Shalyn Carthan’s Introduction, Mindset, and Experience
My name is Shalyn Carthan. I am a sophomore music major from Decatur, Georgia. My family connects through our love of music. My grandmother learned how to play the piano and the organ and was playing the organ for St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. My grandmother encouraged all three of her children to learn an instrument, including my father. They all played in the band for a short period of time and they all took piano lessons for a period of time but neither of that stuck with them. My father, however, eventually began to produce music and he was quite good at it.
He made producing music his career and was beginning to become quite successful but he stopped once I began to grow. He has always instilled the importance of music within me and I became infatuated with music. Music was how I learned to express myself and something that I found myself to be good at. I was the first in my family since my grandmother to expand my knowledge in piano and other instruments. I also am the first in all of my family to fully pursue music in college. I am excited to dive deep into music and continue to develop a deeper understanding of African-American music.
