I perform at Chicago Methodist Senior Services about once a month. I play the flute for groups gathered in the community area or for people individually. During the holiday season, my friend and I performed holiday music and encouraged the seniors to sing along, and sometimes I play songs that they are familiar with, like Yesterday by the Beatles. I use music to spread joy to the residents. Sharing music with the residents is always a very rewarding experience because it brings happiness to the senior citizens. My favorite part of performing is seeing them start to sing along to the songs that they recognize, as music allows the residents to connect with each other and with myself despite our differences. Sharing music invokes joy and brings back memories for the elderly. One resident, for instance, told me that she used to play the flute when she was younger so she loved hearing me play it. Therefore, I believe it is important to share music in order to bring positivity to others and connect with them on a deeper level.
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I taught a friend from work trumpet once a month. He is in college and wanted to learn music to practice thinking creatively. On top of that, he wanted to learn a new way of thinking that comes from learning music. I felt great that I was able to help Matt with his music. I liked how Matt wanted to learn trumpet not for a grade or to be a professional someday, but instead to learn creative thinking techniques and hone his mind. This helps my understanding of music because it shows me another way music can help people. It introduces individuals to a new way of thinking that can improve their lives.
I played the violin in the lobby of the Galter Medical Pavillion. I served everyone who was walking through that part the hospital: doctors patients, and visitors. It made me feel good, especially when people would stop to listen to me even though they had places to go. It made me feel happy to impact people because I was told it was very calming. I think music is something beautiful that can bring us all together, so it is just awesome to share it with people.
I attended and participated in the Saturday Jam at the Armitage location of the Old Town School of Folk Music. The constituency is mostly young children and their parents, with a few exceptions. It functions as basically just a jam session designed to build the community of students at the Old Town School and to give them good experiences with music from a young age. It feels great helping to build a community at the old town school. Although I'm not necessarily a fan of folk music, it's still undeniably effective at sharing the joy and community-building effects of music with any demographic of people. The joy of participating at the Saturday jam came less from the satisfaction of learning and performing difficult music than from the bonds created by playing music.
Every year I join the Salvation Army for their annual Kettle Service and this opportunity always gives me a chance to reflect on the effect of helping others. During this project, I went with a group of other Salvation Army music members and we played Christmas carols live to encourage people to add donations into a red kettle pot. The best part of this experience was when people stopped by just to hear us play. There were children, parents, grandparents and they all were so happy to see us there. One lady loved us so much that she was willing to buy us all hot chocolate because the weather was freezing. This stranger spread out kindness and even though I did not know her, her example taught me that small actions can go a long way. I hope that I can continue to do this with music. Making even a small impact on someone else’s life with music is one of my goals because what good would it be to just play an instrument for myself so that I can only hear. This is why I joined the Tri-M Music Honor Society because it is made up of a group of other students and friends who also share this similar goal.
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