The case for expectation-free, exploratory music learning

Grace Thompson is a voice and piano teacher based in Austin. She is a classically trained soprano who graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in music–ethnomusicology. A longtime advocate for the neurodiverse community, Grace joins us on the blog to discuss her nontraditional methods of teaching music to kids through the Groove Garden program at Eastside Music School.

Musicking: (v.) any activity that includes playing, performing, listening, writing,
recording, or sharing music.

Childhood music lessons. We’ve all been there before, or maybe you haven’t. A parent has signed you up for a music lesson—piano, guitar, violin, or maybe even singing—and you’re getting ready to demonstrate to your teacher what you were meant to have practiced in the time since your last lesson.

Only you haven’t practiced or didn’t get as much practice time as you wanted. Teachers always can tell when a student hasn’t practiced, and you know walking in that your teacher will pick up on your lack of practice. Does this make me a bad student? A bad musician? Will my teacher be mad at me? Or disappointed? Will I ever learn to play this instrument?

As you go to play your instrument, these fears and anxieties course through your still-developing brain and begin to distract you and tell you that you’re not good enough. Playing your instrument has now turned from a fun hobby after school to an insurmountable test. The traditional private music lesson environment can, unfortunately, breed these sentiments in students, eventually turning students off from music as a whole.

Now imagine yourself as an atypical learner. Traditional learning environments are already not geared toward you, and now there is compounded stress from not being able to meet the expectations set by your teacher. These expectations have been set from a hegemonic system of learning music that is centuries old. This system of learning does not reflect the modern learner and is, in part, creating more failures than successes.

As a music teacher, I define success as a student being happily engaged in their studies, followed by an improvement in their technical and theoretical abilities. To support this type of musical education, the environment must be conducive to every learner, and we can create these environments by leading exploratory-driven, expectation-free music classrooms.

Musicking is a life-long process that no one will ever truly master. It is the embodiment of “about the journey, not the destination,” so we should present to students this idea of a musical journey. Twists, turns, and unforeseen circumstances may occur on our journey through a musical life, and allowing students to explore for themselves will well-equip them to navigate these changes. Perhaps a violin student watches a harpist and becomes enamored with this new instrument, or a classical piano student wants to begin playing jazz repertoire. These changes in instrument or repertoire are not typically supported in a traditional music education environment due to the expectations to stay with and master one particular instrument or genre.

Taking out the expectations of a traditional music classroom environment gives students fewer restrictions to explore different areas of music they might not have been exposed to before, and more confidence to try without the fear of failure or rejection. Expectation-free learning passes the baton into the hand of the students to create and express themselves without any limitations. Autonomy is given back to the child, therefore creating a more enthusiastic student. Exploration-led classrooms also promote social growth through a free exchange of ideas between peers, unclouded by any pre-existing musical “rules.”

Music education is vital to all people, but especially children, as it has been linked with a plethora of brain-boosting qualities such as supporting language and reasoning skills, emotional intelligence, coordination and fine motor skills, memorization and imagination, and intellectual curiosity, among many others (see nafme.org). Learners who find themselves on the Autism spectrum or any other spectrum of learning differences can especially reap the benefits from any of these characteristics.

Music plays a part in many other fields of academia, and finding an interest in music can help support other areas of interest for students as well, such as math, science, visual arts, and history. Music also supports a social outlet for students who lack interaction with peers, whether because of developmental differences or more solitary forms of education such as homeschooling or virtual learning.

Eastside Music School’s Groove Garden is an inclusive music class for children of all ages, backgrounds, and learning styles. It’s designed for kids to learn and make music together in a way not normally offered in traditional music classes or private lessons. Parents are also welcome to join their students as parents play a fundamental role in the student/teacher relationship. We encourage exploration-based learning as well as expectation-free instruction. In this class, we aim to give students the basics of music education, such as rhythm, melody, harmony, and instrument types, while also allowing for independent and group playing as well as encouraging student leadership and autonomy. While children in traditional music education are often given very little voice, if any, in what they choose to study, at the Groove Garden, we allow students to have a say in what kinds of music to study and activities they enjoy.

The next Groove Garden class will be held on Thursday April 27, from 3pm to 4pm at Eastside Music School.

Grace Thompson | Groove Garden

MusicAlly: Bringing musicians and remote learners together

Here at Alt Ed Austin, we always—but especially in these difficult times—find joy in shining a spotlight on educators and artists who are using their time and talents to meet the evolving needs of learners in creative and generous ways. This guest post, from MusicAlly’s Caeli Smith, is music to our ears.

On March 12, 2020, I played what would be my last performance for a very, very long time. I savored the time on stage at Miller Theater at Columbia University, performing with internationally renowned pianist Simone Dinnerstein. It was an all Bach concert, and I luxuriated in the music and the feeling of communicating with my colleagues on stage. With no conductor, we used our bodies and eyes to send signals to each other and play in tandem. The evening had a special gravity. We all knew what was coming.

