Junior Cloud Que has been exploring his hobby of xylophone and piano since he was eight years old. “I don’t really remember but my mom told me that when I was really young, I would always go to those music and arts stores to just play with the piano,” Cloud said. “So she actually led me to choose piano, but gradually, I would get attracted to it and just play.”
While piano was the instrument that first sparked his love of music, he has also pursued the xylophone since moving to America. “I was at St. Bernard, a Catholic school, and there wasn’t a piano in the band; someone had taken the position,” he said. “So the teachers let me play the xylophone.”
In regards to his ability, Cloud mentions that he has been taking piano lessons since about eight or nine. “Then I came to America, and I just stopped learning,” Cloud remarked. “I have no time. I’m too busy.” He also humbly mentioned that he was easily able to take up the xylophone without learning or practicing due to its similarity to the piano.
An important part of playing an instrument is the amount of joy you feel from it, and Cloud certainly thinks he gets a lot from his musicianship. “When I do homework, I would just suddenly go to the piano and just play random songs,” he said. “So after 10 minutes I would get back to homework and then another five minutes and I would run back to the piano.” The instrument provides a nice break in his daily routine.
At KO, Cloud is a member of the AP Music Theory class. The curriculum focuses on music notation, score analysis, composition, sight singing, and teaching tonal harmony in an eighteenth-century common practice style. In addition to this, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) test allows musicians to ascend through eight levels in recognizing score notes, rhythm, and harmony. “I think I’m going to continue to do that test later when I graduate,” he said.
When discussing his future in musicianship, Cloud named a few ways he would like to continue exploring music. “I’m thinking that during senior year I might go to Jazz Band to play piano,” he said. “If there isn’t a piano place in Jazz Band, then I’ll probably go to the band for xylophone.” In the future, Cloud doesn’t plan on pursuing piano as a professional career but hopes to keep playing for his own enjoyment. “I would continue playing piano or learning it as one of my hobbies,” he said with a smile. “It’s just really fun to play.”
Cloud took a thoughtful moment to consider what advice a young, aspiring musician might need. He recounted that he never had much music history experience and realizes now that listening to composers of the past helped strengthen his piano skills. “Recently, I just found a composer who is really talented,” Cloud said. “I think he’s called Erik Satie. And if I gave advice to my younger self, I would say, ‘Listen to his songs, they’re just really good and really inspiring.’”
