Melissa is 13 years old and lives in Cranston. This was her first time (!) at Girls Rock Camp.
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I wanted to learn keyboard because I had one at home that I never use and didn’t know how to play. I used to just press random buttons on it.
I have a solo in our band, so I’ve been playing different keys to see if I can make something of it. It’s pretty hard for me because I want to be great. And I don’t exactly know how to do that.
I like old songs. Not a lot of people like classical songs anymore. They like punk, pop, stuff like that. I’m not into that. I like Beethoven and other artists. I started listening to it when I was seven because I realized that I never liked the same kind of music as everybody else did. And so I just, I just wanted to listen to something original, pretty, beautiful. And then when I was on Pandora, a piano song came up – just piano. And I really liked it. So then that’s when I knew I wanted to play keyboard and piano.
Sometimes I won’t even hear people talking to me because I just keep playing. And then they have to tap me on the shoulder, and I’m like, “What?”
I get lost in it. It’s kind of like when you’re daydreaming. Except, instead of dozing off and falling asleep, you’re playing something beautiful.
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Melissa’s story is part of a weekly series called ON THE MIC that shares voices and faces from camp this summer. A new story will be posted every Tuesday through the end of the year. The stories are produced by Alex Braunstein of One Little Did.
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