Page 52 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 2

We would like to hear your then remix them in my own style. about finger techniques or hand
heart concerning music, God, That made me happy. Growing posture, he just said, “You have
and your personal journey of up I found that there was always to play with feeling, that’s the
discovery. this inclination towards music way you communicate, music
and the person who made this is a conversation.” I wondered,
Let’s say I’ve had an inclination
happen was Dino from Family TV. ‘What kind of lesson is this? This
to God ever since I was young.
The way he played amazed me. is insane it doesn’t even make any
When I was around five or slightly
younger (my mom was explaining Then I started listening to Jimmy sense at all. It has no value to me.
Swaggart, it was music that I could I feel like there’s no value for my
this to me) I had a problem
understand, I could somehow feel money.’ But when I look at it right
reading. I couldn’t read at all and I
it but I couldn’t comprehend it as now, I’m grateful because I have
would fail my exams. One day the
such, but it just spoke to me. my touch, one that is unique to
teacher said to me that I’m junk,
or something and I will never make In the process of the journey, I me and me alone. After mentoring
heard it said that if you want to me for 3-4 months, told me, “Now
it past university. I went home and
make it in the world, you have to you can become a teacher.” I was
cried to my mom and asked her,
conform to it. I started going into puzzled. ‘Now I can become a
“Mom, does God make junk?” The
classical music, not that I’m saying teacher? What do you mean? I
first thing that happened was my
mom said, “No, God doesn’t make classical music is bad - everyone don’t understand.’ He said, “Yes,
has their own gifting - but I feel you can now start teaching my
junk.” I said, “Ok, then let me lie on
like I somewhat deviated from my students.” I was really astonished.
your chest, and then you’re going
music. Mine was what I was meant I used to think he was lazy, but
to read to me.” The funny thing is,
to do, to just create and find a way when I looked at his music and
I told her what to read for me and
it was King James Version of the of using my emotions to share when I listened to his music, it
my music, rather than making it was so beautiful. He composed
Bible, not that it makes things any
solely for a singular purpose. The two classical pieces, one which
easier! Now, when she read to me,
other music has all these rules covered the whole frequency
I understood. I literally understood
and demands to make it in their spectrum of the piano; not a single
everything from creation to ... I
don’t know how, something just way. I went into this other music, note was left untouched. And
but funny enough I somehow still that’s ingenious. It’s not easy to
unlocked, and from then on I just
excelled in it. I was even with my come up with a piece like that; it
started understanding everything.
sister; we performed together at even emulates things like thunder
I took it from a Biblical sense. I
some point. and water.
just start seeing those things of
geography and - although I was I went on to secondary school, Then I went into university.
and everything changed. People That was the highlight of my life
terrible at geography and history -
were insisting on the way that because my music took a whole
but it opened up to me and that’s
one should play. Now, I used to different tangent. I would go for
how I began understanding.
transfer from school to school a classes, then I would also go for
The second thing that happened lot – without losing my grade - but auditions for music, get gigs, that’s
I didn’t understand why. Then one like pocket money on the side
was, I do not know why, but when
year I took a break from music and I was fine with it, because it
my mom was expecting me or
- at year 11- and I think it was a was working out. Later it reached
whenever I used to go to her clinic,
forced break because every time I a point I became conflicted and I
she was a pediatric dentist, there
was always classical music, Don would come home for the holidays told myself, ‘Ok, I don’t understand
and play my music, I would feel what is going on.’ It became about
Moen and Michael W. Smith and a
uplifted. Looking back, I think I was playing to impress other people
Christian group Family TV used to
removed from the previous school and that, of course, will get you
show a lot playing. I used to be so
I was in, and everything was just nowhere because the main aim is
intrigued: ‘how does one play like
that? It’s so amazing! Wow!’ I don’t washed away as though I was to please God, and pleasing Him
being told ‘You need to go back to through YOUR gift.
know if my mom and God were
your path’, but you see at that time I discovered that once when I was
always in communication, but God
I didn’t realize it. Now, when I look at a standstill in my life. Everything
has His own sense of humor. I also
at it, it makes sense. took a deep dive for me in 2013.
found a piano there. I decided to
start fiddling around with it and There was the whole story of boy
Unusual mentorship meets girl, girl meets boy, girl
that’s how my journey began.
Before I went into university, leaves boy for another person,
From the age of six, I would create
there was a period where I had boy is heartbroken. About a month
and compose my own music. I
someone who mentored me before that, my dad had passed
grew up listening to a lot of hymns
and I would take the hymns and musically. He never told me on. I think I was confused. I went