Photos by Dylan Aycock
Making beautiful music is what Jane McNulty desires for her students who come to her studio, located just off the square in Murfreesboro.
As the owner and director of Music for Everyone Learning Center, this Air Force veteran understands firsthand the personal importance of being able to play a musical instrument, and maintains that it’s never too late to start learning.
Although McNulty said older adults are her primary target, this musical center is open and welcome to all ages who are interested in learning almost any instrument.
Whether it is through tapping keys in her “Piano for Pleasure” classes that started it all, or through playfully strumming a ukulele in her husband’s “You Can Uke” class, students can learn to play an instrument and discover the joy that music brings.
Now, those who hear “music lessons” and immediately envision a rigid class environment can set their apprehensions aside. McNulty is an inspiring advocate of recreational music learning, which does not involve practicing scales all day long.
“We want to bring wellness and music to those who have always dreamed of being able to create music and who are looking for a fun new way to achieve wellness,” McNulty said after a sit-down interview at her studio. “We want all [students] to feel comfortable, relaxed and welcomed in their journey of music learning.”
Students are taught how to read music, with bits of musical theory in between, and are guaranteed that they will be able to start playing on their first day of class.
The daughter of a jazz pianist and a master piano instructor, McNulty has an innate passion that hails from an extensive musical pedigree. After studying music and pedagogy, which is the method and practice of teaching, she entered the U.S. Air Force and became an award-winning performer with the elite entertainment showcase the USAF Tops In Blue. McNulty ended up performing and traveling as she entertained troops around the world, including stops at major events and venues such as Caesar’s Palace and the Super Bowl XIX halftime show.
After moving to the ’Boro almost 15 years ago, McNulty found herself teaching private piano lessons from her home but was itching to showcase her methods on a grander scale.
“I was just wanting to stretch a little bit,” she explained. “I discovered this course that I’m teaching called ‘Musical Moments,’ and it is all recreational piano. I went and certified, learned about it, and loved it. I thought, ‘What a neat thing to give an adult who thought that that part of their life was over.’”
Today, McNulty’s music center is the winner of a 2014 Ruthie for Favorite Music Instruction, and has grown to offer several workshops on instruments that are as fun as they are easy to play. A great example would be the dulcimer, an Appalachian stringed instrument that can be learned in its entirety during a single class setting.
If a student enjoys the workshop on a particular instrument, then he or she can attend its supporting clubs to further hone in on the craft.
“We just want to bring more people in,” she said. “I would love to someday have 60 students in a piano orchestra; I want 60 pianos. . . . I just want to grab people and say that this is here, it’s changing lives, and you can do it.”
To inquire about attending a workshop, class or club, visit Music-4-Everyone.com or call (615) 587-2709.
