A lot has changed...

Hi everyone!

A lot has changed since I start my early childhood music enrichment business back in 2015. If you don't mind indulging me for a minute as I reminisce for a moment (and fill in new followers!), I'll go over what has been happening.

I started my business in 2015. I was a new mum ​and looking for a way to keep teaching, because it was

such a core part of my identity. I've always wanted to be a teacher. There are even pictures that I drew back when I was four years old that are of me teaching a group of children. I didn't know what I was going to teach, but I knew I wanted to be a teacher.

Over the years, I learnt piano and clarinet throughout primary and high school. Once I finished high school I knew I wanted to teach music. I wanted to teach classroom music and instrumental music. I took up oboe after winning a scholarship with the West Australian Youth Orchestra when I started university and continued with lessons for two years and played and sung in university ensembles.  It was a difficult instrument but I really loved the experience. During my last year of my university degree, I enrolled in the honours program to write a thesis. My thesis was about motivations of parents to enrol their young children in music classes and activities. I didn't know it then, but this was something I was going to become a lot more interested in after having my own children.

I taught at two high schools for a total of 6 years where I did a range of music teaching (choirs, bands, orchestras, concert administration, specialist classroom music teaching, instrumental music teaching and more). Then I had my first child. And it was the best thing and worst thing to ever happen to me.

I battled pre-natal and post-natal problematic anxiety and depression after having both of my children. But I got support and help and I have come to a place of acceptance. Everything that has happened to me so far has made me the person I am. My family and where I came from as well as the events in my life (all of the ups and downs) up to this point, all make me who I am. And I have embraced that finally, and will continue to fight to embrace that throughout future challenges. This has brought me a lot of peace.

After pursuing teaching music through my business from my home, community centres, and schools, I got an opportunity to be a sessional tutor at a university and honestly, this felt like my dream job. I still love it. I love the younger years, I love teaching, and I love music. I still can't believe that I get to do what I love as my career. My family have been incredibly supportive of my career and journey so far. And here is where the next step comes...

I enrolled in Master of Education by Research in 2019 and my data was so overwhelming that I became eligible for an upgrade to PhD. And so now, through my experience, teaching, and my study, I feel like I have acquired some tips and tricks that I know will help educators use music in a more potent way for the young children in their care. I want to empower generalist educators with a music specialist's knowledge because I truly believe that we are all born musical. Music is a core part of what makes us human. Music's role in our lives has been shaped by societies and cultures for many generations. It perhaps even predates language...but that's for another blog post! 

And now, here I am. At the end of a blog post that verges on too long. But excited and energised for what is to come. I am looking forward to sharing it with you. 

Enjoy your music-making!

​Pip