It’s Time to Break the Mould on Music Education

"...I have found my purpose and legacy. To shift society's perception of musicality."

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of traveling to Sydney to do some soul searching. As our music community rapidly expands, I have found myself asking "what innate purpose has brought me to this path in life?" 

I was sitting amongst a group of new friends when one of them said to me: "I'm not musical". This genuinely upset me. There I sat with a beautiful individual soul who honestly believed she was not musical. This precise moment was the catalyst for me finally being able to articulate why I am doing what I am doing. 

I asked myself: "How has society managed to put such tight restraints on something as individual and fluid and musicality (or creativity all together)?" It truly upsets me that something so personal has been standardised. I believe if music touches your soul in one way or another, you are musical. And yet, it is now a common belief amongst society that if you can't play a classical instrument, you are not musical. 

Music is about finding comfort. For some people this may be playing one of Chopin's Preludes, and for others it is found when playing Three Blind Mice. Music should be empowering, not degrading. Music should be about finding a place of relaxation, reflection and expression. Every single person is going to experience this at a different level. 

In my utopia, society would accept musicality as an individual experience.  Through this realisation, I have found my purpose and legacy.  To shift society's perception of musicality. It scares me to say it out loud because I am under no illusion as to how mammoth this task will be. But mark my words, I will give it a jolly good crack. At the very least, I will pave a pathway that guides society on a journey of change.

Over the coming months, I will be working hard to implement a variety of teaching methods to embrace individuality and empower our students on a whole new level. This will all be done with clear goals in mind: to increase the amount of joy our students achieve through their learning experiences, to help our students improve their self esteem, and to promote self awareness and growth

I have some big plans in the works, so watch this space. 

Kathryn x