Sailor piano has a new tune

Sailor musicians, rejoice! The Great Room piano is back in action, having been recently tuned. Perhaps the most relieved about this is sophomore Jafet Moya, a self-taught amateur pianist known for toying with melodies between classes. “My dad’s a pianist but he only plays by ear,” he said. “I was being more intentional so I’m starting to learn how to read the music, sight read, which is horrible at first, but I’m getting through it. It takes a lot of dedication, I think.” Moya, who picked up piano at the start of this school year, dedicates seven to eight hours a week to practicing. “I use [that piano] at least two or three times a day, at least for forty minutes throughout the day.” So naturally, it was time for the piano to get a little TLC. “It was actually really bad,” Moya said. “There was a time where... my roommates play the guitar… so they said ‘we want to jam out there.’ They tried to tune the guitar with the piano and it sounded horribly.” Moya was often urged to request that the piano be tuned, but didn’t think much of it until he realized Tuckey Resident Director Janelle Crotzer would be able to help. “She’s actually my boss. So I just talked to her and she was like, ‘Yeah, we’ll get it tuned for you.’” Moya wasn’t the only one to benefit from having the piano adjusted. Several other students take advantage of its access, which helped influence him. “I wasn’t the first one to use it but being able to hear other people use it- that’s what got me a little more motivated and inspired,” he said. “Definitely there’s other people that are way more talented than I am. And I guess that’s jealousy that I have but it’s, you know, a good jealousy, that I want to strive to be that. That person that’s gonna be able to just pick out any song and be able to follow it through ear or through the music.” Although he plays out of personal motivation, Moya enjoys entertaining others with his playing. “I play a song… by One Direction, ‘What Makes You Beautiful,’” he said. “So just, like, to make somebody laugh, to be funny I play that.” The Bethel student looks forward to taking lessons through the school next semester. “Piano’s kind of like a side thing,” he said. “It’s kinda like a part time job for me, but I love doing it. I love being able to learn.”