I started playing guitar in the summer after seventh grade. I bought an acoustic guitar and my dad’s cousin had a really nice electric guitar, a Telecaster, so I just stole that. My teacher would come once a week and we would play. It was casual. I would play whatever I wanted to on electric and acoustic. I wouldn’t play classical at all. I wasn’t really super concentrated on [guitar] at that time. [Now,] I probably play eight hours of guitar a week.

Before I came to Bellaire, classical wasn’t really my focus. My favorite teacher outside of school used to go to Bellaire, and she was in the program here for classical guitar. She said, ‘You should come to Bellaire and try playing classical guitar.’ I learned to play classical over summer [of 2023], and then I came here and played a piece that I learned over summer in classical style, called ‘Spanish Romance.’ I was able to move up to a higher level of classical guitar here. The teachers here are great too. They’ve taught me a lot about classic guitar technique that I wouldn’t know. 

My favorite thing [about guitar] is how versatile it is. All the techniques of classical can be applied to so many other styles of music. If I wanted to, I could pick up the electric again and just play whatever. I like the variety. The guitar has so many things you can do [and] so many styles of different guitars.

In my family there’s a lot of people that are really music oriented who have influenced me. Two of my uncles play guitar. The person I got my electric guitar from was really good and watching him play [inspired me] to play more. 

I don’t think I would like to become a professional guitarist or anything, but it’s a fun hobby to keep up. [Everyone] should play guitar because it’s therapeutic and fun.”