February Spotlight: Guitar Student Yi Cao

“Playing the guitar is making me a more patient person. I am seeing progress little by little with practice, and I’m not discouraged by however slow it is.”

-Circle Circle Arts student Yi Cao

Circle Circle Arts guitar student Yi Cao works as a business intelligence consultant for a financial consulting firm. Yi enjoys listening to acoustic covers of songs on YouTube, and has always pictured himself playing the guitar. During the lockdown in 2020, Yi came into a lot of free time and decided to start taking guitar lessons. He recently made his performance debut as a guitarist, performing The Beatles’ classic “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” with his Circle Circle Arts teacher Jordan Dodson for our recent concert for DOROT USA. We caught up with Yi for a quick interview about his experiences as a music lover and guitar student.

Circle Circle Arts guitar student Yi Cao performs with faculty member Jordan Dodson.

Who are some of your favorite musical artists?

Taylor Swift, Lauv, and Jon McLaughlin. I admire each artist for their incredible talents. They are the main writers of their own music, and their lyrics have always resonated with me personally.

Tell us about how music fits into your everyday life, from listening to playing. How do you find the time and energy to practice?

I’m used to having music play in the background when I work or do chores. It’s a way to cancel out ambient noises, also noises in my head. I always look forward to practicing guitar because I’ve been under stress from work and classes; playing guitar has been a way to either relieve myself from stress, or to turn that stress into creativity.

How has playing the guitar and taking music lessons affected your life?

Impact-wise I think it’s making me a more patient person. I am seeing progress little by little with practice, and I’m not discouraged by however slow that progress is.