What’s your name, where are you from, and when did you start learning violin?

My name is Robert. I’m in Vineyard, Utah. I have been playing the violin for not very long. I took an intro class in college and haven't played for years since. And so I just started with Trala about a week ago.  

Why did you decide to learn violin?

So I picked the violin because it's always appealed to me, I've always likes the sound of the violin and never really knew anyone growing up that played it. I took piano lessons as a kid and was kind of forced to do that. And so naturally, I kind of gravitated away from piano and grew an interest in the violin as I got a little bit older.  ‍

What are your goals?‍

I don't know if my dreams are too wild with the violin. Honestly, I just really want to learn a new instrument. I'm not very musical. It's definitely a weakness of mine. I haven't been like an “artsy” person my whole life. Violin just appeals to me and has been an interest of mine. That's kind of why I wanted to learn it. I don't aspire to be in a big group or even become that good at it. I just want to be able to play some familiar songs.

I have a couple of little kids and I think it'd be cool to inspire them by showing them that their dad's learning an instrument. I work a lot with the elderly population, and I've heard that music can be a good way to offset effects of dementia and Alzheimer's and kind of straining your brain in that sense. And so now that I'm entering my middle aged years, I like the idea of being able to learn a new thing and kind of push my brain activity more than probably what the average person my age would do. So learning an instrument is like a great way in my mind to do something like that.

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Robert works in marketing and has been a Trala student since 2021.