Stories

Having spent a lot of time working with adult students in music lessons and ensembles, I have heard many stories about why people begin or return to music study later in life. In fact, there are as many stories as there are people to tell them.

Just last night PMAC hosted its Adult Student Departmental Workshop for the spring 2008 session. We have two of these each year, one in the fall, one in the spring. It is an opportunity for adults who take private music lessons at PMAC to play music for each other and share their experiences as an adult music student.

What struck me, is that one adult told their story of how they got back into music after getting their kids involved - and then the next said, "hey, that's my story" as did one or two other people. But I think the reality is, though we have similar tales, I bet each story is actually unique.

We all have a story about our creative lives. What we did or didn't do as a child - what we were encouraged to do, discouraged from doing, whatever. All of our experiences shape our lives. Some of these experiences are traumatic - keeping us from fulfilling a dream such as playing a musical instrument. Some are just stories of "life getting in the way."

Whatever your story, I want you to know that if you love music, there is NO reason why you shouldn't be making music right now. The music YOU want to make. If you were told as a child that you could only play classical piano, but you really wanted to rock out - well, now YOU are the boss, and you should find the time to learn to rock out on the piano.

We all have fears about learning something new. That is probably a topic best saved for another blog post. Regardless of any fears you carry, you can learn to make music. And learning with others, in ensemble environments, is an amazing way to go.