Piano. Guitar. Bass. Cello. Ukulele. Drums. Beatpad.

Freshman Spencer Berger has mastered each and every one of these instruments. Learning these instruments has changed his perspective of the world around him. As he has gotten older, Berger has begun to understand more about what music means. When he started learning music theory, he gained an appreciation for the art of music.

“I like fitting all the instruments together through music theory and picking up new songs and ideas through music theory,” Berger said. “It is really cool.”

Music theory has changed the way he thinks because he believes his understanding of music has directly helped his understanding of math.

“I think that the basis of logic and how all the chords fit together is the same line of reasoning that goes into algebra,” Berger said. “That’s why it comes so easily to me.”

Berger’s experience with music has been profound since kindergarten, when he first learned how to play piano. He learned to be open-minded when listening to music.

“I like listening to mostly anything, but I generally like making pop music because that is the easiest considered to music theory,” Berger said. “However, I am not against trying out jazz or classic rock.”

“My favorite instrument is piano, hands down,” Berger said. “It looks so simple with its layout, so it’s easy for me to lay out chords. It doesn’t have any weird stuff like bass or guitar. It has melody, as opposed to drums. Piano is very diverse.”

He has been playing piano for over a decade. It was the instrument that has inspired him to look up to those such as Billy Joel, who is famous for singing, songwriting, and piano skills.

Berger believed in great perseverance when he played and listened to music. Berger created a lot of original music, which he believed was a good way to experiment and learn about your tastes and talents. This led Berger to his biggest advice about music.

“Don’t stop listening to a genre because the first two songs you hear aren’t very good,” Berger said. “They definitely grow on you.”