Ernie lives in Calgary, Canada, he is an accountant and music is his hobby. He also loves learning languages and Greek, as he tells us, “was always on his to do list.” Ernie is another one of the amazing Greek LOL adult students who is learning Greek because he simply loves the language and culture. He is taking group classes in our School and we instantly wanted to talk to him, when his teacher Christina, shared a moving in-class moment when Ernie played the guitar and sang the Greek song “M’aresei na mi leo polla” by Ypogeia Reumata.
“Music has always been a hobby for me. I started music when I was 4 or 5 years old, taking organ lessons and from there I expanded to learning more concert band instruments and then I picked up guitar and it kind of progressed from there.”
Ernie plays most stringed instruments. He plays the guitar, the bass, he has banjos and mandolins and he even composes classical music when he is inspired. He sounds like the kind of person who is frequently visited by the Greek muses which is why we have to know how he came upon this wonderful but not exactly mainstream Greek song.
“I did some research on youtube and searched for popular Greek songs and found this song and it just kind of resonated with me. I think this song appeals to me because of its melody and the chords they used. I think it’s a darker, more ambivalent song which just appeals to me in a weird way.”
Talking about Greek music and how most people think that Greek music is just one thing, Ernie expresses how amazed he was to find that Greek music has a lot of modern rock bands that he really likes.
“When I listen to Greek music it sounds like there is a lot of history there. Sometimes it is lively, sometimes it is more on the darker side of human emotion. And when you have a lot of history like Greece does that kind of thing goes into your songs. I think I’m going to listen to more Greek music as times goes on just to get a better feel for what it’s all about.”
And when it comes to his lessons with Greek LOL, he says he is really looking forward to them every Saturday. “I love my group lessons, it’s a small class, our teacher is very knowledgeable and it is so much fun to see people from all over the world. In my class there are two Americans, two Canadians and one German which is interesting to see. It is not just me who is interested in learning this, it is a worldwide thing.”
Ernie concludes our discussion saying that he is looking forward to learning the past tenses so that he can understand and use them when he finally visits Greece and gets to interact with the locals and hear all the stories they are going to want to share with him.
Thank you Ernie for being a member of our online community!
