Music Brings People Together
"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." Ryunosuke Satoro Music brings people together, it always has. In the first of five introductory family music classes offered by Sea Change this summer, Outer Banks blues musician Ruth Wyand shows Christopher Estrada how to read and play basic guitar chords. Children and adults attending the classes learn how to read music rhythms and basic melodies, create their own tunes, and match themselves to an instrument of choice.
Creating and enjoying music together is an important part of Latino culture. Under pressure to make ends meet, the adults are finding it difficult to share these traditions with their children. Music lessons are expensive, and time is tight. Kay Minis, Sea Change Coordinator and an amateur harpist, had often received requests for music lessons from the children she tutored. She didn't feel qualified but she definitely was inspired to find a way to bring more music into her families' lives. Ruth Wyand offered to provide family music classes on Sunday afternoons for children, teens, and adults.
There is no language barrier here. Ruth doesn't speak Spanish, many of the parents have limited English, but everyone learns together. As an added bonus, Hugh Hammers of the Beach Music Shop in Kill Devils, donated a custom painted guitar to the cause. We will learn who the lucky winner is at the last music class on July 29.
