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Dear ,
Eek! I'm excited (and if I'm honest, a little nervous).
Every couple of years, I intentionally become a beginner again.
Over the years as the owner of a music school, I've taken drum lessons, violin lessons, voice lessons, guitar lessons... and tomorrow I begin jazz piano lessons.
This one feels different.
I've been classically trained almost my entire life, except for the very beginning, when my grandmother taught me Mary Had a Little Lamb at the age of three. I competed in classical piano competitions throughout middle and high school before entering college on a classical piano performance scholarship. Classical music wasn't just what I played. It shaped the way I understood the piano.
Then, while I was at Florida State, I decided to venture into completely unfamiliar territory: jazz. I joined a jazz ensemble thinking I might be the next Nina Simone or Diana Krall.
Reality hit on the very first day.
I quickly realized jazz wasn't just another style of music. It was an entirely different musical language.
Everyone else in the room seemed fluent. I felt like I barely knew the alphabet.
The class was filled with jazz majors who had spent years playing in jazz bands throughout middle and high school. It was the early '90s, I was the only woman in the class, the pianist, and the only one with virtually no jazz background. The instructor's teaching style was intense, and I quickly realized I had skipped some important steps before jumping into an advanced jazz ensemble.
Needless to say, I was completely out of my element.
After only a couple of classes, I realized I wasn't ready for that environment. I quietly dropped the class...and with it, I set aside the dream of learning to play jazz.
A few years later, life took me in a different musical direction. I started writing my own music and eventually lived out the singer-songwriter dream. Looking back, I don't regret that path for a second.
But somewhere in the back of my mind, jazz always felt like unfinished business. So tomorrow, decades later, I'm trying again.
This time, I'm not jumping into a jazz ensemble. I'm starting where I probably should have started all those years ago: with my very first jazz piano lesson.
I'm excited to become acquainted with my instrument in a completely different way. I want to understand the piano more deeply than I ever have before. Piano, and making music, has always been one of my greatest love languages. To stop learning, to stop evolving, would feel like neglecting a relationship that has shaped so much of my life.
Am I nervous? Absolutely.
But underneath those nerves is something even stronger: curiosity. The thrill of discovering something new about an instrument I've loved since I was three years old.
One of the beautiful things about music is that you never reach the finish line. There's always another style to explore, another technique to learn, another way to hear the same notes. That's why I tell students that learning music isn't about arriving somewhere. It's about building a lifelong relationship.
Some seasons you'll grow quickly. Some seasons you'll take a break. Life gets busy, and your instrument patiently waits for you. But whenever you come back, there's always something new waiting to be discovered.
Maybe that's true of dreams too. Sometimes they don't disappear. They simply wait until we're ready to begin again.
Tomorrow, I'll be the beginner again. And honestly... I can't wait.
If there's one thing I hope our students see in this story, it's that learning doesn't stop when you become "good." In many ways, that's when the real adventure begins. The best musicians I know are the ones who stay curious, keep asking questions, and are willing to be beginners again and again.
So whether you're three years old playing Mary Had a Little Lamb, a teenager preparing for auditions, or an adult dusting off an instrument after years away, keep going. Your musical journey doesn't have an expiration date.
What new challenge have you been putting off because it feels a little intimidating?
I'd love to hear about it. Just hit reply and tell me. Maybe this is the season to become a beginner again.
Ready to Begin...or Begin Again?
Whether you're picking up an instrument for the first time or returning after years away, we'd love to help you discover the joy of making music.
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