Hi everyone! My name is Ty Blacke and I am the mastermind behind this website and all its contents. I don't typically enjoy writing about myself, but I thought it would be necessary to do so for sake of being as personal as possible online.
At an early age my grandpa showed me what it was like to play an instrument, he introduced me to the organ and the harmonica. I was maybe 6-7 years old and I remember being so impressed by his playing ability. Of course it isn't very hard to impress a little kid, but my grandpa showed so much joy in everything that he did and it was apparent in all aspects of his life. Thinking back to this time in my life as a twenty year old, I really think it was not the instrument itself that got me involved in music, but the way he showed his love for it. He had this genuineness I haven't found in many people and you could just tell that he absolutely loved what he was doing. Now I know more than ever that his joy came from the Lord who had always been faithful to him even during trying times. I've found in life that the things you are good at are not always what you enjoy doing, but music for me is quite the opposite.
Once my grandpa's seed was watered, I started getting trombone lessons from my insanely talented neighbor who even went to an elite school for music. With the help of his knowledge of trombone and music in general, I started becoming a true musician. I have now played trombone for ten years and have been a part of many bands: jazz band, concert band, symphonic band, wind ensemble, and even pep band. I love to play the trombone, but it does not even come close to my passion for the piano which I discovered in December of 2019.
My sweet parents decided to gift me with an extremely nice Yamaha DGX-660 Portable Grand Piano which I absolutely love! I failed to mention earlier that I had almost no prior knowledge of piano. The most I had done was teach myself Für Elise on a cheap-old keyboard that my sister previously 'owned.' The two of them thought I was talented for learning Für Elise with the light-up-keys, but even still it was a big gamble. I admired their willingness to spend a pretty penny on something that I could have easily given up on. I would have been 15 or 16 at the time and for anyone who has kids, you know that their attention span is that of a fly.
After much learning and time spent on that keyboard, I started to see progress. Most days I would spend 6+ hours in front of the piano just doing improv for fun. I learned a couple songs from YouTube videos, but they weren't super impressive. I remember playing 7 Years over and over again and I would just play and play until my wrists hated me and got super sore. I have always enjoyed playing tennis, pickle ball, ping pong, and basketball, so my wrists were not in great shape! Piano alongside all the other activities became my life. After all, I started learning piano right when COVID struck the world and everything shut down, so I had nothing to do except for LOTS of piano! The most education I seemed to get was from my parents and from YouTube, public school was quite the joke (especially during COVID). Public school was never really my forte and it all came naturally, so I really just focused on working to make money and building my craft so that I could pursue my dream of becoming an independent artist/producer.
I have always been an entrepreneur at heart, I seem to find a million different ways to make a little extra cash, or lose it trying! I have been known in many circumstances to be the side hustle guy, but it excites me now that I am able to put that energy towards creating a fanbase, writing songs, working on bettering my playing and singing abilities, and promoting not only good music but a lifestyle that reflects Christ in me. If I’m not reflecting the love of Christ I will not only feel empty inside, but other’s around me won’t always understand the pure joy He’s given me (Psalm 118:24). The Lord has placed it in my heart to pursue music for the rest of my life and I will not back down from that calling (1 Peter 4:10).
Thank you so much for reading my first ever blog post, please feel free to leave a comment down below! If you enjoyed reading this I'd encourage you to subscribe to stay up to date with my latest blog posts!
