I first became interested in musical instruments as a young child. When I was
seven years old, I learned to play the tin whistle and then the piano.As a prefect in Moyle Park, I had to ensure that the First Year 'newbies' got on
well together. So two friends and I set up a Lunchtime Club on Thursday where
First Years could widen their musical views and experience.Each Thursday at
lunch we would bring in an electric guitar and a bass guitar. We showed the First
Years various musical styles of playing guitar and we helped them relax as the
first year in a new place can be quite stressful!I had showed the First Years how to play basic riffs on guitar as well as giving
them tabs (tablature) to learn music that they liked. They also learned how to
read music tablature. One of the main focuses of this experience was to widen
their horizons of music. We told them how such musicians came to be and how
the music industry started.Another of the main focuses of the club was to get the students to interact with
each other and get to know each other. Many of them showed great skill and
some had even been already playing for a couple of years and had learned
the basics so I separated the group to show them more advanced techniques
such as sweep picking and pitch harmonics.Many of them showed great potential in music and maybe in the future instead
of the Rolling Stones or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, some of our
students might headline Slane!
