You might remember from one of my previous blog posts that I learned to play the ukulele this summer. Up until this week, my ukulele (even though it is technically my brother's and he won't let me forget it) has been sitting in my room, collecting dust because my brother had yet to take it to his apartment. After much convincing, my brother finally allowed me to bring the instrument back to school. And, boy, have I been having a lot of fun with it.
Sometimes, there's an awkward 45 minutes between my classes or I ask a friend to lunch and he/she asks to eat in half an hour. What am I supposed to do during that time? Normally, I would take that time to catch up on social media but now! Now I have my ukulele! And it’s fantastic. I practice whenever I can and it’s a huge stress relief. Plus, it doesn’t annoy my neighbors as much as my trumpet would if I were to practice that in my room.
To anyone out there reading this blog post, I recommend you pick up an instrument to fill your free time. In the few days that I’ve had my ukulele here, I’ve already learned three new songs AND got my first string blister! (Which, I suppose, isn’t all that exciting; it just goes to show how intense I am about my playing.)
I would also recommend, if you don’t feel the need to buy an instrument, to go to the practice rooms in the basement of Granoff and learn some piano. These rooms are fantastic and I regret not going there to practice my trumpet more. You get lost in those rooms. Time just flies by, so keep a careful eye on the clock if you need to go to class or be somewhere by a certain time.
I never thought of music as anything more than a hobby. But, other than being a lot of fun, it’s a great time filler and confidence booster because when you nail your first song, you feel like you’re on top of the world. And, what I think is the most important thing about music, be sure to play for yourself and not just for others.