They came from all over the country to be in the program. The students ranged in age from 18 to 75.

But the thought of only working at a hospital seemed to be a downer until he heard about the piano tuning and repair school at Grayson County College in Denison.įor one year, he completed the program having to tune a piano every day to get his ear in tune with the pitches and keys. Sherrod first went to Texas Tech University to major in musical education, then transferred to West Texas State in Canyon for a degree in musical therapy. 'Before the season starts, I have to shovel it all out just to tune it.' There's not another one to match it,' he says with a smile. 'It's the only piano on earth that has so much popcorn inside it. After a few shows, he got his confidence back and enjoyed the crowd. The first night he sat down to play during the melodrama, it was frightening and scary as the audience threw their popcorn at him. Sherrod's love for playing ragtime opened doors for him to join the Summer Mummers musical ensemble, first as a trombone player for five years in 1976 and then as their pianist in 1981. 'I heard him play songs and I listened intensely and got attached.' 'He had a sense of humor in him,' he says of his uncle. He first heard his uncle play a ragtime twist on the 'Happy Birthday'song and found that he too really liked the musical genre. His girlfriend also plays the piano and flute and the two sometimes will perform duets at her church in McCamey. He'd play for Christmas parties at homes in Midland. Even now, he can remember the notes perfectly to the Charlie Brown theme song.Īs a teen, he started playing for churches and social events. By the time Sherrod was a freshman in high school, he was mimicking jingles from television commercials, pop tunes from the radio and classical pieces by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

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