liner notes

It has never been easier to learn music. It has also never been easier to feel like you’re falling short. A friend and I were recently talking about what it would have been like to grow up learning music today, with YouTube and social media as always-available resources. At one point, he said something that stuck with me: there’s probably a small chance he would have become really good at something—but a much larger chance that being constantly surrounded by people performing

Photo credit: Andy Jones @ Organic Light Media One of the most common things adults say to me, usually with a half-laugh, half-apology, is: “I've always wanted to play an instrument.” When I ask why they don't start now, the answer is usually something like: “Oh I could never do that now,” or “I’m just not musical.” I understand where that instinct comes from. Music education is framed almost entirely as something you do when you’re young. School band. Childhood piano lessons