Though his principal instrument is the saxophone — he plays in a saxophone quartet as well as Gunn’s Wind and Jazz ensembles —he learned the electric guitar in his freshman year. Then, by learning some electric bass and corroborating previous background in piano, he began constructing songs — mainly covers that he posts on his music Instagram account, @tk.songs.

Fong has long been inspired by online music creators, namely Canadian multi-instrumentalist Luna Lee and YouTuber Carlos Eiene.

“When I saw all these different people posting their creations online, I thought, ‘Why can’t I do that?’” Fong said. “It’s pretty fun to put yourself out there and share your creations with the world.”

Fong believes that the ability to produce music effectively is just as paramount as having strong instrumentation skills. 

“Being able to play instruments and melodies is just half the battle,” he said. “You still have to make everything sound good on the device it’s coming out of, which takes a lot of tweaking.” 

Fong also finds his music-theory knowledge and improvisation skills, both of which he learned from playing the saxophone, incredibly helpful for arranging songs. According to Fong, only 15-20% of the music he creates makes it out to social media. The rest, he said, is personal playing that varies greatly in genre, reflecting his broader outlook on music. 

“I like listening to everything,” Fong said. “My philosophy is that all music is good.” 

In addition to posting music online more frequently, Fong plans on incorporating other people into his music. Even thus far however, Fong’s music has made a significant mark on his life

“Sharing music has definitely made me break out of my shell because I’m normally a pretty introverted person,” he said. “If you really enjoy something, you should just do it. What’s the worst that can happen?” 

Next year, Fong will be attending the University of California, Berkeley, where he plans to continue pursuing music alongside another undecided major. 

Cheerleading’s complex choreographies can stir worries about stumbles, memory blanks and potential errors. Freshman Kaila Chen calms her pregame nerves by listening to her favorite songs.

It can get stressful at times, and everyone has nerves,” Chen said. “So (music) is a good way to take one’s mind off of worries.”

Chen noted that music has helped the cheer team change the way they approach their performances.

“(Music) brings us together by basically taking our minds off of what may happen in the future and promotes communication,” she said. “Usually our minds are clouded with thoughts about what may go wrong or what if one of us makes an error, so by playing music, it kind of shifts our mindsets. Instead of being worried, we become excited to promote our school spirit.”

The team also relies upon music when choreographing. According to Chen, these tunes keep the cheerleaders united in their goals.

“It definitely brings everyone together and prepares us for what’s ahead,” she said. “Without music to motivate us, it’s quite difficult to find something to push us forward.”

Although Chen does not create a specific playlist for pregame listening, she shuffles her liked songs: 21 Savage’s “Runnin,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” and other rap songs that energize her.

Sophomore Hannah Casale: Soccer

Sophomore Hannah Casale enjoys listening to music while warming up for soccer matches. As she jogs, stretches and does various passing drills with her teammates, she listens to songs like Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.”

“I really (only listen to music) during soccer season,” she said. “It just pumps me up, in case I’m tired, or (I listen) to have more fun.”

Casale prefers songs that are easy to run to, and she has a pregame music playlist that she shares with her team. These shared songs have allowed for moments of team bonding.

“We argue over music that we like and dislike,” Casale said. “The arguing (was) a good way to break the ice for me (because) when I just joined the team, it was mainly upperclassmen.”

Junior Sidhant Lochan: Wrestling

Lightly jogging around the wrestling room, junior Sidhant Lochan stretches with headphones on. Tapping his phone, he sees the screen light up with the album cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Money Trees.”

By listening to music, Lochan mentally prepares himself for his matches.

“Pregame songs are either to get you really hyped up, or to get you relaxed and cancel out the nerves,” he said. “I think a lot of sports need that crazy hype in their head to get the adrenaline pumping, but for wrestling, it’s more about keeping a cool head and controlling the match in all the ways that you can.”

Lochan specifically listens to “Money Trees” because the song’s mellower and softer tones, compared to Lamar’s other works, calms him.

“While I’m listening, I try to block out all my inner distractions and just visualize the match in my mind,” he said. “It gets me in the zone because for me, it gets me calm but also ready for the upcoming match.”

Other than “Money Trees,” Lochan switches things up by listening to Benson Boone’s “GHOST TOWN,” David Kushner’s “Daylight” and Bastille’s “Oblivion.”

