Which Classical Music Composer are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as J.S. Bach You are Johann Sebastian Bach! Probably one of the most famous Baroque composers, Bach wrote many polyphonic pieces for organ. He had 20 children, and in his later years began to go blind. J.S. Bach 69% Hector Berlioz 63% Antonin Dvorak 56% Franz Liszt 44% Tchaikovsky 19%

Not too much of a surprise (although I'm thankful I don't have 20 children!); a selection of the Brandenburg Concertos has a permanent place on my playlist.

There is a validity in exposing young children to a varied diet of music (though after they are born; apparently, research suggests that all that in-utero "learning" is really hogwash). My mom listened to a wide range of music, from country (on the car radio), to Slovanian polkas (a regular Saturday afternoon radio show). When finances allowed, she went to the opera. She wasn't quite able to get tickets to the Beatles' show at County Stadium in 1965, although she would have gone if she could. While I didn't always enjoy being forced to listen to some of these things, it at least exposed me to things outside my own tastes.

In third grade I decided I wanted to take violin lessons. A fourth grade girl whom I greatly admired (we had a combined 3rd and 4th grade class that year; I think I wanted to actually be Kim) was doing so, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm not so sure I would have gone ahead with it, had I realized how much classical music I'd end up playing. In the end, though, playing in the orchestra gave me an appreciation and love for classical music that the forced opera-listening might have otherwise stunted. Nothing quite matches the experience of sitting in the middle of an orchestra, the voices of the various instruments weaving and stepping around you, each taking their place in the dance. The orchestra itself is a living, breathing organism of which you are a part. Going to the symphony is very frustrating for me; they don't sell tickets for seats in the middle of the orchestra. No matter how good the acoustics are, it isn't the same.

In one of the few absolutely right-on gift surprises, my parents gave me an acoustic guitar for Christmas when I was in 8th grade. I picked it up quickly, eventually moving to an electric model, and was later asked to play in our high school jazz band. That experienced opened up several more musical worlds; big band and swing, jazz and more.

Enough babbling about music; it's time to go listen to some!

Via Janis at Gone South.