The next day, wham—my entire performance season was obliterated. I deleted everything from my calendar, too sad to remember what I was supposed to be doing that day. I spent a few days lying glumly in bed. It was obvious I needed a productive, creative project, and quick.

My passion has always been at the intersection of music and education. I’ve been teaching for 15 years, both privately and in New York City schools (and now as an adjunct professor at Juilliard, my alma mater). When Covid-19 hit, teaching was the only part of my life that continued uninterrupted. My students were game to move our work online. To my surprise and delight, I realized that one-on-one instruction with a dedicated student translates rather well to Zoom.

In fact, online teaching has made me a better teacher. I’m more concise with my instruction; more precise with the notes I type up to send to students after the lesson. And my students are better, too: more responsible, focused. There are some things I can’t do for them now. So they do it themselves.

Teaching on Zoom got me thinking about accessibility. In an instant, a student anywhere in the world can be connected to a world-class teacher in New York City or Paris. No waiting for the bus, no getting home too late to finish homework. An hour-long lesson is truly an hour’s investment, for both the teacher and student.

This summer, kids are stuck indoors, in many cases without access to summer camps, school programs, or outdoor play. They desperately need art, structure, and invested mentors. So I founded MusicAlly, which connects kids around the world with online music lessons and peers.

Classical music has a notorious accessibility problem. To break into the circuit, you need an instrument, weekly lessons, maybe summers away at Interlochen. It’s not cheap.

Everyone needs an ally when they’re studying an instrument – whether that comes in the shape of a teacher, a fellow student, or a dedicated parent. I realized that if my program could charge market rate for lessons with the highest-caliber teachers, we could use half of that money to fund a second lesson for another student who wouldn’t otherwise ever have quality private instruction.

All kids who study music know that the best part of playing an instrument is meeting and playing with other musical kids. The first time I played chamber music, at age 11, with three other middle schoolers, a lightbulb went off in my head. (Actually, it was more like fireworks.) This was the stuff. It was what I would do forever.

I designed a PenPal program to match MusicAlly students by age and experience. Our PenPals send weekly “what’s up” emails and twice-weekly practice videos as well as recording duets over Zoom. The correspondence keeps students accountable for their practice and encourages and motivates them in their progress.

MusicAlly has received applications from kids (and adults) in Japan, Romania, and across the United States. My dream is to build a global network of music students who connect with the best caliber of teachers, build relationships with other musical kids, and, most importantly, develop a life-long love of music. Even though live performance is on the shelf for now, music is never postponed.

Caeli Smith  |  MusicAlly

Media Monday: Come on, bring the noise! Girls rock, and so do boys

The clatter and crowds of SXSW are gone, spring is here, and that means it’s really time to get the kids signed up for summer camps, before they fill up. The number and variety of music-related camps in Austin is pretty overwhelming, and it’s not possible to talk about them all, but here’s a sampling that may get you started.

Most of the music camps in and around Austin lean toward rock and allow young musicians to improve their skills, play in bands, and learn a little about recording and mixing music, sometimes with a little songwriting thrown in. Rock camps include the intimate Eastside Music Summer Camp, the much larger University of Texas Longhorn Music Camps, Lone Star School of Music’s Little Rock Camp, Band Aid School of Music’s Summer Rock Camp, Rock Lab School of Music Camps, and of course, the Austin School of Rock camps.

If you’re into empowering girls with guitars and amps, check out the Girls Rock Austin summer camps. They’re operated by a nonprofit dedicated to diversity and music education.

Beyond these staples of headbanging summer fun, there are a few smaller camps that you may want to investigate too:

Blue Frog School of Music offers songwriting, performance, and recording camps in its homey location near the Austin Waldorf School. 

Velocity Music Academy has a wide variety of camps for all ages, focused on learning to play the piano, guitar, violin, and other instruments.

Orpheus Academy of Music Summer Camps are offered all summer and range from world music to broadway to introductory instrument classes.

TexArts camps focus on musical theater.

Paramount Theatre hosts a small songwriting camp for kids in grades 6–10.

Creative Action, a nonprofit group of teacher-artists, has a variety of art- and music-themed summer camps planned for this year, including Broadway or Bust and The Studio: Performer camp, all about writing, mixing, and performing music.

If you live near beautiful Wimberley, Agua Fresca Studios camps all combine visual art with music. They’ve got a Ukelele and Drum Camp for ages 9–12, a Music Camp for ages 10 and up, and an Art and Music Extravaganza camp for little ones 6–8 years old.

For kids who love percussion instruments, Ratamacamp offers camps at area public schools for middle and high schoolers.