Senior James Ford: Basketball

“One thousand on my feet, stacks spreaded on my seat / Ten thousand on my eyes.” With Travis Scott’s “MY EYES” playing through his earbuds, senior James Ford enters the basketball court to warm up for the game, ball in hand as he begins dribbling exercises.

Music helps Ford enter his “game mindset,” and he chooses from an array of upbeat tunes that energize him for the game — specifically rap and hip-hop songs.

“I don’t have a particular song I listen to, pregame,” he said. “(Instead), I usually listen to a playlist.” Ford updates his pregame playlist often, adding new music that he knows will keep him focused.

Ford also listens to Future, Kanye West and Young Thug, whose songs’ uplifting beats mentally prepare him for basketball games. His favorite tracks include Young Thug’s “Check” and Future’s “Solo.”

At Gunn, holiday pieces are a staple in the music department. In addition to preparing for the annual winter concert in December, the Gunn choir puts on holiday-themed community performances. Their holiday setlist consists of traditional carols alongside. newer commissioned pieces such as “Home for Hanukkah” by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, which was written specifically for the Gunn choir.

Choir teacher Angelina Fitzhugh emphasizes the importance of being conscious and inclusive of different cultures in the music community.

“We make sure that there’s always going to be Hanukkah representation and (that we perform) music not just from the Western (world),” she said.

Fitzhugh also believes that performing holiday music brings a sense of continuity and comfort to her choir students.

“It’s only a tiny portion of what we do, but most students really enjoy singing and performing those holiday tunes, especially the ones that we’ve done year after year,” she said.

In her school choir, Fitzhugh sang for people in retirement homes, a memorable experience that united different generations.

“(For me,) it was an interesting piece as a teenager to see people I considered super old to have (a similar positive) experience I was having and to enjoy the music in the same way I was enjoying it,” she said.

Holiday music also reminds people of joyful times. In a 2020 news article, Biola University Music Therapy Professor Ronald Borczon explained that famous holiday melodies, often connected with happy moments, are ingrained in people’s memories. Sophomore Matteo Carbone’s experience reflects this phenomenon.

“I was in first grade, and my brother was in kindergarten,” he said. “We (played) music on a speaker, and we were dancing around the house (during) most of Christmas,” he said.

Similarly, nostalgic holiday hits such as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe” help junior Leilani Griffin transition into the holiday season.

“(Holiday music) puts me in the holiday spirit and (gets me) ready for Christmas,” she said. “(It) has warm and cozy feelings — like emotions attached to an exact memory of good moments in time. It makes me think of memories with my family and friends, which makes me happy (and want to) build a snowman or make snow angels.”

Carbone, too, appreciates the uplifting feel of holiday music while hearing it in public areas, though he doesn’t proactively listen to it.

“I celebrate Christmas, so (hearing holiday music) is nice,” he said. “(Some songs are) very relaxing and others are very joyful overall, and (it puts) me in a happier mood.”

Some say that holiday music is overplayed and near-impossible to escape during the winter. The key to maximum enjoyment of holiday music, therefore, is a tailored approach. Fitzhugh, who worked in retail as a teenager, recalled the frustrating experience of repeatedly listening to the same 10 songs every day.

“I was done with it,” she said. “I can imagine (how it) still affects people who are forced to listen to it because of where they work. There are certain songs that really trigger people, and they’re like, ‘If I have to hear that song again, I’m going to lose it.’ (It’s) true for any song if it’s overplayed, but this particular set of music is only played in this time frame of the year, so it’s amplified.”

Still, as an integral element of the holiday season, holiday music is a powerful way to cherish the past, celebrate diverse cultures and improve overall well-being.

“There’s so many memories attached to holiday music (we hear throughout our) whole life,” Fitzhugh said. “Sharing those memories and having that shared experience with others brings (us) together.”

British indie-rock singer and songwriter Beatrice Kristi Laus—known by her stage name, Beabadoobee—has so far released two acclaimed studio albums: 2020’s “Fake it Flowers” and 2022’s “Beatopia.” Born in the Philippines, Laus moved to London at the age of three and quickly became involved in music. She took inspiration from original Pinoy music as well as indie-rock artists Alex G and Florist. She spent seven years playing the violin, before teaching herself to play guitar at 17. Laus released her first song “Coffee” in September of 2017 on YouTube, catching the attention of Dirty Hit Records, who signed her to the label in April 2018. Beabadoobee found further success later in 2020 when the release of “Fake it Flowers” helped her become Billboard’s top new rock artist of the year. She will be touring with Taylor Swift in Nevada, Texas,Georgia and Florida.

