Abigail Palmer
I’m very excited to introduce you to Winterhalter Music’s teacher, Abigail Palmer! Abigail is a music therapist and of course a teacher. For those of you unfamiliar with music therapy, the American Music Therapy Association defines it as: “an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals.“ Music therapists work with patients having them sing, compose/improvise, move, and listen to music–often helping when someone cannot express himself in words. Abigail personally has worked with Alzheimer’s and autism patients and patients in hospice care. What an admirable line of work!
Abigail’s primary instrument is the harp, but she is skilled player and teacher of piano, voice, guitar, and drums in addition. I know that her new Winterhalter Music students will love her warm, friendly, patient, kind demeanor in lessons. Read below to find out more about Abigail’s teaching philosophy in my interview with her posted below:
1. Why did you decide to become a music teacher?
I think of music as a gift, and teaching music is teaching others to give also. So I like the idea behind it. I also enjoy working with people and learning who they are. I don’t think I could ever have a job where I wasn’t working with people in some way.
2. What is your favorite thing about teaching?
I love inspiring people, and watching students take music and run with it! I love the process that we go through as budding musicians to learn music, think about it, take ownership of it, and grow to love the sounds that we make with our hands and minds. It’s a cool thing to be able to watch grow.
3. How do you motivate your students?
By encouraging them to listen to music and developing their own music preference! Someone has to enjoy listening before they enjoy creating. Talking about how certain songs make them feel when they play it, what they liked about it, and getting to the depth of their personal preference. I also think lots of positivity is always important for encouraging non-judgement and a fun, lighthearted atmosphere for learning.
4. What is your favorite music to play and listen to?
I seem to have landed on an “Indie” feel, though I grew up playing Celtic music and then moved on to Classical. Now that I am doing more Singer/Songwriter work, my music has kind of a Celtic/Indie fusion tone to it. I enjoy listening to rock, indie, celtic, new age, or really whatever is going to support my mood the best at that time.
5. What do you like to do in your free time?
I enjoy exercising, doing yoga and pilates mostly. I like jamming on music with my friends, or going to see live music. I also like to knit, make large batches of hummus, and watch philosophical movies.
Thanks for reading today’s post! If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment, share it with your friends, and subscribe to our email newsletter. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Abigail better. You can learn even more about her in her bio. Please contact us if you’re interested in beginning lessons with Abigail or one of our other awesome teachers.
Enjoy your Thursday!
Sincerely,
Cassie
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