My Story

I’ve been lucky to have music in my life for as long as I can remember – it’s always been there, and my parents made a significant investment in my musical education. In hindsight, though, I feel like some of that was misplaced. I started on piano, then moved to saxophone, and while I enjoyed the lessons themselves (thanks to some very good teachers), that feeling never really carried over into my own time. It just didn’t give me much of a buzz. Practice felt like a chore – something I had to do, not something I wanted to do. As a result, I tended to practise very little. I remember being told that “[insert trending popstar] didn’t always feel like practising”, but when I actually sat down to play, there was no real motivation.

Everything changed in my teenage years when I picked up the guitar, and later started to sing. All of a sudden, I was playing songs I actually loved listening to, rather than repertoire selected in a grade book or chosen for me. When I added singing into the mix, it unlocked something new again – now, with just an acoustic guitar and my voice, I could create something that resembled the music I loved on the radio. 

That shift made a huge difference. I started doing more practice, performing solo at school, and then later playing gigs at restaurants. I got positive feedback from people, which encouraged me even more to get better and better.

Now I realise that practice isn’t supposed to be something you dread – it should be something you enjoy. Even the “boring” stuff (…scales…) started to feel worthwhile, because it was all helping me build toward something bigger; something I loved and was proud of. Over time, I built confidence – not just musically, but confidence in myself more broadly. Music became – and still is – a core part of my identity.

As I got more into the music I loved, some things happened:

• I found that my appreciation for other musical styles grew as well. With the help of great teachers, I rediscovered jazz and developed a real respect for it, even though my younger self found it pretty tedious. 

• I fell in love with soul / Motown – styles which (along with indie rock) I most enjoy playing and singing today. 

• I started writing my own music, blending the sounds that resonated with me most. 

That cycle of enjoying, learning, and practising kept going and going, until I decided that I want music to be a core part of my life.

These experiences have shaped how I teach. I strongly believe music learning should start from a place of genuine connection – if you love punk rock, then you should play punk rock! If you just want to strum a few chords by a campfire, that’s completely fine too (and you might surprise yourself and find it’s a starting point for something deeper). Progress for the sake of progress isn’t the goal; it’s so important to keep the joy of music front and centre. When done right, it becomes something far more meaningful – something that brings people together, reminds us what it means to be human, and stays with you for life.