6 steps for songwriters to improve intuition + make potential viral video.

Songwriters and students of the craft;

Here's a fun(ny) 2-in1 exercise for you to sharpen your artistic sensitivity, and create content for potential viral video at the same time.

1. Get guitar or piano handy. 

2. Setup laptop or tablet on music stand or display where you can toggle screen in between playing and singing. 

3. Open new tab or mobile application, pull up your Facebook profile wall.  

4. Begin to improvise setting compositions of music and melodies to each of the newest posts from friends in your newsfeed. 

5. Have a friend, or your mom, film this exercise. 

6. Upload and share your best, most hilarious clips of tunes with the hashtag #mytownMyFeed on Facebook, Twitter, or Insta and tag me and/or @MyTownMusic. 

Your welcome. 

Corey Ferrugia 

corey@mytownmusic.com 

@coreyferrugia

Exploring the Power of A Song: more than music.

We all know what a song is... don’t we? I mean we hear them practically everywhere and anywhere we go in public. We’re constantly filling our ears with all sorts of tunes tailored to whatever best suits our likeness in all facets of life; be it the drive home from work, exercising at the gym, surfing the web at your favorite local cafe, or when you’re enjoying a peaceful moment in the privacy of your own home. Maybe if you’re like me, you might even feel like whenever you’re choosing your favorite album or compiling just the perfect playlist to listen to, you are choosing music that sets the “scene” of your life as it passes by as if it were a movie.

But what is it that makes a song, a song? ...we’ll get to that in just a bit. 

My name is Corey Ferrugia. Not only am I an avid music lover, but I have the privilege and honor to have a career as a full time music artist as well. I am a professional session player, performer, singer/songwriter and as an educator I teach and develop young artists ranging from early childhood to adult ages. In my earlier days as an aspiring musician, I fell into teaching both publically and privately to simply “make money” as I was figuring out what I “really wanted to do”. But as that journey continued, I had no idea what I was getting myself into... in the best way(s) imaginable. Specifically, in how the art of composing songs changed everything for me both personally and professionally.


I remember it very vividly the moment when I came to the revelation where I shifted swiftly from the traditional paradigm from “teaching music lessons”, to empowering students to experience music artistry through the lens of creating their own original works/songs. My students all still learned music language (theory), instrument and vocal technique... but over time, lessons and classes manifested into a catalog of works they had to show for with original pieces of their own. That was when I “retired” from teaching, at the age of 26. From then on, I have only been an artist; be it performing, composing, recording, or now... a learning artist. 

Finale photo of all student and professional artists that took the stage at the showcase in Southern California.

Click this link to see a short video as a glimpse of how this paradigm is being cultivated here in Southern California: Southern California Artist Showcase

As much as it’s truly amazing and completely fulfilling to to see all of my students experience what I am sharing with you now, I have come to discover...  there’s even more! Specifically as it relates to empowering human potential and growth, the power of a song is capable of teaching us about many other domains of life.

Johannes (10yo) crating lyrics for the melody he just created for his original songs.

Allow me to take a stab at framing a bit more of what I mean with this simple table chart below. On the left column you’ll see my definitions of the key elements of a song. I am aware that there are other parts of a song that could easily and justifiably be included, but for the purposes of showing the parallel correlation to life skills, please accept my definition for now. I’d welcome your ideas however!

Key Element of a Song	Life Learning	Application
Melody is the most unique property of a song. In all of the varieties within the pop context of music anyway, it’s a combination of lyrics (words) and a tune; primarily one that stands out and is more memorable above all other musical elements.	Individuality and Personality - in all of the valuable lessons and skills we could teach our younger generations, identity seems to be the most difficult truths to get young people to discover and find peace with.	By understanding the importance of a melody in a song, It is a perfect conceptual relationship to help a young individual realize the value of their own uniqueness.
Harmony is the blending of multiple notes into one cohesive sound in order to establish a base or foundation for the melody to be supported by.	Community or Oneness of Group - with mass marketing messages communicating strongly for individuals to focus on self-serving and islanding ideals, the reality is that we are better together and and most of life begs that we function in communities.	By connecting the powerful relationship amongst complementing sounds, instruments, and voices, it’s a clear and simple tool to help elevate awareness and sense of community.
Form is the structure of the song. Just like in any story, it has to begin and go somewhere, and have something in between. It’s the process or journey of how a certain “musical story” is told and how it frames what is being communicated.	Order - there’s order and structure in all of life. Be it in a school, work, family, or relational environment... there’s always a framework, for us to then freely explore and operate in. But with no order, a potentially unproductive, destructive, and harmful environment is created.	Through experiencing the success that comes from a craftful awareness and use form and how it functions in the songwriting process, that connection can be easily leveraged to show the value of structure, or order in all facets of life.
Genre - the unique style or specific kind presentation of the song. Think about how you organize and access all of the kinds of music on your favorite digital media player or device.	Culture - though culture is commonly thought of in the context of geographical, societal, and religious segmentations of people (though very important), it can also be understood in other domains like in businesses, churches, homes, schools and communities.	By listening to different kinds of music and being able to identify where its’ origins and relatedness together, it would make way for an easy introduction and powerful lens to teach an individual or group about any kind of culture.

