Ever since she began playing piano by ear at the age of two, Tori Amos has known that music is her calling. She has endured dismissal from the Peabody Conservatory at age 11, an early failure as a recording artist, and rejection of the songs into which she poured her heart, yet through it all her unique "girl at the piano" sound has thrived. Her music incorporates these ups and downs of her life, yet it is not merely a diary; her method of self-expression is much deeper and more complex. Like Jeanette Winterson, a writer of autobiographical fiction, Tori combines her own experience with the creation of a fictional self. She has stated that "once I accepted...that this isn?t about me, it?s just about tapping into the different sides of Woman, then I can take on these parts" (Rogers, Images n.p.). Tori?s music is autobiographical in the sense that it includes events and influences from her life, yet it stretches the concept of autobiography by creating fictional selves, exploring the universal experience of womanhood, and expressing her emotional reactions to events; her passionate performing style and use of the piano also express her autobiography.
Journey into the mind of the girl at the piano:
Early Influences and the Development of Tori?s Musical Expression
