Bryce Martin is a fifth year senior and musician at UTM. Martin is known for openly sharing his love for music and bringing a tune with him wherever he goes.
He opened up about his experience of being a student, musician, and where his love for music all started.
“I got Guitar Hero III for Christmas when I was 13, and I told myself I wanted to learn how to play the real thing. My parents got me a cheap acoustic guitar from Wal-Mart and told me they wouldn’t get me anything more expensive till I proved I was serious,” he said. “I spent hours practicing on that cheap little guitar until my dad believed me and he took me to the local music shop in Nashville and got me my first serious guitar. From that day forward, I’ve been playing since.”
“The guitar is my favorite instrument, since it was the first one I learned to play, then the drums. The oddest instrument that I learned to play was the mandolin. Oddly enough, I wish I could play the sitar. I just think it’s a beautiful instrument.”
Martin writes and composes his own songs, playing with the tune and the lyrics and he gets it how he imagined. He records and edits his own music, often incorporating more than one instrument into the song. He wants to open a recording studio to do audio engineering work for fellow artists.
“I never was one to learn songs, I just practiced from improv. I’m pretty well-balanced musically, so if I start to whistle a tune or come up with a melody in my head, I can translate it to an instrument,” Martin said. “I listen to every genre of music, which helps me with inspiration.”
Martin said he often struggles trying to balance school, work, and music, especially now that his graduation date is coming up. He offered up his insight and advice to other student musicians on how he tries to prioritize and keep a healthy relationship between school and music.
“It’s important to focus on school, but don’t lose sight of your passion. It’s important to take advantage of campus and start networking, find commonalities, and just get some music going. School should come first, but don’t forget about your passion completely,” he said. “If all you have is an hour a day to work on music, then that’s fine, as long as you keep striving to perfect your hobby; just remember that school comes first and music comes second.”
(Bryce Martin | Pacer Photo/Bre Rudolph)