The Austin Girls’ Choir has an early June camp for beginning singers and a mid-June camp for advanced singers. Both introduce girls to many music genres, from classical to pop.

And if you have a kid who loves chamber music and wants to play in small groups, the Austin Chamber Music workshop is the place to be.

Most music camps in the area are day camps, but if your student wants an overnight experience you’ll want to explore Texas Jaam Camp on the Guadalupe River in the Hill Country in July. Music styles will range from bluegrass and cajun to jazz and Western swing.

Shelley Sperry
 

Nurturing young songwriters holistically

Havilah Rand is a multitalented artist, musician, educator, and coach. She’s back in Austin this fall after several months teaching in the Northwest, so I invited her to join us on the blog to talk about her popular and unusual songwriting workshops for kids.
 

When I was 9 years old, I spent most of my days exploring the wooded area behind our apartment complex, making up songs on our old piano, dressing up like Laura Ingalls Wilder, and teaching an imaginary classroom of kids. Now I’m 42, and besides the oversized dress and bonnet, things haven’t changed much. I love nature, I love working with young people, and I love writing songs. After two decades of recording and touring, eight years of public and private school teaching, I’ve honed in on where my true talents and passion lie: in helping others discover and express their own unique voice.

This has led me to create my dream job, which is leading songwriting workshops and camps for young people. The mission of these programs is to demonstrate to kids that when we explore the world from an artistic standpoint, we can express our perspective in a way that makes life more interesting and meaningful to ourselves and to others. By infusing a sense of fun and curiosity into all that we do, learning becomes an exciting adventure rather than a mundane routine. Finally, collaborating with others to create a body of work that reflects authentic feelings and experiences has a huge impact on the way we value our own voice as well as the voices of others.

Since their inception out of my one-bedroom apartment three years ago, the Young Songwriter Workshops and Camps have evolved considerably in scope and depth. This summer alone, we worked with approximately 30 kids who wrote over 60 songs using inspiration found in nature, urban adventures, artistic explorations, and connections with one another. We witnessed kids who were paralyzed with anxiety upon arrival yet singing and creating with wild abandon within hours.

Campers who were experiencing turbulence in their personal lives were able to process their feelings through their lyrics as well as through connection with new friends and mentors. For example, Leo wasn’t sure the Orcas Island Songwriting Camp was for him. He’s more of a hip-hop techno kind of a guy, and a songwriting camp with a bunch of little girls didn’t seem very appealing at first. He quickly opened his mind and attitude to the possibilities and took on the role of recording engineer and producer. We watched him exercise qualities of empathy, patience, and leadership as he supported the songwriters during the challenging and sometimes scary recording process. He even ended up emceeing our CD release celebration and was quite the entertainer.

It’s been truly amazing to watch these workshops and camps take on a life of their own with a minimal amount of guidance from adult mentors. I believe the most important things we provide is a framework from which to set goals and a sense of safety and freedom when it comes to self-expression. The goal is to write songs, but as is the case with all artistic endeavors, it is the journey and not so much the destination that really matters. Parents and campers alike have used words such as “transformational” to describe their experience at songwriting camp.

Each day we spend time journaling, manipulating words and pictures we find in magazines and various books, listening to music, exploring the outdoors, and observing humans in their natural habitats such as coffeehouses, grocery stores, and even laundromats. Before too long, the ideas we’ve captured through these activities take the shape of songs that we begin recording immediately so that they don’t “escape.” Participants are given as much freedom or support as their musical skills and personal interests dictate. Some find that they’d rather spend time working on musical ideas, while others focus more on lyrics. There are opportunities to practice performance and vocal skills, engineering techniques, CD cover design, and improvisation with various instruments. Through both introspection and collaboration, a collection of great songs is the final product of our creative effort.

Like every dedicated teacher and performer, I get anxious just before the start of each workshop. And without fail, as soon as we begin, I am delighted by the qualities that each young person brings and am reminded that children are innately nonjudgmental and creative and have a natural ability to open their hearts and minds to new experiences. Young Songwriter programs provide an opportunity to experience life as brave and open-hearted adventurers with an appreciation of uniqueness in ourselves and in others. This enables authentic self-expression, which ultimately leads to greater happiness and the sharing of our gifts with the world.

I am offering the following Young Songwriters Camps and Workshops this fall in the Austin area:

Young Songwriters Camp at Integrity Academy
For Ages 7–13
September 28 – October 1, 9am–3pm
Integrity Academy at Casa De Luz
$225

Young Songwriters After-School Workshops
Ages 7–18
October 6–November 11
Tuesdays 3:15–4:30pm, Integrity Academy
Wednesdays 3:45–5pm, Austin Village Academy
$150

Songwriting camps and workshops are mobile and adaptable to many settings and time frames. Contact me at havilahrand@gmail.com to explore the possibilities. And check out holisticartventures.com to learn even more.

Havilah Rand