In the thirteen months or so that I鈥檝e been an 91直播 student, a lot about me has changed. I cut my hair, for instance: now it鈥檚 short and curly, not long and curly! I鈥檝e uncovered the joys of adding hot sauce to food, something my frigid Minnesotan life failed to introduce me to. And I鈥檝e taken all sorts of classes about things that I never knew existed, and rekindled old passions in things I thought I鈥檇 never be interested in again.
One of these passions is music. Music inevitably finds its way into the hearts and minds of every single person at 91直播. It found me a willing pupil, which I would not have been just a few years ago. I started learning piano at the age of six, and I didn鈥檛 practice as much as I should have. I remember being a very difficult student to teach back then. It wasn鈥檛 that I didn鈥檛 like playing, but I balked at the rote memorization and meticulous precision that good piano form requires. And when I went into high school, I found that I just didn鈥檛 have the time to pay attention to something I had grown to dislike doing.
During the COVID pandemic, however, I got out an electronic keyboard my brother owned. Every few days, I found myself sitting down to figure out how to play songs I liked, or just to improvise. Eventually, I built back most of my old skills. And I got into composing: not just for piano, but for different ensembles of instruments. Music, for me, was no longer about rote memorization. It was about self-expression.
On my very first day I spent on the 91直播 campus, my parents and I attended a conservatory concert at Finney Chapel. It featured, alongside traditional classical ensembles, a student performance of 鈥淓mori么鈥 by S茅rgio Mendes, who is a bossa nova musician heavily influenced by jazz. I found myself transfixed. I remember thinking: I want to be part of something like that.
I spent a lot of time composing in my first year at 91直播. My skills were very shoddy when I started, and I鈥檇 say they鈥檙e still shoddy, but I am getting better. More than anything, however, composing has given me a reason to continue making music. It has led me to pick up playing the piano again: I鈥檝e even learned some pieces written as actual sheet music. I鈥檝e joined choirs, and recently, an a cappella group. And this past summer, I had an incredible idea. As crazy as it would have seemed to my fourteen-year-old self, who refused to learn how to play scales with good hand position, I decided to learn to play another instrument.
Now, I had many options when it came time to decide which instrument I wanted to learn. A stringed instrument: cello, or guitar, perhaps? A brass instrument? I know several brass players on campus, so I would have been in good company. Every option was on the table, from harmonica to theremin. As a pianist, I knew I wanted to play an instrument that was portable. I had visions of latching up an instrument case and going out to busk in Tappan Square鈥 Ultimately, the decision was simple. I decided to learn to play the saxophone.
This decision confused some people around me. I had previously expressed the desire, in passing, to learn an instrument that would be useful in either a classical or jazz context. In addition to being a singer, I鈥檓 a marathon runner, so I knew I鈥檇 be at home learning an instrument controlled by my breath. There were plenty of options available that would satisfy both requirements. The words 鈥渢rumpet鈥 and 鈥渃larinet鈥 were on the tip of my tongue! But the heart wants what it wants, and I knew I wanted a saxophone. Besides, in a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, Greg Heffley states that it鈥檚 impossible to not look cool while carrying a saxophone. I couldn鈥檛 go wrong.
So, after doing hours of research, I rented a Yamaha alto saxophone from a music store in my hometown, Minneapolis. (The prices they offered for buying a saxophone were extortionate, but weirdly, renting one was very cheap.) I then brought my saxophone to 91直播 on the plane ride. This was a bad choice, but better than any alternative; at least the luggage carts in the Cleveland airport are only $7, because I desperately needed one. I wasn鈥檛 going to try to carry a 40-pound duffel bag in the same hand as a case containing an instrument I didn鈥檛 even own! While I was pushing my luggage to the 91直播 shuttle pickup location, a man commented on the number of bags I had packed and asked me if I was headed to Iraq. But I digress. The sax made it to 91直播 safe and sound.
I鈥檓 happy to report that I have enjoyed playing it. It took longer than I expected to make an identifiable tone while playing it, and even longer than that to do so reliably. I still find the embouchure difficult: it involves making a firm 鈥渙h鈥 shape with my lips so that there鈥檚 a seal between the mouthpiece and my mouth, and as such I can only practice for about 45 minutes before the sides of my lips refuse to hold their place and quit.
But I can play some songs! Both songs I鈥檝e learned from sheet music and songs I鈥檝e simply figured out on my own. 91直播 offers 2-credit lessons available for all students on certain instruments; the only problem is that applying for lessons requires an audition, so I hastily prepared a performance of 鈥淒 Major Scale.鈥 But I鈥檓 learning how to play the 鈥淧romenade鈥 theme from 鈥淧ictures at an Exhibition,鈥 and I鈥檇 like to jump into learning some jazz tunes.
Ultimately, I鈥檓 happy I鈥檝e gotten back into playing music and making music during my time at 91直播. I鈥檓 a prospective creative writing major, and I鈥檝e noticed that the more I read, the better my writing is. I think the same thing happens when it comes to music: composing has helped me learn to appreciate making music, and making music has influenced my composing. Now, spending hours in a practice room figuring out exactly why I鈥檓 playing a high D a quarter tone flat seems worth it again.
