Music Therapy
Professor Freeman
Enc 0025
February 20, 2012
Music Therapy
Throughout life we seem to always be drawn to some type of music. From Mozart to Run DMC, everyone loves music. My Cousin Lucas would be considered the modern day Stevie Wonder in our family. He’s played songs that I couldn’t play in my sleep. From Beethoven's "Fur Elise” to Mozart's "Turkish March," he always seemed to top himself from one complicated song to the next. Having been born in Memphis, Tennessee my cousin was always around some form of music. When he was seven years old he learned how to play the piano successfully, at the age of ten he won a local talent show contest for being the best pianist. When he was fourteen years old he performed in front of thousands at the annual “Tennessee Music Festival”. However at the age of eighteen, my cousin vowed he would never play the piano again. Having heard this I couldn’t believe that at age eighteen my cousin was giving up his one and only love of the piano. After talking to my cousin on why he wanted to quit the piano, the truth came out. My cousin’s mentor had told him that he wasn’t the great artist that everyone thought he was, and that crushed my cousin’s ego. For months my cousin didn’t touch any keys. He walked around looking as if he had lost his soul. At that moment things were put into perspective.
After finding out that his mentor had succumbed to cancer, my cousin broke his vow and began to play the piano again. Instead of letting his anger get the best of him, my cousin used his last confrontation with his mentor to inspire him to write a song about the old man. He called it “The Last Stand”.
Enc 0025
February 20, 2012
Music Therapy
Throughout life we seem to always be drawn to some type of music. From Mozart to Run DMC, everyone loves music. My Cousin Lucas would be considered the modern day Stevie Wonder in our family. He’s played songs that I couldn’t play in my sleep. From Beethoven's "Fur Elise” to Mozart's "Turkish March," he always seemed to top himself from one complicated song to the next. Having been born in Memphis, Tennessee my cousin was always around some form of music. When he was seven years old he learned how to play the piano successfully, at the age of ten he won a local talent show contest for being the best pianist. When he was fourteen years old he performed in front of thousands at the annual “Tennessee Music Festival”. However at the age of eighteen, my cousin vowed he would never play the piano again. Having heard this I couldn’t believe that at age eighteen my cousin was giving up his one and only love of the piano. After talking to my cousin on why he wanted to quit the piano, the truth came out. My cousin’s mentor had told him that he wasn’t the great artist that everyone thought he was, and that crushed my cousin’s ego. For months my cousin didn’t touch any keys. He walked around looking as if he had lost his soul. At that moment things were put into perspective.
After finding out that his mentor had succumbed to cancer, my cousin broke his vow and began to play the piano again. Instead of letting his anger get the best of him, my cousin used his last confrontation with his mentor to inspire him to write a song about the old man. He called it “The Last Stand”.