by: Shannon Mahon and Hayley Charles<\/p>\n
In the midst of this chaos we call life, a man and his guitar carry a dream. Luke Johnson, instructor of music, teaches young musicians important lessons that can be linked to far more than a classroom. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Music, Johnson decided to pursue teaching and obtain a master’s degree and did so while maintaining a 4.0. \u201cI wasn’t doing a lot with music when I first graduated, I was actually involved with retail management,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI missed music though. I wanted to come back and do what I love.\u201d <\/p>\n
For many musicians, the process of creating and producing allows for a real connection with their personal style. \u201cLearning is a musical instrument is a skill, not very different from learning a sport, like golf,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThere are two parts: you have to allow your brain to comprehend the ideas and then your body must go along with it. It takes a lot of repetition, muscle memory and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the hard work involved in learning a musical instrument getting students to enjoy the music they are playing is key.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is really different and the guitar is very versatile so I try to find music the students all like,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWhether it is country, rock, blues, or jazz…we try to focus on each one finding something they enjoy because if they play a piece they don’t like then how will they ever be excited about it?\u201d <\/p>\n
Like his students Johnson focused his study through the influence of others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWes Montgomery was a guitar player in the 1960’s and he really influenced me,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI like poetry and going to readings as well…different mediums are good to delve into. Expressing yourself is important, whether it is with notes or words.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Johnson was an instructor though, he had to be a beginner, just like his students. Growing up, he had a passionate curiosity for music. In the fifth grade, Johnson found his very first instrument, the trombone. From that point until entering college, a trombone was his primary instrument. However, he also picked up the guitar along the way as a hobby and that is now his favorite to play. <\/p>\n
Prior to receiving his master’s degree, Johnson was already on the path to teaching others the skill set he had perfected. After he began to play the guitar, people started asking him for lessons and this quickly grew into a large group of friends, family, and neighbors all learning about the instrument. \u201cI’ve always been involved in the Hays area with people, even when I didn’t live here,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThis is a great community. I absolutely love it. My grandparents, parents, and brothers all graduated from FHSU. That may just make me biased, but I love the university. It’s top notch, it really is.\u201d<\/p>\n
*The original posting of this article contained some misrepresentations of the structure of student lessons and has been re-edited. The Tiger Media Network apologizes for the error.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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