UIUCFreePianos
Discover pianos around the UIUC campus to play and enjoy music.
👂 Why
I taught myself how to play piano on our campus. Music is one of the most beautiful and powerful creations humanity has ever known. It moves us emotionally, amplifying whatever feelings we have within. Music never ceases to inspire, reflecting our reality while offering a curious hint at a greater purpose beyond our comprehension. It is a universal language, transcending boundaries and cultures, yet it continues to be underrated.
I wasn't fully alive until I learned to play instruments. The essence of art is learning to see, while music teaches us the art of listening. When you learn to play an instrument, that's precisely what you're doing: learning how to listen.
You learn to discern the different chords and perceive the nuances, but also to listen to your own intuition about what feels right and what feels wrong. It's a process of learning to listen to your feelings, to yourself, to your friends in conversation, to the world, and to the universe. That's the beauty of musical instruments, that's the beauty of music, and I hope UIUCFreePianos helps you on your journey.
🤩 Story
To be fully transparent, I wasn't feeling well. It was one of those days where I had no desire to do anything or feel excited about an idea, which is rare for me because the world is way TOO EXCITING!!!!! For a few weeks, or even a month, I hadn't done anything that made me feel truly alive. I wanted to change that with the right attitude. For me, that means following my curiosity and creating something with love. That's the story behind so many of my projects, including UIUCFreePianos.
It was Tuesday night, and after a less-than-ideal day of finishing homework I didn't want to do, a thought struck me: "It would be really cool to create a map with all the pianos on campus." People constantly ask about it on Reddit, but there wasn't a comprehensive map of all the public pianos scattered around the university. "That would be useful," I thought. Plus, I needed an excuse to do some coding, improve my design skills, and create something I genuinely wanted!
I started around 10 PM that Tuesday night, playing music from Yo-Yo Ma, Stravinsky, Arijit Singh, Beethoven, The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, Purcell, and Tchaikovsky. Now, I am about to launch UIUCFreePianos. It's about 11:56 AM on Wednesday, and I'm so happy, excited, dancing around with boundless energy, and really proud of what I've accomplished! It makes me feel amazing, and I hope that if you're reading this, you get to experience that feeling of learning, being so excited you can't sleep, and the desire to finish and release your creation with the world. I have a final exam in 5 hours. Wish me luck!
🧑🍳 By
My name is Juan David Campolargo, and I follow my curiosity.
I love to create projects and I want to do that for the rest of my life.
Other projects you might have fun checking out:
And more!
Oh, and here's a video of my first piano recital:
or
This is very inspriring, and a useful tool for aspiring musicians. It warms my heart to hear students playing the piano while I study; one of the most memorable parts of my college experience.
Arijit Singh let's gooo hahaha
Love the 3D map interface. Great 'About' page design too (including the Disclaimer 🙃)