Life Is More Than Static

I recently sat down with Yuba College music student Steven Ruble and asked him a few questions about his background and aspirations in music. You can often find him hanging out in the cafeteria, guitar in hand, playing music and singing.

Jade: How old were you when you first started playing music?

Steve: I first started music when I was in the 8th grade. I was 13 at the time.

J: What inspired you to start playing music and continue to immerse yourself in it? What about music and the creative arts in general do you like or love so much?

Steve: When I heard my cousin play guitar, it was amazing listening to him reproduce the riffs to my favorite ska songs. After that, I became interested in playing guitar and a friend of mine who was a drummer encouraged me to get one. Ever since I laid my hands on my first fret, I never put it down. I continued to drown myself in music when I discovered how to create my own songs; it was the realization of there being infinite possibilities. What I love about music and the arts is that we can weave emotions together and tell a tale about the human experience. Art and music are outlets that we use to reveal that life is more than static. The best satisfaction comes when I play in harmony with other musicians.

J: What sort of aspirations do you have pertaining to music and why?

S: My aspirations with music involve me teaching it and sharing it with others. I plan on getting an AA in music.”

J: How many music classes have you taken here at Yuba? Which ones? Are you in enrolled in any now?

S: I’ve taken five music classes, and I am currently enrolled in three. I’ve taken Basic Music Skills, Intermediate Voice, Harmony, Theory and Basic Piano. This semester I’m taking the second semester courses of Theory, Harmony and Piano.

J: How do you think the budget cuts are going to affect you future? What concerns might you have? Have they affected your music classes or in general already?

S: I think that the budget cuts, especially to the arts, are going to be devastating. Human beings depend on the inheritance of knowledge in order to create, communicate and have a sense of humanitarian value. So far I’ve been able to get all of the classes I need, but the foundation is a bit shaky and is likely to change for myself and others.

J: Any advice you have for aspiring musicians/ artists here at this college?

S: Music and art is a precious and sacred practice. No one should look at it as only something that only some people can do. If you have the passion, the patience, the practice and experiment, it does come to you. The moment you wield the ability to change another person’s emotion from something stoic to something more vivacious, that is when you realize just how intrinsically valuable you are as well as others. I would strongly encourage people to discover their own unique and eclectic abilities with art and music. They are experiences that let you foster and harness the rapture of being alive.