What do you love about your instrument?

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked Lessonface Teachers to share what they love about their instrument! We received so many wonderful responses and wanted to share a few below.

Katrina Zosseder wrote a poem about everything she loves about the violin:

When we first met, I was drawn in by her depth and darkness; I had left a harsh sound.

‘Is she a viola?’ They ask… I always smile. After 14 years with her, I am hooked by the vibration of the G string and the ring of sound that encircles me as I play.

We are flexible together - switching personas - Irish fiddle, classical, jazz, or pop - like the costume box when I was young!

Sometimes she is demanding and frustrating, but she appreciates patience, persistence, and love, connecting me to places, to people - my constant companion during my last 6 months of travel around the world.

Enrique Uxa shares what he loves about creating music with his guitar and ukulele:  “Music as a universal language allows us to reveal our deep self, access what verbal language hides,  and remove the memories that strengthen the blockage of our vital energy. Along with breathing, it provides the key for the experimentation of abandonment, expansion and surrender to the pleasure of living.”

Jonathan Roberts shares two things he loves about the piano:  “Two things I love about pianos are their immediacy, and their usefulness as songwriting tools. It’s very easy to sit down, by myself, and play something that feels like a full expression of my emotions, and that sounds “complete,” like it’s enjoyable all by itself. This was true even when I was just starting my musical journey. It doesn’t take more than a basic level of technique and vocabulary to be able to use a piano to express a wide and deep range of emotions. Because of this, it’s an incredibly powerful songwriting tool. It’s easy, on a piano, to workshop a lyric or melody and hear how it will sound in a full, finished context, even if you have very little technical skill on the instrument.”

Shailendra Mishra shares why he loves the Tabla:  “Tabla has a soul. I always feel connected to it and it guides me in my life. Playing it gives me joy and happiness, which is a precious thing for me. Just like any other family members, I need to take good care of my musical instrument Tabla.”

Yee-Sik Wong (hand pictured above with the crocheted heart) shares why she loves playing the piano: “I love playing the piano, which helps me express my emotions through music, and take my mind off from daily routines.”

Jaime Gibson shares what he loves about the saxophone:  “My Saxophone is... as expressive as my voice.... In some ways it has an even greater ability to show emotion through growls, bends and an extreme range of dynamics. This is why I always pick up my Saxophone to ...blow off steam or increase my energy and jam along with a dance track. It's always been there .. through highs and lows since I was a teenager till today as I perform professionally and share it with my students online.“ William Young shares what he loves about the electronic keyboard: “I love being able to play many different instruments on my keyboard.  I love being able to transpose to different keys by touching a button and I love being able to play several different instrument sounds at the same time.  I love having a split keyboard to play different instruments in both hands at the same time.  Love being able to use earphones for playing late at night.  I love being able to play solo and sound great not needing other instruments to augment the music sound.”