Joy-Centered Music Instruction
What is “Joy-Centered” Music Instruction?
Many quest for musical proficiency and musical mastery. So long as our passions don’t turn into obsessions, these goals can help us grow. Practice makes perfect, right? This said, music to me is more like a fairy-godmother than a discipline to master. Maybe this is because I was introduced to music as a child and raised in a musical family. My parents never told me to practice, they just encouraged me to play. Instead of trying to master music, I feel like I was initiated into a life-long relationship with music.
To me, music is a guiding force, which seems to love me as much as much as I love it. The more I relate with music in this imaginative way, the more Music (with a capital M) seems to offer up her secrets. Please know I am not alone in this musical fairytale. Grammy award winner, Victor Wooten, dives into a personified experience of “Music” in his acclaimed books, The Music Lesson and The Spirit of Music. Also, many others in the field, like superstar John Batiste, concur: when we learn to listen closely, “The music tells [us] what to play.”
With a joy-centered approach to music instruction, musical proficiency is a natural byproduct of loving attention to musical process. When we love the music, proficiency attracts itself to us. To quote piano-master Kenny Werner, this happens, “effortlessly,” as we let go of the need to play “well.” Helping students cultivate their own loving relationships with Music is what I enjoy most—because it can lead to sustained joy and wonder. For seniors, adults and young adults I offer lessons in guitar, ukulele, electric bass, songwriting, and music theory. Please contact me if you have questions or would like to book a lesson.
