Adult student interview with nurse Kitty

This post originally appeared on Jan. 27, 2017

Kitty Forbush is a professional nurse with Pluta Cancer Center who, in 2014, won the Hearts and Hands award given by the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. We sat down recently to talk about her experiences as a returning piano student and aspiring vocal performer.

SW:  “When did you first start playing piano?”

KF: “ I was six. I actually wanted to start playing when I was four but my mom made me wait. At the time my sister was taking piano and I remember really liking her teacher. I told my mom that I wanted to take lessons too. I guess I felt somewhat justified because I was already reading (laughs). Anyway, when I finally got started, I continued with lessons for about 10 years. I wasn’t always good at sitting down to practice but when I did I really loved it!”

SW: “Did you have a favorite kind of music when you were young?”

KF: “Well, I started off playing classical – mainly because that style was related to my first teacher’s background. Once I learned to read music, I began playing duets with a friend in 6th grade. I really liked some of the pieces we worked on because they were more modern sounding – songs by artists like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and the Beatles. I was really lucky because my parents were very supportive – my mom bought me books and sheet music that was fun to play.”

SW: “Were there other learning experiences that guided you?”

KF:  “Yeah, when I was a little older, I took lessons from another teacher who taught me jazz and composition. I stuck with that for a while and then I got to be, you know, “too cool” for everything, (laughs) so . . . I stopped.”

SW: “So what made you decide to come back to study?” 

KF: “At first I wanted to get better at accompanying myself when I sang. So when I started back with lessons, one goal was to improve my sight-reading. Another goal was to get better at going with the flow whenever I made mistakes. As lessons progressed, I decided to devote more time to my singing . . . so that’s what I’ve been doing more of lately.”

SW: “Are you glad that you started off in the way you did . . . learning how to accompany yourself?”

KF:  “Oh yeah, definitely. One of the best things I’ve learned since being here has to do with the musical dialogue between the two instruments and how good piano playing keeps the momentum going. Whenever I accompany myself now, I try to be more aware about filling in the vocal spaces with more interesting piano ideas.”

SW: “In your opinion, what’s been the biggest benefit for coming back to study music?”

KF: “Without a doubt, it’s helped to increase my level of confidence. When I first restarted with lessons, I was nervous. I would always feel like I didn’t practice enough and didn’t want to disappoint my teacher (laughs). But as we went along I felt very supported in my efforts. With more encouragement, I built up a small song list and started to do more singing in public.”

SW: “And speaking of singing in public, you performed with a pianist last fall for a fundraiser, right?”

KF: “Yeah, I’m really proud of that one. We invited people in the community to attend a small coffeehouse performance at Mellow Mug in Pittsford. Early on it felt a little nerve racking while I was singing. I’ve always had to deal with a small case of performance anxiety – even though I sing every week with the choir at my church. The people attending this event, though, were great – very appreciative. After a while, I forgot that some of the audience members were only about an an arms length away from me. By the end of the night, we raised over $1000.00 for Pluta Cancer Center and I felt wonderful!”

SW: "Yeah, I think I'd feel the same way too - especially given that great outcome.

SW: "In your role as a nurse in a cancer center, I'm guessing that you've witnessed your fair share of distress and disappointment. Does music help you cope?"

KF: "Well, you know that old saying . . . music helps to soothe the savage beast? That is so true! Music serves as a release from tension and pressure and allows me to go to another zone where I totally lose track of time. Sometimes I'll sit down at the piano at home and think I've been there for 10 minutes and then find out that it's actually been an hour and half! For me, music is totally relaxing and one of the healthiest ways I deal with stress.

SW: “What would you say to someone who’s considering starting or resuming with lessons – whether that’s here at Piano Plus or anywhere else?”

KF:  “If it’s on your bucket list, don’t wait – you’ve just got to get started! In the beginning it’s a bit like exercise . . . more difficult to get motivated. When you get going, though, you’re gonna want to do more of it. As far as studying at Piano Plus, I’ll say this: I can come in here feeling dragged down and exhausted but will always feel great when I leave. I’ll never get tired of hearing my teacher say: “Don’t you feel better now?” (laughs).”