For the Art-A-Thon, I decided to attend an event in music. When I saw there was an event to teach blues on the piano, I got really excited. I’ve always been into music, and I taught myself how to play guitar. I have always wanted to learn to play piano, but It’s harder to self teach it and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity… especially because I’ve been wanting to learn blues and jazz on guitar.
When I arrived at 9am to the piano rooms, I was very nervous. Professor Anne Swartz was teaching students one on one how to play a basic melody. The melody wasn’t the hard part for me, but it was the fact that she was teaching sheet music and I’ve never learned to read sheet music. However, when it became my turn she made it simple for me. She actually simplified the sheet so that it looked like tabs, and I got excited because I learned to read tabs from playing guitar.
After she taught me, she sent me to one of the piano rooms to practice the melody so that I could return and play along with her. Practicing in the room was very nice for me, because music was a large part of my life up until college. Ever since I started college, I just feel completely detached and I feel like I don’t have the time or talent for it. I felt reconnected for the first time in a while, and before I knew it the event was almost over.
When I returned to the grand piano room, I was able to actually play a trio with Professor Swartz and another student. It was so nice to just let go, play, and just feel the music from the strings of the piano. Professor Swartz was also the most kindhearted person ever, I was able to tell she was extremely passionate about music and bringing it to others lives. I was lucky enough to even hear her play a more advanced blues song, and I was awestruck. Hearing her play gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. I am very grateful for the experience, and she encouraged me to take a few music classes too. She reminded me of the love I have for music.
