Music Man: CMU professor finds time for free sessions at B's Music Shop
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Tim Mocny doesn’t just educate students, he goes out of his way to make them better musicians.
Mocny first discovered his passion for music through the piano when he was young. After he saw how much fun his brother was having with it, he decided it was time to get one as well. When Mocny was in the fifth grade, his whole class was sent to their school auditorium, where people auditioned for the school's band. He didn’t want to at first, but a friendly face urged him to try.
“My mom asked me, ‘Why don’t you do it?’ and told me to try band for a while, and if I didn’t like it, I could quit,” Mocny said. “Now, here I am today with these music degrees.”
Mocny is both a professor and a musician who can play a variety of instruments including the piano, bass drums and xylophone. He's been a professor at Central Michigan University for six years, teaches both a listening experience and percussion class. He also writes drum line music for CMU’s marching band.
Mocny also finds time as a teacher at B’s Music Shop. The local music shop, located at 613 N. Mission St., has free, hour-long music clinics every Sunday during which one of their teachers goes through the basics of an instrument with any participants.
The owner of B’s Music Shop, Brian Hansen, has noticed how dedicated Mocny has been to his students.
“Tim is a very knowledgeable and professional teacher who always seems to make people better,” Hansen said. “Tim, and all of our teaching staff, listen to student’s needs."
Teaching in action
At 1 p.m. last Sunday, Mocny divulged in his weekend hobby.
Ten minutes before the clinic was supposed to start, Mocny frantically scrambled around the small space provided to him in the back of the shop, trying to set up for the clinic.
Then, Mount Pleasant local Tony Vincent walked in through the front doors and sat down in the empty row of chairs. Vincent admitted he was new to drum-playing, and Mocny quickly brought out a practice drum and set it in front of him.
They started with simple rhythm exercises, both playing the same beat in synchronized motions. As they moved onto more complicated exercises, Vincent struggled to keep up.
Mocny set up a laptop in front of Vincent so he could watch himself play. Vincent noticed he kept changing his grip and quickly corrected the problem.
As the clinic wound down after an hour of consistent drum playing, Mocny put Vincent through some advanced beat exercises to practice what he had learned. As Vincent began playing, it became clear his rhythm and control significantly improved from when he first arrived.
“It was very informative and I definitely improved just in that hour,” Vincent said. “These clinics are such a great service. I just wish more people would take part in them.”
Mocny was glowing with pride after the clinic ended. Having forgotten about the rough start, Mocny was relieved with how well everything went.
“It’s nice to be around people who are interested,” Mocny said. “I enjoy doing this.”
