(to be edited) I have been a pianist since the age of eight, and I don’t plan to cease playing. I firmly believe learning the piano and how to make music genuinely saved my brain and is what allows me to do all the things I am able to today. In the future I hope my piano skills will come in handy for accompanying students, churches and theater programs. I also would like my piano skills, in conjunction with my harp skills, to allow me to play at my friend’s future weddings and hopefully other public venues.
In my music, I mainly value intention. If a piece of music is not intentional or does not have a meaning, then it holds no value for me. I’m fairly picky with what I listen to, since I don’t listen to music as much as the average person. So, if I need to listen to something, I would rather it be mentally engaging rather than not. I like to figure things out and understand, so when I hear music that is just put out to fill silence, my brain feels dry and I lose interest. For example, AI music is rarely made intentionally, and I can tell, since it gets boring easily to me. When I hear music on my friend’s radio or in the Walmart isles that sounds like the artist thought about what they were putting on air, I will go find that artist to listen to more of their discography.
I find this intentionality bleeds into my teaching, I do not like to leave questions unanswered for my students. I like to make sure they have all the tools they need to explore the music further than just learning the notes. Sometimes that means I will skip ahead of the curriculum to show them all the things that their current piece is presenting. When they ask questions about a concept that may be two books ahead, I try to describe in in a tangible way for their level so that they will be prepared for it when it does come up in their curriculum. A good musician is a musician who cares about the music, and I try to make my students good musicians by showing them why the music is important and why they should care.
In my own music I also like to keep the intention behind it. I don’t enjoy making soulless music. I hope through all of my musical endeavors that I’ll keep people’s brains engaged along with my own.