Lucy Michelle on Music and Arts Education

How did you get into making music, and how did arts education (or lack thereof) affect you and your music?

I’ve been playing piano ever since I was six and surrounded by great music all my life. To me it’s like sleeping, or eating, or drinking water or anything that humans need to do to even exist. But I don’t think I really started making music until I was out of high school, yes, I’ve been playing music for a while but playing music and making music are two different things. You can play anyone else’s song but to write your own is whole other game. When I moved out of my parents house the room I was living in was hardly big enough for a bed, let alone a piano, so I thought of the smallest and quietest instrument that I could attempt to learn and asked my Grandpa if he could find me a ukulele (he’s pretty good at finding deals). So he sent me one and I started making my own music, and I think it was the one thing that was really able to keep me sane during my freshman year in college.

I went to Central High School in St.paul for three years and then transferred to South High School in Minneapolis for my senior year. I was just talking to Charlie Smith of Military Special the other night and he reminded me that at one point him, Joe Schweigert (Military Special), Chris Graham (one of the Lapelles), Peter Leggett (drummer for Heiruspecs) and I were all in Jazz Band together with Mr.Oyen. Obviously our musical education had something to do with where we are now cause all of us our in these great local bands. Matt Oyen pushed us all to really work together and listen to each other, I think Jazz band was one of the most important parts of my high school career, ’cause it really inspired me to perform and gave me the opportunity to express myself in ways that I felt I couldn’t do with my other school work. Since I couldn’t get enough of jazz band I joined MITY which was taught by Scott Carter, Cory Needleman and Chris Thomson over at Macalester College, three of my most favorite teachers. I learned so much from my instructors and from everyone in the band, I was introduced to so many musicians and so much music that I feel has had an extremely profound effect on how I write/listen and play music today. Without my musical education or experiences there is no way that I would be were I am now, and I am so thankful to the all the of my teachers and friends along the way, as well as my parents who forced me to practice even though I really didn’t enjoy it… at the time.

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