Picture this: it is an average day outside the Conn Library, but suddenly the sweet, soulful sound of a guitar echoes between the buildings.
 

That music is coming from Henry Ventura, a current senior at WSC.

Ventura is majoring in music industry, which entails trying new instruments to play, which in turn sparked an interest in learning how to play the guitar. He started to play guitar in 2011, five years ago exactly this month.

“I’m self-taught. I learned from YouTube,” Ventura said. “My friend Derek and I would play together, but it was mostly just me. I took lessons from another friend, Ezra, and I also took an online class. I took lessons from Ezra every two weeks, for about four months this summer.”

One of Ventura’s favorite bands, Bullet For My Valentine, inspired him to pick up a guitar and learn how to play. Music has always been part of his life, and it’s always been an inspiration.

“I didn’t picture myself playing guitar, especially in high school. I was always a singer,” said Ventura.

While on campus, he plays whatever strikes his mood. He said he doesn’t really know how he memorizes so many songs. He just does. Ventura said if he learns how to play a song, he might as well memorize it.

When playing on campus he hopes to find people with the same interest. He plays because he’s passionate about it.

“Music has the power to inspire people. It gets us through life. Music brings something to the table that other formats don’t bring,” said Ventura.

Ventura also has a Facebook page, “Henry Ventura,” where he posts videos of himself singing and playing the guitar. He hopes to build an audience with this page. He posts his lyrics, also.

Eventually he’ll turn these lyrics into songs. He’s currently working on a new one.

“I feel relaxed. I feel peace of mind,” said Ventura, when explaining how he feels when he’s playing on campus.

He started playing on campus about three years ago. He wanted to get more confident playing in public. Usually, for one trying something new, especially in front of the public, nervousness could be a factor. Ventura had a completely different feeling when he first started.

“I don’t have a nervous factor when it comes to these kinds of things,” Ventura said. “I’ve been singing basically my whole life.”

As for plans in the future, Ventura said he is just going with the flow. He plans to graduate from Wayne State College this year, and then go to Northeast Community College for its audio recording program.