Most high school students are undecided about their future, but that wasn't the case for me. The college I had in mind after I would graduate from high school was MATC. I chose to go to school at MATC because I knew deep down in my heart that music was my passion. I've played guitar since 2003 and I was already gigging in several garage bands the following year. I may have been a rock star while going to high school, but there were some things that I was lacking back then. That would mostly be anything related to music theory. By the time I started taking music classes at MATC in 2007, it didn't take long for me to fit in with my fellow classmates. And the instructors who taught these music courses couldn't have been better! My favorite MATC music instructor would have to be Hal Miller. Hal had strong beliefs in me when I first started out. And being swamped with gigging, teaching, or grading assignments, he can always find the smallest amount of free time to help students who're in need. He taught the music reading and music theory courses at MATC, which I'm glad signed up for.
I've played in many ensembles, which helped me to expand my knowledge of playing genres or songs I thought I would never have played in my life. I also had some kick-in-the-ass experiences on reading sheet music for the very first time. Steve Peplin's guitar classes was the one course that stuck in my mind the most. That was when I learned how to read sheet music and play jazz chords. I remember learning these jazz/blues chords while our class was going through exercises from Jack Grassel's play-along book. The book came with a CD for students to practice with, which definitely helped me get through the entire guitar course.
Jon Neuberger
www.reverbnation.com/jonnytbirdandthemps
I've played in many ensembles, which helped me to expand my knowledge of playing genres or songs I thought I would never have played in my life. I also had some kick-in-the-ass experiences on reading sheet music for the very first time. Steve Peplin's guitar classes was the one course that stuck in my mind the most. That was when I learned how to read sheet music and play jazz chords. I remember learning these jazz/blues chords while our class was going through exercises from Jack Grassel's play-along book. The book came with a CD for students to practice with, which definitely helped me get through the entire guitar course.
Another good lesson I got out of MATC was that music can pay the bills. Thanks to Ben Hans' music business course, I've learned from a musician and a business owner's point of view in the music business world. All I've learned from MATC helped me to form my current band "Jonny T-Bird & the MPs". Before I eventually graduated from MATC, I formed the band with a few other MATC music students. I'm proud to say that the band's still going strong today. The MPs and I had the honor of playing at a number of restaurants, bars and festivals throughout southeastern WI. My proudest moment with this band was playing at last year's "Waukesha BluesFest" where Coco Montoya topped the bill!
Soon, I'm graduating from Carroll University (which I transferred to after graduating MATC) with a Bachelors' Degree in Music Business this May. It's a little hard for me to say on what will happen next, but all I know is that I'm going to continue playing music and doing gigs with my band. Thank you, MATC Music Department for all your hard work on making me who I am today! You guys rock!
Jon Neuberger