It’s wild for me to think about, but I’ve been teaching for over 16 years now. I never thought I would enjoy teaching more than performing, but dangit, it’s just so much fun! I’m in a brand new area teaching music lessons in Kingsport, TN now, and I’m so excited to be able to share some of what I’ve learned with new people who I’ve been connecting with.
Speaking of which, I’m realizing that in the past few years my goals for the students I’ve been teaching has changed - when I started, it was mostly “let’s get the basics first” and then “let’s start playing along with songs”, and honestly, it kind of stopped there in my mind. Like that was the big goal to work toward, but now, I have something different in the back of my mind: all of those basics and playing along with songs alone can and should lead to an even bigger goal of playing with other musicians!
I remember starting out on drums when I was about 14 years old. I was a sophomore in high school who had just quit playing soccer to devote more time to Halo 2 (yes, I realize this dates me a bit), and I asked for a drum set. I don’t remember what that conversation with my parents was like, but I know they were supportive, AND they had just built a detached garage with an upstairs - a great place to not hear all of the drum noise. Anyway, it was sometime in that first year or year and a half of me taking lessons and learning the basics that some friends from church asked me if I wanted to be in their band, and I jumped at the chance! I mean sure, it was fun practicing and playing along with songs that I enjoyed listening to, but actually getting to play songs, write songs, and perform songs with other people?! Heck yes.
Although I was always a quiet kid, I definitely had more extroverted than introverted tendencies. I practiced for hours a day back then (this was when the internet was not nearly as widespread or even widely used as today), but as soon as these opportunities started popping up to play with others, I was completely on board. I teach quite a few people like that too. Some are quiet and don’t even enjoy the thought of playing on stage necessarily, but being able to write some songs with other people and play their instruments together? That’s where it’s at. To lead worship with a band and perform with that sort of purpose in mind? I think I have a few who would love it!
So, I’m going to try and open up some hour-long lesson times at least 2 or 3 times a week so that I can get some of these music students into bands together! That’s what I try to do as much as possible whether I’m teaching online lessons or in-person lessons. If it’s a guitar student, we’ll spend 15 or 20 minutes working on whatever we’ve been working on. But then I’ll hop on the drums and play a simple beat so they can try those same things with a little groove behind it! Or vice versa, I’ll play an easy song on guitar during a drum lesson to give them the feel of playing in a band setting.
That’s what I’ll keep working toward and try and pair up some students who are close to the same level and have the same goals in mind. If it’s something you’re looking for, shoot me an email at chwstudios865@gmail.com and I’ll do whatever I can to help you!