A little something on a music program that I’m working on.

            I remember being very young and wandering around at my grandparents’ house. One of those times I went in one of the storage rooms where I saw my grandfather playing his acoustic guitar. I had never seen him play it before, but I thought it was the coolest thing. Time passed by, and one day we got some really bad news. My grandfather had been diagnosed with cancer, and died when I was in fifth grade. It was hard on all of us. My grandmother moved out of the house and moved to a villa in Silvis, IL. I visited one day and did my snoopin’ around again, running into my grandfather’s old guitar again. I picked it up and started playing it, but not very well.

            Every time I went to visit my grandmother in Silvis, I would try playing the guitar; figuring out slowly how it worked. I tried sounding out some easy guitar melodies that I have heard from songs; the first being Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. All the while I was playing it left-handed. I didn’t find a problem with this until I had heard about tablature from a friend. Tablature is a different form of reading music involving numbers on different lines that represent which string that number is on. It was all backwards since I was playing left-handed. I made the difficult transition of switching to right-handed, but luckily I eventually got used to it.

            I had asked my grandmother whether or not I could take the guitar home with me, but she refused since it was an antique. After corn-detasseling season during the summer after eighth grade, I had decided it was time to buy my own guitar. I walked into the guitar store, and the first guitar I set my eyes on was the one I wanted. It’s cherry red wooden body and devil-horn body was just like Angus Young’s guitar, who was the guitarist for my favorite band at the time. I got everything I needed to play it, and walked out to some unhappy parents. I didn’t care though. They didn’t understand how much I loved playing these things. Now that I could play it every day, I had time to figure more things about it. I learned where all the notes were on it, how to do chords based on tablature, how to alternate pick, distort and change the sounds using different knobs and switches, and ultimately, a somewhat understanding of how to create melodies and what not.

            It’s been tough learning guitar without a teacher, but luckily I’ve had the internet with simple tips and various songs to learn using tablature. I’ve jammed with many of my friends in the past, whether it be a guitar duet, or playing guitar over drums. Improvement on technique has slowed up recently, but I plan on playing guitar for the rest of my life. I thank my grandfather very much for inspiring me to begin playing.

I never thought that I would ever write a blog on a social networking website such as tumblr, but since its requirement for the Rhetoric 105 class, I revamped my opinion and am excited to do so. This page will also enable me and my friend to post our finished music on tumblr, which will be a productive way of getting the word out. Well enough of the chit chat, time to get down to business.

The life of Kevin Paller begins in a now torn-down hospital in the city of Moline, Illinois. I was born and raised there, enjoying playing outside, gravitating towards a television for various shows and video games, and playing with Legos. I started playing football in sixth grade and ended playing my junior year of high-school after getting a concussion during practice. I joined the wrestling team in middle school, and stopped after junior year, once again, from another concussion. My journey in Track & Field, my favorite sport of all time, sprung up in seventh grade, and ended senior year. I started Varsity junior year in all three sports, and after my concussions, I decided it was time to just stick with running. For the post season in track, our 4x800 meter relay team made it to state. Unfortunately in many humid exhausting ways, I joined to cross-country team to improve my endurance for running. It had not been in vain, for I made it to state in two events; the 800 meter dash and 4x400 meter relay.

I have had long-lasting interests in music and learning. Social sciences, mathematics, physics, philosophy, the arts, etc. are the most common subjects I think about. I am in the Division of General Studies, but hopefully will be transferring to either a physics major or an engineering major. My friend and I have been writing music together since we met last semester. I enjoy listening to a lot of kinds of music, ranging from Kanye West to Kings of Leon, and from Bob Dylan to The Weeknd.

Writing did not become special to me until I started getting more comfortable with it. I took a college writing class, and I felt much more prepared to write papers in college. Writing has benefited me in many ways. A way it has helped me is enabling me to communicate better in day to day life, whether it be writing or speaking. I am excited for rhetoric 105 to further benefit my ability to write and communicate.

            There are many instances where I write something down. I take notes in class, write down assignments, compose papers, do worksheets, essays on exams, and many others. Outside of class, I write e-mails from time to time, and also post things on social networking web sites such as twitter, facebook, and now recently tumblr. I leave notes for myself for many different things to remember. I write poetry and lyrics for personal hobby and musical purposes respectively. I am currently writing a novel, which won’t be done for a long while. I also write short stories and reflections on certain events. I write in cards, text messages, and the occasional mailed letter. There are countless times where I write, but more so during school.

The Velvet Underground