A Little Musician's Awakening

(On Growing Up in an Eclectic and Non-discriminatory Musical Environment)

As soon as I arrived home from work today, Evawwen asked me to tuck him to bed. I put on the DVD Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005) (our nth time to watch it), and about halfway through the film, Evawwen and I finally fell asleep.

I woke up first after a few hours, went down to eat, and worked on some articles on my laptop. After about two hours, I could hear Evawwen's footsteps, going down the stairs. His first words when he saw me were, "Dad, come with me upstairs; we're not yet done watching Metal...."

At his age of only three, he seems to know already how to distinguish music by genre.

The fact is, I have watched the documentary film with Evawwen for countless times already, and he enjoys it every time. He could even do the "Metal sign" with his hands. And he knows when a certain song or piece of music I play is Metal—his sense of listening kind of discerns the elements that make the piece Metal.

Inborn?

Genetics?

No. He simply just grew up (and continues to grow up) in a household and with a father whose taste in music is eclectic and non-discriminatory. We listen to (and really enjoy) the music of a diversity of artists—from Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga to Yoyoy Villame and Eddie Peregrina to The Cure, Depeche Mode, and fun. to Van Halen, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Enslaved, Celtic Frost, In Flames, Saosin, Malice Mizer, Dead Kennedys, The Exploited to Madonna, New Kids on the Block, Menudo to Kanye West, Ne-yo, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, and Village People and even to Vivaldi, Bach, Wagner, and film scores by John Williams, Danny Elfman, and Alan Silvestri.

I'm proud of Evawwen. At his age of only three, he seems to know already how to distinguish music by genre. For instance, when I play "Just like Heaven," he would say The Cure; and when I play Depeche Mode, he would say New Wave. When a Bieber or a Gaga song is playing, he would dance and shake his booty. When a Metal song is playing—especially the type that has a really distorted power-chord groove to it, he would flash the Metal sign with his hand.