The Lego-Method of Learning Music

In a Hip Harp Academy chat last week, someone pointed out that the way I was teaching was like giving people LEGOS of music.   

“THANK YOU!” I said. “Now I finally know how to describe these ‘component’ and ‘snippet’ ideas I have!”  I was excited because, while I can see that the way I’m teaching has a huge impact, I don’t know how to describe it, because it’s not like any teaching method I’ve ever heard of. 

Like Legos, my teaching provides structured “sets” – each piece or class is a set –  but these sets aren’t meant to be endpoints. They’re starting points that demonstrate what’s possible and give you confidence with the building blocks. 

When you complete a Lego castle following the instructions, what you’ve REALLY done is learned building techniques, discovered how pieces connect, and gained familiarity with new creative components.

More importantly, you now have a collection of specialized pieces and proven methods that become raw material for your own creations. Legos calls them ‘pieces‘ – I call them ‘components‘ and ‘snippets.’  Legos gives you a castle or a rocket ship to build – I give you a piece of music, like “Baroque Flamenco” or a musical form like the Blues to build.

Each class I teach adds new components and snippets to your creative toolkit.

But here’s what’s important: Just as that Lego castle can be dismantled and rebuilt as a spaceship or fortress, once you know how a piece of music is built, you have a whole set of elements you can recombine in endless ways.

The classes teach you how things work and hold together, building your confidence and expanding your toolkit.

But the real magic happens when you stop thinking about following directions and start playing with what you’ve learned – when those individual components and snippets become so familiar that you naturally begin experimenting, combining, and creating something entirely your own.

That’s why Academy members will come in one day and say things like “I just sat down and I PLAYED for 30 minutes with no music! And I could have kept going forever!”

Like Legos, the point isn’t to get really good at building the exact castle on the box. The point is giving you enough solid, versatile pieces that your imagination has something concrete to work with and build upon.

You can call it improvisation if you want, but it’s really about learning to PLAY WITH music.

And like Legos, the whole point is to ignite creativity and give the tools of creative play.

Ready to start building your own musical creations?

Join Hip Harp Academy and get access to all the “Lego sets” – structured classes that give you components and snippets to build your musical dream with.

Whether you’re a fledgling player or a professional looking to expand your toolkit, you’ll get the building blocks to create music that’s uniquely yours.

Join the Academy, or start with a single class, or invest in 1-on-1 VIP coaching with me and see what you can build! Visit my Mentor Page for more info.