Brielle Brandvold is a junior on the track team and is in the choir program. Outside of school, she teaches piano to young kids and plays guitar. She enjoys music and takes part in weekly church activities. 

1. When did you first start playing the guitar and piano?

I’ve been playing piano since I was five; all of my siblings took piano lessons from a girl from church. I started playing guitar a bit in fifth grade, and then got my own and started lessons in  seventh grade.

2. What inspired your passion for music, and why do you think it’s such an important part of your life?  

I couldn’t really say what started my love for music, maybe hearing it so much at church when I was little? I’ve just always loved music and I think because it’s a creative outlet for me and something that can ground and uplift me, especially when I need it. As I’ve gotten older, I think that music has stayed so important to me because of how I connect with it and use it to process hard things.

 3. Do you have a favorite memory from when you first started learning guitar or piano?

There’s this video of me when I was maybe 5 playing piano and singing a song I’d learned at church where I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m just playing and singing.

 4. What genres of music do you enjoy playing the most?

  I kind of have a wide range of songs I play. But I definitely play a lot of country and indie, especially on guitar. And I play a lot of contemporary piano music.

5. What made you want to teach piano to little kids and what do you find rewarding about it?

For a lot of my piano learning, I was taught by this teenage girl I was family friends with. So I think that I just saw her using something she knows well and loves as a job and I wanted to do that too. I love it when one of my students has a problem and we work through it together. When it finally like “clicks” and they get it, they’re usually really cute and excited about it and it’s rewarding to see that I helped someone and taught them something that I love.

 6. Do you think teaching has changed how you approach your own music? If so, how?

I think teaching piano has made me a better problem solver because I have learned how to approach and walk other’s through problems. So it has given me more patience to work through my own problems when I’m playing something difficult.

 7. What’s the hardest part of balancing school, teaching piano, playing your sport, and maintaining a personal life?

I get super busy and burnt out with balancing my schedule. And especially because teaching piano is a super hands-on job that I have to be engaged in to do well, I just struggle to find time to relax and take a break.

 8. Do you have a favorite song to play on the guitar or a favorite piece to teach on the piano?

I love playing “Cherry Wine” by Hozier on guitar.   

9. What advice would you give to someone learning an instrument for the first time?

Don’t give up and be consistent. I definitely wanted to quit piano when I was younger, but now I’m super grateful my mom never let me.

 10. Do you see yourself continuing to teach or playing music in the future?  

Yes!