Personally, my first instrumental private lesson experience started with piano lessons in 1st grade. In addition, my mom was always a private lesson teacher for piano, voice, and brass. Because of my mom’s occupation and the fact that she was adamant on the idea of me starting lessons as soon as I could read, I’ve been very fortunate to get an incredible music education. Piano and voice lessons were just something I was expected to do but I certainly wasn’t a natural at it and I struggled to have the motivation to practice. Despite not having the most productive private lesson experience with piano and voice, my mom put me into flute lessons the summer before 5th grade. She acknowledged this barrier in the music field that makes it so prospective music majors must stick out in their high school music programs as extraordinary in order to start a music degree without a fight. Knowing I was not a prodigy, assuring that I always had access to private lessons with a great teacher was her way of making sure that just in case I wanted to be a professional musician when I was older, I had that option. In other words, I’ve been aware that elitist barriers exist in the professional music world and that I was incredibly privileged growing up. Although I’m grateful for the ability to make art every day for a living, it doesn’t sit well that there are tons of potentially phenomenal artists and educators out there that the world didn’t get enough of because of all the barriers that prevented them from pursuing it professionally. But I believe music education is too valuable for society to be allowing these barriers and obstacles to continue holding people back. 

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Stemming from my passion for music education accessibility, are several pedagogical characteristics I strive to reflect. First, I think we need to normalize making mistakes and learning from them instead of being shamed for them. I think some of the most impressive compositions and genres of music were established because of making mistakes, experimentation, and turning something that seemed wrong into something beautiful. We as musicians deserve the right to be creative and use our imagination and not be afraid to do so.  Musicians are constantly being shamed for not being good enough and they are continually being put into competitive situations where it seems like the only option is to win. Inspiring musicians to be intrinsically motivated in their craft is not something that comes easy with the obstacles put in front of us, so I strive to work with students on finding the reasons they love music and reminding them of those things often. 

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That brings me to the topic of accommodation. Educators need to be accommodating. Period. No one is unteachable but there are teachers who cannot teach. In reality, it’s very demanding to ask a leader to be able to accommodate everyone but it’s so important that we try our hardest, especially when it comes to music education. Barriers such as the high cost of instruments, the high cost of private lessons, which the majority of the time is required to make it into the professional music world, the time it takes to perfect an instrument, and the lack of resources to accommodate different mental and physical abilities  make it extremely difficult for some people to pursue music. Treating music education as an exclusive thing just so we have fewer people to compete with is expanding the already wide gaps that already exist in class, race, physical/mental ability, and gender. 

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Lastly, I must acknowledge how important it is to be an advocate for the mental and physical health of all musicians. Professional musicians are prone to performance injuries. Mentally, the performing arts is one of the most vulnerable careers out there. We are judged every time we pick up our instrument in front of someone. It’s extremely taxing to have to deal with that constant pressure. But there’s no way we can succeed technically if we are not mentally okay. Mental burnout is so real. In addition, music is so niche that we can’t expect everyday therapists and doctors to understand our issues. I had a therapist tell me once to simply practice fewer hours in a day to reduce my stress levels, while I was already only practicing the minimum amount of hours asked of me. Also, a diploma usually isn’t enough to get us to where we may strive to be. There needs to be courses embedded into the curriculum that teach musicians how to take care of themselves mentally and physically. 

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There is nothing I’d rather be doing than using music to make the world better. Music is an expression over everything and being able to express things that words can’t is special enough to me that I want to continue to do what it takes to use it as a tool for positive change.