Why we need a professional coaching approach for navigating a musical life
By Erin Wehr
Defining the Need for a Coaching Approach
As a child in a family of music teachers, and later as a student, teacher, director, conductor, and professor in music, I have struggled with the disconnect between what we do in “institutional” music and the broader musical culture experienced outside of institutional walls. Institutions greatly influence our perception of what should be considered as a worthy musical experience, and also who is worthy of creating that experience.
One story that I share is the path of a grandmother who after teaching herself to sing and play ukulele now plays multiple gigs per week, but she spent much of her life not being musical after being told in junior high that she wasn’t good enough to make the 7th grade choir.
My interest in encouraging creative music making through guiding skill development and promoting musical freedom has been life long, because I craved for more of these in my own musical training. As a teacher I was often torn between working to provide what I believed to be a meaningful student experience and meeting the differing expectations of various institutions. As a student or professional musician, there exists the same struggle.
A sincere group of music students that I taught in an Iowa high school helped me begin to outwardly question “tradition” as a valid curriculum (which is another story I will share on this platform). This group created music for meaning and purpose throughout the community, first in spite of me, and then with me, while pushing the borders of what a band program is supposed to look like.
Through teaching music in many different types of institutions, in many states, I struggled to find a path where students were encouraged to pursue and grow their own creativity, but it became increasingly evident that music training in institutions generally operated in order to serve the institution, and developing individual student creativity just got in the way.
Students in a music education degree program in Kentucky shared in a class their feelings of being pawns in their high school music programs. They felt their practice and participation existed to promote the success of the director rather than their own learning. In that same area when serving as an honor band conductor, I heard a group of directors sharing with each other about how great the marching band shows were that they (the directors) were designing for next year, and how excited they were about what they (the directors) were creating.
For most, our first music education experiences are from an institution, and for many, continuing in institutionalized music education is a necessary option if one wants to continue to develop musicianship. Many skills and positive interactions can be gained from these experiences. There are also amazing music teachers and professors who fight every day to create meaningful experiences for their students in spite of difficult situations, and I will share these stories as well.
However, the voice of institutional music can be so loud that we cease to be able to hear our own inner voice, experience our own wisdom, and follow our own path.
Not only might we stop following our own path, we might not even remember the path that we were on, or maybe we never even envisioned a path of our own. We trade in our childhood dreams for program participation where we play the instrument that we are “supposed” to, learn the music we are taught is the “right” or “good” music, and pursue the narrow musical path outlined by a curriculum mostly designed before jazz was even allowed in the schools. Adding more confusion and hesitation for following our own path is the underlying philosophy of there being one right way to make music, or one right answer, while in every office, room, building, and institution there is a different and conflicting concept of what that “right” answer is for you.
YOU have an inner voice. YOU have inner wisdom. Allow yourself to listen, hear your meaning and purpose, and see where music can take you.
Defining Professional Coaching and Coaching Psychology
I began studying and researching in positive psychology as it was a developing field as a possible approach for music education, and this led me to coaching psychology. Unlike traditional music coaching where the coach takes on a directive role, a professional coach helps individuals discover and pursue their own path through self-reflection and calls to action. This is how I have always envisioned the way music learning should be.
By utilizing positive psychology, professional coaching can help you identify and meet personal goals through managing the conflicting voices and messaging around and inside us. Professional coaching can also be used to design meaningful performances, address performance anxiety, improve group dynamics in ensembles, and grow stronger organizations.
How It Works
I have designed this space on Substack to provide coaching activities for people in all stages of musical development, on any voice/instrument, and in any musical genre. This is an opportunity to pursue one’s musical interests through an introductory experience of professional coaching in a large group, on-line setting. Regular posts are designed to help you find your own path while giving you little nudges to take a few steps forward towards personal goals. Topics are general to music learning, creating, performing, and performance design, and are accessible by musicians at all levels, because being musical is so much more than what level you are at.
Articles will post regularly in an area of music learning, performing, creating, or performance design. Articles include coaching activities and calls to action to move you forward.
Growth comes from action(s), and forward momentum is motivated by new insight or knowledge. Journaling your actions and experiences motivated by reading posts that are meaningful to you will both 1) help you to hold yourself accountable to action, and 2) document your growth. Starting your own discussion group for reporting action and progress is an additional option to provide deeper engagement.
Paid subscribers will have access to additional materials that includes being part of a supportive and interactive community for building relationships and sharing successes. Additional paid benefits include:
Subscriber only posts and full archive
Specific and detailed coaching activities
Interviews with musicians on finding and following their own path
Access to recorded guided meditations and other positive psychology based activities to support practice and performance
Engagement with authors and guests through live chats and email
Welcome. I am thrilled at the prospect of meeting the musician within you!
