Fresh Faces: He's Got the Beat
Editor’s Note: From time to time CM Life will do features focusing on students at CMU.
Though he may be a true believer in the power of rhythm, Chris Cirefice is musically illiterate.
The White Lake freshman taught himself to play guitar and piano — and he did it all without ever learning how to read music.
He has played guitar since his junior year of high school.
Cirefice played guitar outside Bovee University Center Sept. 30 to draw attention to his wares.
He said he was selling woven bracelets to raise money for a service project for his HON 100: Introduction to Honors class. He can often be found carrying his guitar around campus.
“I started playing to pick up chicks,” Cirefice said jokingly. “It wasn’t that hard to learn. I just play chords and improvise.”
In order to play guitar, all anyone needs to know are the four basic chords, he said.
“The other day my friend and I played the same four chords over and over in different orders and nobody noticed except us,” he said. “It went on for hours.”
Cirefice said his repertoire consists of around 35 songs of all genres except rap, the only genre he dislikes.
His friend Brandy DeMott of Highland is impressed with his vocal talents.
“Mr. Cirefice is a very musically gifted young man,” Demott said. “He was tops in choir, where he could sing like an angel.”
Though he loves guitar, he said his latest project is the piano, which he started playing about six months ago.
“A lot of people think it’s hard to teach yourself, but piano is like the easiest instrument in the world,” he said.
In addition to guitar and piano, Cirefice also taught himself to accompany his instruments with his voice. He said he prefers to learn music on his own.
“I took one voice lesson and it was horrific,” he said.
Cirefice remains humble about his musical talent despite being a fully self-taught musician. He said it’s really not that hard to teach yourself to play.
Despite his knack for the art, Cirefice is planning to major in Information Technology and minor in French.
He says music is really only something he does when he gets bored.
“I just like music.”