Gracie Abrams

Daughter of famous director J.J. Abrams, American singer and songwriter Gracie Abrams recently broke into pop music in 2020 with the release of her debut Extended Play (EP), “Minor.” Born in 1999, Abrams discovered her passion for music at age eight when learning how to play the drums. Rather than pursuing a career in music immediately after graduating high school, Abrams began a short-lived college career at Barnard. At the end of her first year, Abrams took a break from school to focus on music, which was when she amassed over six million listeners on Spotify. Abrams has cultivated a unique sound that is more moody than traditional pop music. Abrams will be opening for Swift in Florida, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Colorado, Washington and California, including the shows in Santa Clara.

HAIM

HAIM is an American rock band consisting of sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim who started out mostly playing at local venues. In February of 2012, they released their EP “Forever,” and upon positive reviews from critics, the band was subsequently signed to Polydor Records. The group released their first studio album “Days Are Gone” in 2013, which reached number one in the U.K. They then released their second studio album,“Something to Tell You,” in 2017 and its third, “Women in Music Pt. III,” in 2020. The 2020 album was nominated for two Grammys: Album of the Year and Best Rock performance. The band has previously collaborated with Taylor Swift on the song “No Body, No Crime,” a track from Swift’s album “Evermore.” For the Eras Tour, HAIM will open for Swift at her Seattle, Santa Clara and Los Angeles shows.

OWENN

Christian Owens—better known by his stage name, OWENN—previously toured with Swift as a backup dancer on her “Reputation World Tour” in 2018, and has also worked with prominent artists Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

In 2019, he starred alongside Swift in the music video for “Lover,” the title track of her seventh studio album. In 2021, Owens began making his own music and signed to Republic Records with the help and encouragement of Swift. He then released his first single, “Baby Girl,” which currently has upwards of 500 thousand streams on Spotify. He draws inspiration from artists such as David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and Usher, making music that is a mix of R&B (rhythm and blues) and pop. Owens will be opening for Swift at her Chicago,Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and Los Angeles shows.

Thanks to her father, Raman’s love for playing instruments started early. “My dad is a big fan of music, and he plays guitar,” she said. “When I was seven, he put me in piano lessons, and I continued playing piano for a really long time. Then, through middle school, I did choir and band. I taught myself guitar and ukulele, and I continued playing piano.”

Raman owns a variety of instruments, including an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ukelele and baby grand piano. The piano is her favorite instrument to play. “I [have] played piano for the longest, and sometimes I still play classical songs for fun,” she said.

With her knowledge of how to play multiple instruments, Raman started to create her own songs inspired by her favorite artists. “A lot of the musicians that I listen to are singer-songwriters,” she said. “I was inspired by the fact that they write their own songs. I picked up on that, and I started to write my own songs.”

Raman’s songs reflect the music she listens to, especially the artists that create her favorite songs and albums. “My music is like [a] pop, singer-songwriter type of music,” she said. “I listen mainly to Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde and Lana Del Rey. They all write their music, so my music is inspired by that.”

The music artist that she takes most of her inspiration from is Taylor Swift, who she has grown up listening to. “I listen to Taylor Swift, and I’ve probably been a fan since I was five,” she said. “She’s very inspiring because she writes a lot of her music, and one of her albums is completely self-written. I also like that she changes genres so she’s not really confined by any one genre with anything that she does.”

After the writing process, Raman enjoys recording her songs and adds her musical instrument talents to the song as well. “I record some of my songs as demos, [meaning] not with full production,” she said. “I plug in my guitar through an amp, and I have microphones and headsets. After recording, my dad helps me with using the music software and putting the pieces all together.”

To Raman, music is more than writing and recording; she also finds peace in the art itself. “Music is a big stress reliever for me,” she said. “I’ll pick up my guitar or I’ll go to the piano that I have in my house, and I play songs. A lot of the time, it’ll just be covers of songs that I’m into at the moment, and I’ll sing them.”

