Inspiring Musicianship at Meta Music Education
This semester, I had the incredible opportunity to work as an Intern and Student Teacher at Meta Music Education. As a musician deeply involved in sharing music production and technology with others, I am in awe of how Meta Music operates as a professional recording studio with a focus on education. Meta Music structures its music education offerings around practical applications in the modern sector of music, instantly distinguishing it from many conventional music schools and aligning it with many of the ideals I share at OnBeat.
Among my favorite contributions to Meta Music involves my work with Los Niños Primero, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aims to empower Latino children and their families in the Sandy Springs area through artistic, academic, and leadership programs. Every Friday, about a dozen students from Los Niños Primero came to Meta Music to learn all things music–including theory, guitar, piano, bass, percussion, and even production! As an intern, I would help run these lessons and teach the students their parts in preparation for MetaFest, a concert in May for all students at Meta Music to perform some of the music they’ve been working on in class.
One of my most rewarding experiences at Meta Music involved restoring a drum kit engulfed in sediment to give to a very hard-working student part of the Niños who did not have a kit to practice with at home. My co-worker had recently discovered in the barn of a relative an unused, high-quality drum kit that was simply decades-old and in need of an intense renovation. My co-worker, wanting to keep it a surprise for the student, quickly ushered me into the back of the studio upon my arrival. He alerted me he had begun work on the kit the weekend before, and I then spent hours on my hands and knees, scrubbing away inches of solid sediment and removing rust from the kick, snare, and cymbals. I decided those hours could not have been better spent upon cherishing the student’s smile when he took the kit home.
My work at Meta Music Education has not only directly translated to my endeavors at OnBeat, but it has emphasized the value of human interaction as it relates to the pursuit of music. One of the most powerful aspects of music and art is their capacity to build memories with people, and every lesson, every student, and every rejuvenated instrument at Meta Music has helped make that abundantly clear. I am looking forward to continuing my work at Meta Music!
