METAMORPHIC MUSIC

“When you just create a song or just start humming something it can carry so much that you feel like you can’t say,” Mailyn Gil said. Hannah Schlesinger, Mailyn Gil, and Oscar Morales are all three regular high school students, but one thing brings them all together: music. Music has many special abilities such as lowering blood pressure and connecting people, but perhaps the most powerful one is its ability to affect your mood.

she grew up, she learned to connect with other parts of music. Mailyn learned how to play the piano, wrote songs, listened to different genres, and drew inspiration from people around her.

Above all else, Mailyn enjoys writing love songs , because when she listens to them, she is filled with feelings of happiness and endearment.

Not only does music help Mailyn feel emotions such as joy, it also allows her to express the way she’s feeling when words cannot.. “If I had not found music, I probably wouldn’t be able to express myself in multiple ways, or at least have a way to just calm down and let everything out,” Mailyn said. She loves to explore different genres of music because each one brings a new type of sentiment. Her preferred genres are pop, 50’s love songs, and country.

Each genre of music has a distinctive vibe which sets it apart. Pop music feels bubbly and happy. Rock music feels happy or sad. Classical music brings peace. Mailyn Gil’s favorite genre is 50’s music because she relates to it the most. Mailyn’s first memory of music was when she was at her grandparents house as a baby. Her cousin was playing a flute and young Mailyn started singing along with the melody. As

Schlesinger hates country music. She prefers rock and pop punk. “[Rock songs] are either really energetic or really down, so it depends on the artist,” Hannah said. She discovered her love for rock music by visiting the School of Rock; a music program where students of all ages learn how to play and write music. The upbeat pace of the School of Rock music made her feel hyped and suddenly changed her mood. Rock music eventually led to being a way of self expression. “It’s like poetry. It lets me vent without having to actually talk to anyone about my feelings.” she said.

When Hannah plays music, a whole different side of herself is shown.

She was originally inspired to become a drummer from a surprising source: Pinkie Pie, a character from the television series, My Little Pony Equestria Girls. She found Pinkie Pie motivational because of her excellent drumming skills. Her previous favoritism for Fluttershy was thrown out of the window as soon as she saw Pinkie Pie’s apparent drumming expertise.

Since then, Hannah has joined multiple bands, the most recent one performing at the popular music festival, Austin City Limits. Before playing, she described the mixture of energy as nervous and exciting. Hannah said that as soon as the music started, her worries melted away and were replaced with exhilaration. “At first, I felt really nervous. But then eventually, I kind of got into it. I got the crowd dancing and it was just an overall party,” she said. Through playing the drums, Hannah learned how to let her pent up energy out.

Oscar Morales is another melomaniac who spends his time as the bassist in band called Facade and working at Breakaway Records in South Austin. He says that his love for music likely comes from his musician father. “I feel like that’s kind of rubbed off on my personality. I just want to be a musician, I like music a lot and I like playing music,” Oscar admitted. His dad was also the one to introduce him to rock and grunge music. Since then, he explored different genres of music by working at a record store. While working, he explored various genres in the store’s library such as jazz and soul. they have pent up,” he said.

- Oscar Morales

Oscar says that he’s “gradually relied” on music and wouldn’t know what to do without it. Like Hannah, he sees music as a way to release energy. “I feel like it’s a lot of people just trying to escape or release energy that

So, what do My Little Pony, imagination, and pent up emotions have in common? The ability to inspire music. When writing or listening to songs with these emotions, you may also be affected by these feelings. Whether it’s swooning with love from a romantic 50’s song or weeping in a corner from a rock song, music’s capability to change emotions will always be metamorphic.

Explore the bustling underbelly of Austin’s music scene, which is home to some of Austin’s youngest, most talented musicians.