Austin music lessons that start with you

Did music lessons ever feel like homework?

Maybe you know someone who has a story like this: “I took music lessons for x years as a kid and I liked it at first but I quickly grew tired of doing the homework from my method book and learning songs I didn’t know or care for. I eventually quit lessons and now, years later I regret it because I think having a musical outlet in my life would be good for me.”

We have heard this story many times - sometimes from adults looking to reconnect with music themselves, but also from parents who want their kids to have a different experience than they may have had growing up. At We Love Music, we do everything we can to be very flexible with our curriculum in order to keep students inspired and looking forward to their next lesson.

We start by getting to know each student

A core value of ours is a belief that getting to know our students is foundational to developing learning activities that they will enjoy. We encourage students to bring their ideas and feelings into their lessons so we can meet them where they are. When we are attuned to what their personal goals are it becomes much easier to keep them interested and to provide them with the support that they need. Lessons can include: writing original songs, recording in our studio, trying out different instruments, bringing in a friend to jam with, joining a group of other students to rehearse and perform live with, or just learning your favorite songs on your instrument of choice.

Rethinking how we practice

There seems to be a subconscious voice in parts of our society that associate musical growth with a form of disciplined practice that requires promising ourselves we’ll actually get to enjoy all of this music once we have accomplished x. This way of thinking often allows the musically curious to choose rigor over enjoyment as a central philosophy and makes it very hard to sustain practice while pleasure remains deferred beyond the horizon. At We Love Music, our interest is in helping you as a person learn more about who you are, and what it is about music that you are hoping to connect with. If we can arrive at this knowledge, then students have a real reason to immerse themselves in study and exploration - because the study is connected to our innate drive to know ourselves and to grow.

Feelings are part of learning

Learning an instrument means going deep into your own mind and body, and the relationship between teacher and student is what makes that possible. Our teachers tune in to how each student is feeling from one week to the next, meet them where they are, and go to great lengths to support them. Young students always run into frustration. When that happens, we don’t push through or keep asking for the same thing. We stay present, honor how they feel, and let that become part of the learning.

We think of music lessons as a soft skill, too. We want students to be kind to themselves when they practice and to look after their mental health while they learn.

Where we come from

Ross Carnes started We Love Music in 2011 after eight years as music director of a private school in Austin, where he ran a rock band program, a percussion ensemble and kids’ ukulele classes. That mix of ideas is still how we teach: lots of styles, lots of playing with other people, and music that’s fun.

Since 2011 our students have performed in yearly concerts, and many of the songs that teachers and students have written together over the years have become part of our curriculum.

Is We Love Music a good fit?

If you have an intuition that our collective conception of education needs to place more emphasis on connecting with our sense of joy and figuring out who we are, then you may enjoy our unique approach to music lessons. Feel free to click the ‘contact’ tab and and let us know if you’re interested in learning our mainstays - guitar, electric bass, drums, and ukulele. We do offer other instruments as well depending on staff so if you have an unusual or even bizarre request - we would love to hear from you!