Music is incorporated into every aspect of society these days. We hear it in the grocery store, at a restaurant, sporting events, sacred and secular ceremonies, company jingles, movies, video games, and common platforms such as spotify, and youtube.  We use it to teach memorization at such an early age (like learning our ABC's). Then of course there is the communal experience of live concerts of all styles and genres.

     Learning how to play an instrument can be a life-changing experience not just through school, but for the rest of your life. Having the ability to recreate music, analyze it, understand it, control it, and influence others by it is empowering, even at a basic level. These skills bring confidence and tools to analyze or interpret other avenues of life - focus, meaning, purpose, analytical methods, memorization, understanding of ones emotions, empowerment, courage, hope, loss, anger, adventure, ways of learning, and insight with other people or cultures to name a few.          

     The beautiful part is that the tools work both ways. Not only do they assist the student to learn in other areas of life, so too can the tools be a medium from other subjects for understanding music better.  In order to teach students music fundamentals, I have related musical studies to principles in science, math, movies, video games, sports, working out, linguistics, yoga, and much more. It is important to me to be diverse in thinking and open minded as a teacher to utilize the tools they have in their figurative tool belts. No two students have the same life experiences nor might they experience life events in the same way. Therefore, it is my philosophy that teachers must find ways of relating the music concepts through whatever medium is necessary for comprehension.

      It is fundamentally my goal for students to genuinely enjoy the process and soak in the rewards that learning an instrument can provide when they put in enough practice and dedication.