By Jacqueline Luberto, Piano Student, Development & Marketing Intern
Wharton Music Center
I’ve been taking piano for eleven years. At the beginning, when I was six, I started to compete in nationwide events. Everything I learned was for the judge and there were strict guidelines on the pieces you could play, the scales you needed to know, and the hours you were required to put into practicing. I continued competing until I entered high school. At that point, I realized that I really didn't really know anything about piano. I had no feelings for playing and it felt more like an obligation than a pleasure. Along the way, there were definitely pieces I loved and anyone could tell by how I played the piece. Even the judges and my teachers could tell that this one song expressed so much more about playing than an entire repertoire could. I often wished I could compose music for the lyrics I’d write and I wanted to find the passion I had for writing in my piano playing.
Why bother taking up something that does not interest you? Knowing how to play the piano is one thing, but playing it? Playing it is feeling a special connection between yourself and the keys. Each note is a color in a picture you paint and nobody else can, even if the song was composed years ago. Just take the famous piano duet “Heart and Soul”as an example. Almost 95 percent of the time I’ve seen two people play that song, they have never formally studied piano. They play piano more than anyone who just simply knows how to play piano. They found an interest in this one melody and said, “I really want to learn this.”
That’s why music is important. It doesn’t just bring people together, but it provides an array of feelings and ideas. When you’re sad, you put on a sad song. If you’re at the gym, you put on something upbeat and inspirational. If music was not important, why does it affect our minds so much? You can’t run well listening to “Ode to Joy” but instead “Eye of the Tiger.” I listen to music everywhere. It brings back memories of my first concert, a great party, and more. It does this by telling a story and promotes imagination. I find it interesting to hear how an artist composed their song and what inspired them, why they chose the chords they did, or who they wanted to be affected by this song. I can always tell if a song has influenced my mindset, my attitude, or my mood. Chances are, music has had this effect on you, too.
Wharton Music Center
I’ve been taking piano for eleven years. At the beginning, when I was six, I started to compete in nationwide events. Everything I learned was for the judge and there were strict guidelines on the pieces you could play, the scales you needed to know, and the hours you were required to put into practicing. I continued competing until I entered high school. At that point, I realized that I really didn't really know anything about piano. I had no feelings for playing and it felt more like an obligation than a pleasure. Along the way, there were definitely pieces I loved and anyone could tell by how I played the piece. Even the judges and my teachers could tell that this one song expressed so much more about playing than an entire repertoire could. I often wished I could compose music for the lyrics I’d write and I wanted to find the passion I had for writing in my piano playing.
Why bother taking up something that does not interest you? Knowing how to play the piano is one thing, but playing it? Playing it is feeling a special connection between yourself and the keys. Each note is a color in a picture you paint and nobody else can, even if the song was composed years ago. Just take the famous piano duet “Heart and Soul”as an example. Almost 95 percent of the time I’ve seen two people play that song, they have never formally studied piano. They play piano more than anyone who just simply knows how to play piano. They found an interest in this one melody and said, “I really want to learn this.”
That’s why music is important. It doesn’t just bring people together, but it provides an array of feelings and ideas. When you’re sad, you put on a sad song. If you’re at the gym, you put on something upbeat and inspirational. If music was not important, why does it affect our minds so much? You can’t run well listening to “Ode to Joy” but instead “Eye of the Tiger.” I listen to music everywhere. It brings back memories of my first concert, a great party, and more. It does this by telling a story and promotes imagination. I find it interesting to hear how an artist composed their song and what inspired them, why they chose the chords they did, or who they wanted to be affected by this song. I can always tell if a song has influenced my mindset, my attitude, or my mood. Chances are, music has had this effect on you, too.
Jacqueline Luberto has been studying at Wharton
Music Center since 2012 and is currently a junior at Gill St. Bernard's School in Gladstone.
Outside of piano, she runs cross country and track, along with representing a
growing fencing team. She is involved with her school's literary magazine and is an
editor for the newspaper.
