Pajaro Campana

I am an auditory person. I learn best when hearing an explanation much more so than seeing one. As such, one would think I would have a natural proclivity to music. I started my music lessons on the clarinet in the 4th grade. I was never the best and would never be the best. My introduction to marching band in college would do wonders to drive that point home (another memory for another day).

Growing up the house would often be full of music of various kinds. I grow up with a healthy regiment of classic rock and oldies, even for that time. I've always had a fascination with a particular kind of music that I heard and never fully understood: Central American folk songs. They were so interesting because they were always so different from everything else. Sure, the Beatles were good, and Elvis was king, and Led Zeppelin takes you back in time to kick your ass and then spit you back into the present, but this stuff was something else.

These folk songs would get stuck in my head but never in that annoying "brain itch" way. After learning to compose I wanted to write a song that emulated the style. Of course, I fell short, but I wrote a harp piece that captured at least part of that essence. (If you're reading this, you probably have that piece in one form or another.)

Well, God bless YouTube, because here's a link that has someone playing the song I was thinking of this morning.