A spruce top can do more than make classical guitars sound clearer and crisper. It can capture the essence of the musician by morphing its resonance to the style of the player.
Tung Vu, a fifth-year music performance student, said that the spruce top of his guitar is infused with the chords he plays most. However, for Vu, the spruce top of his guitar is not just a musical improvement but also a story of his journey from wanting to drop out of college to graduating.
Even though he started off with a hand-me-down guitar, Vu said when he was in middle school, most of the appeal for playing guitar was the aesthetic value, distinguishing him from other students.
“It made me feel like I had a super power,” Vu said.
When college applications came around, Vu said his choice of major was between music and math. He knew, however, going into college with no music theory background was a risk and believed math was the safer option.
However, Vu said he knew he was going to pursue music for the rest of his life, feeling like music was the only thing he was good at.
His high school friend Pete Jung, who Vu met at their high school talent show, said Vu’s passion for music has always been pronounced.
“(Vu) always had a huge grin because he loved guitar so much,” Jung said.
From the start, Vu said he had his heart set on the music program at UCLA because of its prestige. In order to get in, Vu had to prove he could play the guitar in front of a professor.
Vu said auditioning for UCLA was the easy part. Once he got into the music program, however, Vu had to take a theory placement test.
“I didn’t answer a single question because I couldn’t even read a musical note,” Vu said.
Despite being the only classical guitarist at UCLA for his first three years, Vu said he still struggled because of his lack of theory knowledge. Vu also joined the Association of Chinese Americans Hip Hop dance troupe his first year, which he said further divided his time.
“I felt like giving up my junior year,” Vu said. “I was failing a lot of my classes and I was beginning to think I’d never get out of here.”
Despite this setback, Vu said ACA helped him appreciate guitar not only for its aesthetic value, but also for its intrinsic musical qualities such as theory. Tri Tran, a UCLA alumnus and friend of Vu, said he thinks dance made Vu more versatile in his music.
“(Vu’s) music spans a lot of different genres,” Tran said. “He really likes Michael Jackson, and you can hear that influence in all the different songs he creates and plays.”
Vu said he considered dropping out of school during his junior year. However, because he didn’t have any concrete plans, Vu said he knew he needed the extra motivation to learn theory and get his degree.
Tired of his hand-me-down guitar, he said he decided to spend his savings on a custom-made guitar, the one he still uses today. Vu said the custom guitar revived his passion, since he now had an updated and more beautiful-sounding instrument.
“I was just so discouraged, and this guitar was like a phoenix for me,” Vu said.
With his new guitar, Vu took on less responsibility in ACA because he said it took up too much time. He instead decided to devote his free time to learning theory and attending office hours.
“On one of my last theory tests I got a 93, and it was one of the best days of my life,” Vu said.
By the end of his fifth year, Vu said he knew his heart was still set on pursuing music full-time. While he doesn’t have jobs or internships set yet for the future, Vu said he believes that if his passion for guitar helped him learn theory, it can help him achieve his dreams of making an impact in the music industry.
“I honestly believe that one day I’m going to make a mark on this world with my music,” Vu said. “I’m going to trust my passion.”