Who is Garrett “MusicManMcNutt?”

My job as a music teacher goes beyond just teaching notes, theory, chords, and instruments. I teach students to go beyond their comfort zone, to push themselves creatively, to instill a sense of courage, to get up, and to be vulnerable in front of others. I instill a value in arts, music, and culture. I create a safe environment where students can be themselves and not be afraid to try out of fear of criticism or judgment.

You may hear your student refer to my teaching environment as “The Dojo.” That‘s because here, we earn “black belts” in music, but not in the traditional sense. In martial arts, you may start with a white belt, earn stripes and colors, and become a black belt after years of dedicated study. Here, we learn by trial, error, and failure. We get our proverbial white belt dirty by trying new things, expanding our horizons, and falling into the proverbial dirt. Each time we do, that white belt gets stained, a little more dirty, a little more worn. When we pick ourselves up with our newly acquired experience and wisdom, we try again and again, and when we fail again, our belt gets a little bit more dirty. Repeat this process over and over until our white belt is so dirty it‘s black. Experience, failure, and grit are how we get our black belt in “The Dojo.“ It is okay to fail, and learning to fail is a skill.

Early on, my students adopt the philosophy of “It‘s okay to be wrong!“ I would much rather see students try and fail (getting that white belt dirty in the process) than see students stay within their comfort zone (keeping that white belt clean and pristine.) If one will play wrong notes, at least play them loudly and proudly. This, I can correct. This, I can work with. If a student is shy, afraid that their mistakes will be heard, this is difficult to fix. This goes beyond the music lesson and into who they are as students, into their very hearts. It is okay to fail, and learning to fail is a skill. Keep trying. Keep going. Keep pressing on. I have adopted this philosophy in my own life, as a teacher, as a musician, as a husband, friend, and father. You‘ll never know how far you can go if you keep persevering with this mindset.