After many years of playing and writing music, Raman has found that repetition and experience make the best work. “By continuously practicing and continuing to write, you hone in on your craft,” she said. “All of the singers and artists that you listen to have probably written thousands of songs and do lots of edits of one song. A lot of times, the best songs aren’t the ones that come quickly.”

For Qiu, playing the guzheng—a 21-stringed traditional Chinese instrument—isn’t solely about mastering the technique, but about connecting with her Chinese culture and understanding the story behind the mu-
sic. Qiu believes that the tradition and stories make the guzheng unique. “The instrument carries the story of Chinese history and how Chinese culture has evolved,” she said.

Qiu is fortunate to have the opportunity to play the guzheng, but as a second-generation Chinese American, she thinks she experiences some disadvantages compared to other native Chinese players who are more exposed to Chinese culture. Since the guzheng is more popular in China, Qiu has found it difficult to find a community for Chinese music and a sense of belonging here in America. “[When] living here, it’s a little bit difficult to get other opportunities to learn more about Chinese culture,” she said.

The hardest part about mastering this instrument, according to Qiu, is being able to comprehend the story or emotions that the composer is trying to convey. Many of the songs that Qiu plays are traditional pieces based on Chinese idioms, landscapes and stories. “Every time I learn a piece, I really have to understand the story behind it,” she said. “Oftentimes, I’ll spend hours with a teacher trying to go over the meaning and the emotions behind a piece.” Qiu notes that it can often be easy to accidentally convey a different meaning by adding an American twist.

Qiu’s dedication to learning about Chinese culture and practicing her instrument for several hours a week finally paid off when she earned third place in an international competition against some of the best guzheng players in the world. “It took a lot of work to win because as a Chinese American, I’ve undergone very different training compared to some people who go to professional music schools in China,” she said.

Although connecting to the story is a challenge, the guzheng has bridged the gap between Qiu and her Chinese heritage. She has come to a better understanding of what each Chinese tradition means, and her instrument has helped her feel closer to older generations. Qiu will often send videos of her playing the guzheng to her relatives in China to connect with them during the holidays.

In the future, Qiu plans to continue to improve, compete and perform as much as she can to share her culture with the world. “Music is a conduit for my emotions and a way to express myself,” she said. “No matter what happens in the future, I can always rely on the guzheng.”

Classical singing encompasses both art song and opera. De Silva explained the differences between the two subgenres. “Think of it as the difference between Dua Lipa and musical theater,” he said. “Dua Lipa writes these one-off songs that don’t necessarily have a narrative that binds them together, whereas musical theater is more like opera.” De Silva participates in art song because, as a teenager, his vocal cords are not mature enough to sing opera safely.

One of de Silva’s most significant experiences singing classical music happened on Nov. 30, 2020, when he participated in a radio program called “From the Top.” As a part of the program, de Silva was given the opportunity to sing two pieces for patients at the Colorado Children’s Hospital via Zoom. “It’s really for the children who are there year-round or as longterm patients,” he said.

Looking back, de Silva is grateful that he got the opportunity to use his singing to help other people. “The kids loved the music,” he said. “It was calming during what was a very hectic time for them. I think that was the first time I’d ever seen music that comes from me contributing to the welfare of society.”

All of the hours spent rehearsing and fine-tuning his voice have allowed de Silva to gain a more nuanced appreciation of classical singing. This new eye for detail within the music has made de Silva’s work more rewarding. “I know the craft that goes into it,” he said. “I know what it looks like to collaborate with other artists and musicians. It is so nonlinear compared to math and what [math teacher David] Deggeller teaches us in calculus. I think I have so much more respect now for how [music] works.”

Despite all of the respect and admiration that de Silva has for classical singing, he is also cognizant of its flaws. The most prominent among these are classical singing’s failures to adequately convey the stories of people of color (POC). De Silva was particularly angered over an opera called “The Professor’s” by George V. Ze, which depicted Sri Lankan people as primitive. “It was so problematic seeing that,” he said. “My eyes went wide when I realized, ‘Oh, my god, is this really how my art form thinks of me? I just never had any personal experience with that until after seeing that opera.”

To help address the lack of diversity in classical singing, de Silva spoke at TEDx Gunn last year, where he delivered a speech championing the importance of diversity in performance arts. Looking into the future, de Silva remains hopeful that classical singing will become more diverse. “There’s more consumption of new works that tell different stories of POC and will thus feature POC,” he said.

