The Songiver Philosophy

Every human (every animal for that matter) has some inborn love and understanding of what we call the musical realm. Babies, as a rule, will cry and vocalize on pitch. They respond to music because it is a fundamental 'language'. It is a medium and a sensibility we should ALL have inside. If that has been taken away by a teacher, parent, pop star or your own critical voice inside your head, you are really missing something.

Clearly some people who are from musical families, who have had training at an early age, or possess a certain musical genius can be distinguished from those without those riches. They were born with and got nurtured in tone and rhythm. Some people believe there is a critical period in which music exposure and instruction is most influential on a person's ability to be musically able and enjoy music. Love of music is a very important thing to teach from early on-- as children whose primary caregivers make music, even if it is clumsy, have a more positive disposition towards listening and making music.

So some of it's genetic and some of it's experience. But many people in my culture believe you either have it or you don't. They think that if you
don't record for a major music label or have never played a recital on an instrument, you just can't speak the music language. No entrance into the music club. Only talented people should even try. These are lies! Why should millions of people be silenced, even if all you want is to sing while you do work around the house or as a lullaby to your kids? Now, for example, if you were to find yourself with a family from Namibia or India, you'd hear every child, mom, dad, uncle, aunt and grandparent sing as a part of life. This is not a romanticized depiction of past societies, its just that music- in many places- can be a casual and free method of expression for everyone.

All that said, I think it's extremely important that every child have musical experience from an early age. If a parent feels they can't offer a rich experience alone, they should seek support from a music teacher or program that can be fun and often. When the child is old enough they can study more formally if they desire, not necessarily to become concert musicians. For many kids music is a rare place they can shine in the context of struggles in other areas. I enjoy teaching kids because they are so inventive and it is fun to see each develop uniquely.

Adults who have not had this exposure or who have had the trauma of being told they were not good enough really need to support of a teacher or a group to begin to build confidence. Many want to do something new or start up study after many years. Only a percentage of music teachers out there are comfortable teaching complete beginners, but the best will help adults find their preferred level of rigor. I think that adults who consider themselves non-singers (who may be called 'tone deaf') are very capable of making definite progress. It is often a slow process of listening, getting feedback, recalibrating, small steps, and learning a totally new language. But they actually begin to sing songs in tune, improve tone, and feel better about singing with or for other people. Adults learning piano or other instruments can take in lots of information, understand theory and compose their own pieces. For me, it is always fun and extremely rewarding to work with adults because they are very reflective and motivated.

Music education should offer joyful music-making opportunities for EVERYONE.