Ways to Give Back as a Musician
Here’s Ann! Such an awesome human! :)
I’m a big holiday lover and have already begun to think about my Christmas movie list (1. The Holiday 2. Love Actually 3. It’s a Wonderful Life ), what I will be getting my fam and friends for Christmas, and what recipes I want to try this year! I love it all! But this year, I also want to be more intentional about noticing people around me and trying to connect with and love people outside of my usual bubble. As a community of musicians, we have these talents we have worked on year-round and I think using these gifts to make someone’s day is the most rewarding part of being a musician.
I wanted to share this awesome story that Ann, one of my online students, shared with me about how she has been sharing her skills to make other people’s days!
“ I wanted to share a kind of exciting, new guitar-related thing I'm doing these days... 6 weeks ago I started as a volunteer guitar teacher through the local VA hospital. There's a program that provides guitar lessons and then a free guitar package to veterans who have PTSD, as a method of music therapy. I want you to know that the confidence I've started building from your courses and from your Instagram content really helped me decide that this is something I could do. I'm not the best guitar player around, but I am passionate about it -- and your messages of sharing passion for music encouraged me that this was a way I could make a difference.”
Literally the nicest message ever but also WOW! That’s so inspiring to me and really made me think about what I’m doing as a guitarist to make an impact in my community. It’s important to learn and always be growing as a guitarist, but what’s the point if you aren’t going to use that to make a difference.
So in this blog, I wanted to share some practical ways you can use what you know as a guitarist to brighten someone’s day this holiday season!
Volunteer to play at an assisted living home or hospital
Doing something like this is so rewarding and you may come out with a true friend in an older generation! My family used to occasionally sing songs from the 40’s era for my grandma and I think there is so much nostalgia around some of those songs for people born then. Also being in a nursing home or hospital can be very depressing and lonely, so having someone visit who is literally there to make their day can be a huge pick-me-up for someone who’s sick or in assisted living. Musician’s On Call is a super awesome organization that I have always wanted to be a part of (I applied three years ago and was told there was a really long waiting list haha!) so maybe one day I will be able to be a part of that!
2. Teach a few lessons at an underfunded school
I volunteered for a bit at a program that helps teens who needed a little extra guidance at an after school program here in Nashville and it was so rewarding and helped me make friends with people I would have normally never ran into! There’s some neat opportunities to teach youths whose families might not be able to fund lessons as well! If you are in Nashville, here’s a few options!
And if you aren’t in Nashville, try checking out The MusicLink Foundation!
I think having an awesome music mentor that helps people discover how rewarding and inspiring playing guitar is is definitely a need!
3. Post a tutorial of something you’ve learned
Ok this isn’t as much your traditional “helping out” type activity, but I think it’s super beneficial and helpful whenever I run into videos people make showing me how they learned something I’m trying to learn. It’s super frustrating to be stuck on a solo/song/concept with guitar, and having someone break something down in a video and encourage me to keep going is huge! Even if you are a beginner, this can be a great way to help — sometimes it’s almost better when you find a person who’s only a few steps ahead of you to learn from!
4. Host a jam party
Playing music can be the most fun and bonding activity to bring people together! A lot of people also don’t choose to seek opportunities outside of their houses if they don’t feel prepared. So having a super laid back jam party when no one has to be amazing at guitar can bring a ton of joy to friends/family members’ lives!
If you want to host one, you can check out my tips here!
If you don’t get the vibe your friends and fam would want to play along, you could also volunteer to play a mini-concert for them!
5. Take someone to a show
Going to a live show is so incredibly inspiring and personally, I think is one of the biggest ways to stay motivated as a musician. If you do a program like Big Brothers Big Sisters, taking your buddy to an awesome show might be a cool way to brighten someone’s day!
I hope these give you some fun ideas and I would really love to share any of your stories if you’ve used music in a cool way to love people around you!
6. Buy from guitar and gear companies who are doing good in the world
Here are two of my favs!
Taylor: I can’t say enough good things about Taylor and their team! What they have started with the Ebony Project is hugely impactful on so many levels. Not only are they planting back Ebony trees the guitar industry has been cutting down and never replanting for decades but also helping educate and hire employees in Cameroon. A lot of guitar players talk about wood type purely from a quality standpoint and don’t stop to think about where this wood comes from. I’m very excited about all they will be releasing about this over the next few years!
Orangewood: Orangewood is an incredible new(ish) company based out of L.A. also with an absolutely amazing team! They are truly making music accessible to all. Right now, they donate ukuleles to public school music programs that need instruments to start or continue their music programs. They work with a company called Give a Note and you can check out more on their program here!:
If you like this blog, I would love for you to screenshot if and post It on your story! :) You rock!
