weeBy Chloe Frantzis
Managing Editor of Arts
Adin Henderson is a cool guy. Not only does he run track at Newton South, but he is also a very accomplished and talented musician.
Although you may see him rocking out on bass guitar, his main instrument, that is only the first layer of musical abilities. Henderson also plays countess other string instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, ukulele, and bag lama saz– a turkish instrument that somewhat resembles a guitar.
And if you think that’s the end of the list, you’re way off. Henderson also pays a variety of brass and reed instruments: trumpet, alto saxophone, baritone horn, and sousaphone.
On top of this, he’s also working to master the blues harmonica and the drums.
Now, you might be wondering, how does one guy have time for all of that? And how did he learn them all as well?
Henderson, now a senior at South, said that it all began a long time ago.
“I started with this $10 guitar I got from Target for Christmas one year as a kid,” he said. “I started playing that for a couple of years, and I would teach myself new notes and chords as I went along.”
Next, Henderson took on the bass in third grade. Let me remind you, most kids don’t start an instrument until fourth grade, but Henderson was on his second a year before.
“I went to this day jazz camp,” he remembered, “and I just self-taught myself everything else.”
Not only did he start early, but Henderson is almost entirely self-taught.
“I took bass lessons for about a year, but that’s it,” he said. Other than that, he has taught himself everything.
Although he was clearly a talented musician before he reached high school, Henderson claims South helped him greatly advance and perfect his skills. In fact, Henderson “didn’t really learn how to read music until [he] got here.”
“I started in Lab Jazz, then as a junior I got into Jazz Ensemble, which is the honors class. Then I TAed improv two and three,” Henderson said. “I’m best at playing funk on bass, but I listen to anything. Everything from classical to trap.”
Listening to multiple genres helps him learn and grow as a musician, Henderson claims.
Another aspect that helps Henderson develop his skills is the amount of time in school he has to practice.
“At South, you get a lot of free time [to practice],” Henderson said. “I have so many free blocks, I can just come here any time to play.”
Not only is the time to practice helpful, so are the teachers and atmosphere.
Henderson credits Ms. Linde with much of his success as a musician, saying that she has helped him not only learn to read music, but to learn jazz and improvisation techniques. Henderson also says that South “has a great community,” in which other talented musicians have flourished.
As a student who is all self taught, Henderson’s one piece of advice to younger musicians is to join a band.
“It could be outside school, but if you don’t join anything, you’re really not going to be able to keep up with your instrument,” Henderson said. “It’s easier to do music in middle school because there’s structured time, but if you don’t make time for you music in high school, you can fall behind.”
Henderson understands that balancing school, sports, and music can be difficult, but he hopes younger students won’t “let the stressful environment [at South] get in the way of their passion of music. Because when things get really stressful, music is a great thing to escape to.”
