What Music Means to Me

Jenn Cohen | September 5, 2012 | 0 Comments

Third Way Students Share Their Thoughts; and in Doing so, are Brilliant

by Nathan Schmit

nschmit@coloradomusicbuzz.com

Recently, Flobots.org began programming at Third Way Center in Lowry, and like all the youth that we work with, the students at Third Way have inspired us to no end. In just two weeks, these amazing young people have learned and demonstrated the music production skills of wave editing, arrangement, basic mixing, and how to launch samples in real time (which is essentially performing live in a classroom setting, or one step shy of performing in public.) Out of respect for their efforts and the community we are building with them, we offered our students a chance to be quoted in CMB.

We asked our students to answer the following question for this edition of the magazine, and have been quite moved by their thoughtful, mature, and poetic responses. We hope you will be just as touched by their responses below. Thanks Colorado Music Buzz Magazine for your consistent support, and the many opportunities that you continue to offer to the young people we work with.

What does music mean to you?

“Music makes me feel alive because I love it. It just has a strong feeling that calms you down if you’re angry, or whatever you are feeling. Music brings happiness to my life, like a coping skill. Music is another way for me to get away from this world and be in the next one. It’s just a great way to enjoy life.” – MM

“Music…it’s usually about a person’s life. That’s what I like about music. It makes me feel powerful and great. I learn a lot from music and what I think the music I listen to is about. It encourages me to do what’s right in my life. Music is life.” – Ryan

“What has come of mainstream/ Where the talent I hear/ Comes from sipping on lean/ That’s why I’m looking underground/For the soul/ That we’ve misplaced/ Music is more than words/ More than sound/ More than talent/ It an unimaginable/ Mind opening experience/ From rock n roll to/ Classical. But the most talent/ We rarely see/ We rarely hear/ So open your mind to all/ The experiences music holds/ Let it live in you, live in the beat/ It’ll take you high.” – MMM

“Music is like a door, it gives me a passage of escape in difficult times, which is why I am glad to be a part of Youth on Record. Music is a way to express myself in a positive way. I have always dreamed of being a rock star or a rapper. Now I have a chance to become my dream. It’s funny ‘cause my sister is in the same program as myself. It has kept us out of trouble because we can express ourselves in a positive way, and we can be something in life where people realize you can come up from anything in life.” – HZG

”Music is made to inspire/ Music is made to save/ Music is something that can keep you going all day/ When I close my eyes, and leave my mind to drift/Beats and rhythms drift through the emptiness/ Music has saved my life/ Music has saved my soul/ On the day I can’t go on/ I let the beats and rhythms flow/ And from the darkness that I feel/ Liberation springs, takes roots, and sets me free. / There is no abyss I cannot escape/ With my mp3, my laptop, and the feelings in me.” – GG

Youth On Record, a program of Flobots.org, teaches music production and lyric writing in residential treatment centers across Denver and beyond, as a means of supporting their specific treatment goals. It is truly amazing what many young people will do and say when given the opportunity.

About Flobots.org

Founded in 2007 by the internationally known Denver based hip-hop collective Flobots, Flobots.org connects underserved youth across Colorado with music and empowerment education. Led by a network of professional musicians, artists and educators, Flobots.org programs are designed to harness the power of music and those who love it.