. Sometimes I find myself crying if the song fuels my emotions. Other times, I smile, dance, and laugh. Music is a universal language. I use music to express my beliefs, needs, and emotions. If I can’t find the words to say to someone, I just play a song for them and the song says it all. As I mentioned before, I am very passionate about playing for older adults. I have experienced healing in music. Music has the potential to heal the body, mind, and spirit.

As one of the leaders of The Musical Autist, my role and mission is to use music to serve those people on the autism spectrum who may need music the most. I am not a music therapist, but I use music in a way to support people on the autism spectrum who may be going through a difficult time. To me, music is useful for the autistic community. We take every opportunity we can to perform all over our county and beyond. This allows us to entertain audiences and get them engaged with our mission and vision.

I want people in this world, whether they are autistic or not, to experience the sweetness of music. Music is so pleasant to the human ear. It allows healing, and it also puts you in a good mood. On a typical week, I always use music to serve the human population. I think everyone can benefit from the richness of music, so let us all make music together and experience just how sweet it is.

Explore your family’s connection to music at our next Empowerment Jam Session Junior on 9/29.