My family, character, and faith have all been significantly formed and impacted by my journey in music. The lessons I have learned and the relationships I have built can be tied back to music. Playing three instruments - piano, trumpet, and guitar - have all offered unique experiences with different challenges. The piano, with 88 keys and all 10 fingers. The trumpet, with 3 valves and seemingly infinite combinations. The guitar, with 6 strings and 20 frets. These instruments have shaped me into the person I am today.
The 88 keys on a piano contain their own unique sound, working together to sculpt a beautiful melody. My piano journey began when I was four years old and throughout these last 13 years it has taught me the values of persistence and patience, but most importantly has strengthened my bond with my family. My late grandmother loved listening to me play piano. As a single mother of five boys and a special education teacher in East Texas, she faced many challenges. Despite these hardships, she approached every situation with grace, patience, and love which was evident in her favorite song, “Amazing Grace.” When she passed in 2018, I struggled to find ways to deal with my grief. Soon after her funeral I sat down to practice piano, and decided to play “Amazing Grace.” I felt an immediate sense of comfort and peace in my heart. Since then, each time I play her song I am reminded of her positive attitude, her graceful heart, and her amazing devotion to her family.
As I entered middle school, I had the opportunity to learn a new instrument. I was excited to play trumpet because it was often in the spotlight and heard above the crowd, which reflected my personality really well. Once I became a freshman in marching bad, I quickly learned that leadership was vital to the success of the trumpet section and the whole band. Similar to that of a beginner musician, my leadership style was loud and lacked a refined tone. While effective, this form of leadership proved to be rushed and superficial. My second year of marching band I had to the opportunity to lead the incoming freshman. In order to achieve our goals as a band, I had to adjust my style of leadership. Instead of raising my voice to communicate expectations, I developed a more nuanced leadership approach, which included modeling the behavior the directors expected, and tailoring my interactions to the individuals in my section. Now as a senior, I have improved my trumpet ability by learning how to incorporate dynamics into my performance, rather just playing at intense volume. Similarly, I have transformed as a leader by understanding the benefit of having diversity in my leadership technique.
Above all, my Christian faith is of utmost importance to me, because it drives me to be a young man of high character. Worship is an important way that I express being Christian, whether that be praying, serving others, or singing songs. Last year, I found my great-grandfather’s guitar while visiting my grandparents. I had been wanting to learn this instrument and spent all of Spring Break teaching myself chord progressions and strumming patterns. Given my new found skills, I approached the music director and youth leaders at my church to start a youth-led praise band. I recruited percussion and voices for our band, and also carved out an hour each week for rehearsals. Playing guitar has strengthened my faith and helped me grow in my relationship with God. Playing worship music is my favorite form of praise, and it allows me to do what I love - create music.
88 keys, 3 valves, 6 strings - no matter what form it comes in, music has changed my life for the better. My family is connected by music, my character is molded by music, and my faith is rested on music.