De Silva is still unsure of whether he will fully continue singing classical music in the future. “I am going out to auditions for two conservatories in the month of March,” he said. “But, I don’t actually think that I’m necessarily going to go to a music school.”

Instead, de Silva hopes to pursue both music and his academic interests. “What I find highly likely is [that] I’m going to go into an [undergraduate school] for an academic subject, but then study music at a local conservatory and get as close as I can to getting a bachelor’s degree in music,” he said.

On most occasions, the lyrics come randomly to Kubursi while washing the dishes or even in the middle of chemistry class. “When random lyrics pop into my head while I’m in class, I write them on my notebook,” she said. “Then, once I’m free, I record it on my phone.”
Her love for sharing her music stemmed from her father, who inspired her to pursue a music career. “[My father] used to sing a lot to me when I was little, and he taught me how to play the piano and other instruments,” Kubursi said. “It was from there that I realized that I really liked to sing.”

She grew up doing voice lessons and soon began participating in singing competitions and performances around the Bay Area. “I hope that one day, I’ll be able to perform my own songs,” she said. Her newfound love for songwriting grew after one of her friends moved away in April 2020. “I wanted to put how I felt into something meaningful to me, and I picked my youth as a theme,” she said. “The words just started flowing.”

From there, she continued writing as a way to express what she couldn’t with speech. “Writing lyrics is what got me through most of lockdown,” she said. “I just started writing what I felt, and that is what music is for.”

The songs Kubursi writes are mixtures of both true and imaginary stories. She carries a notebook almost everywhere she goes to be able to note any melody or lyric that comes to her mind at any time. “I like to make up a lot of stories when writing, so a lot of the time, [my songs] are about things that I make up in my head,” she said. “But other than that, I write on my experiences, and I add on to it to make it more appealing.” So far, she has written around 20 songs and hopes to release an album by the end of this year.

Kubursi enjoys how writing songs usually comes instinctively. “My favorite part [of songwriting] is the fact that song lyrics and melodies come naturally, and I don’t really have to think about them for too long,” she said.

Although Kubursi notes that songwriting is an outlet for her emotions, it isn’t always easy. If she works on a song for a long time, she starts to lose the meaning behind it. “If I’m not really feeling what I’m writing anymore, the words don’t flow naturally and it’s way harder to write,” Kubursi said.

In order to solve this problem, Kubursi has decided not to dwell on one song idea for too long. “You can’t think about [song ideas] too hard because if a song starts and it’s not really finishing, just let it go for some time and come back to it later,” she said.

Through trial and error, Kubursi has developed her songwriting skills and decided to share her tips and tricks with the student body. In January, she founded Gunn’s Songwriting Club, which meets every Wednesday at lunch, to offer more insight on lyric writing. “I really want to share with other people how to put their emotions into song form,” she said.

Kubursi believes that everyone is capable of writing song lyrics—they may just need help getting started. “Once you have something that really means a lot to you, it’s very easy to write about it,” she said. “It can make a catchy tune for other people to listen to.”

A common critique of country music is that the songs are solely about trucks, beer or America. However, not only is this critique ignorant, but it is also generic, making it clear that people have just been told that country music is bad rather than actually listening and forming their own opinion.

Originating from the southern part of the U.S., country music is an amalgamation of genres such as gospel, folk and Tejano music. In the past, country music served as an outlet for working class Americans to tell their story. Most country artists write their own songs, so the stories are authentic and vulnerable. They also evoke imagery; a song can place the listener in the entrance to a rodeo, the lights almost blinding as the crowd roars, or perched in a wooden boat floating down the bayou, marveling at the moss hanging down from trees in droves.

It’s honestly a travesty that no one writes romantic ballads anymore. Since the turn of the century, there has been a lack of expressive romantic ballads that either profess love or proclaim heartbreak. Luckily, country music has grandiose ballads. The songs are epics, detailing a journey, romance or hardship. Teenagers especially should be able to relate—they feel intensely, and country music expresses those intense emotions with a catchy tune.

Country is at its best when it connects to its roots. With the sheer number of its genres, including bluegrass, Americana, outlaw country and more, there is something for everyone. And hey, who doesn’t love a good banjo and a twangy accent?