One of my best friends and mentor, Dr. Carroll Rinehart, has always led and empowered me best not with great answers, but with great questions. Allow me to attempt to do the same... whether or not you are a musician or songwriter, I’d like to pose to you the following questions to see what might be your revelations and discoveries could be as it relates to how the power of a song can create a significant impact on individuals, from your perspective. 

• How can a song be connected to other domains of learning and life?
• What is actually happening in the process of writing song from a neurological standpoint?
• What are all of the social issues that could be solved through the power of a song?
• What might be your question regarding the power of a song that could potentially evoke a change you might be seeking?

Would love your ideas, questions, and feedback. I look forward to hearing from you! 

___________________________________

Corey J. Ferrgugia

Artist | Founder & Leader of MyTown Music®

corey@mytownmusic.com

MyTown's strong commitment to early childhood development. Why?

"85% of brain development occurs before the age of 5, but only 14% of public education dollars are spent on early childhood education in the U.S." -National Institute for Early Education Research

5yo Eli performs an original song he created through guided critical thinking and free expression.  

6yo Madison performing an original song she created that was inspired by her about her joy of summer. 

Mia (7yo) and Ava (8yo) perform their "Family Theme Song" that they wrote together about each member of their family.


What are all of the ways that the process of music artistry empowerment can inspire, enrich, and release individuals throughout their communities?... 

That's our mission. 

Affirmation is the turn-key for learning.

In Dr. Rineharts's learning design, he speaks about the learner's "growth continuum". One of the essential principles that has stuck out to me throughout my 100's of hours of educating and training, is the power of affirmation.

The way Dr. Rinehart puts it, "when a learner is affirmed, they'll take risks. It is then trust is built. Without trust, learning cannot take place."

I've found this to be absolutely true in all of my experience teaching private lessons, coaching, and in the classroom with students. But it's also true in me.

When I feel that my value is affirmed... I take more risks, seek out more adventures, push the boundaries, and reach further to maximize my potential as an educator, artist, and leader.

But isn't that true in all of us?

These thoughts were in inspired just recently from the father of my very first Private Lesson student out here in California, Rylee (9yo).

"Hey we listened to your cd. It's fantastic! My 15 year old son is a great guitarist and already downloaded it to his iPhone. Rylee (9yo daughter) is all in after her first lesson with you. We are lucky to have found you."
-Jess (Long Beach, Ca)

It is my vision that the culture and spirit of MyTown Music is always jam-packed with affirmation, and love. The rest will merely be the beautiful bi-product... whatever that may be.

The role of a, Teaching Artist.

To me, education facilitation feels no different than composing or performing a song.

It's not work.
It isn't void of passion.
It doesn't come easy for it to flow naturally.
It's heartfelt and heart-centered.
I always receive more in return than what I share.

I don't care what anyone says, education is an art.

Empowerment: A Great Foundation

The essence of empowerment is actually quite simple: the ability to make a choice or decision within yourself. It is in this ability that a person discovers the identity of self ownership and responsibility for any given spectrum of life. From this discovery, a world of potential is unlocked and, with the right guidance and teaching, empowerment becomes the very source to take any matter of learning to a realm of uniqueness and originality.

As a music instructor, this is the very place I wish to take every one of my students. Empowerment allows the student to see music beyond the realm of a linear plane. In other words, they begin to see what they're learning through a multidimensional lens. So, instead of practicing your instrument, to then gain the ability to play something new, to then add on to what you're learning, which really becomes a big heap of knowledge, we look at the big picture and allow the student to discover why they are learning what they're learning. Of course, the practice is important, but the student sees practicing through an entirely different perspective. They see the big picture of limitless possibilities that creativity can bring them. What is then birthed in the student is an understanding that is coupled within experience which becomes the motivation and satisfaction for the student to continue in his or her musical endeavors. The students' perspective on learning is no longer about learning point A to get to point B and so on. Rather, a bigger picture is shown to the student that allows the progress of point A to point B learning to be an inevitable byproduct.


I am not going to just copy and paste material into a student. Honestly, that's what Youtube or guitar tabbing websites are for. There will be characteristics of my own musicianship that will be reflected in my students, but the foundation is an incredibly unique gift to make and play and compose music in an innovative way that is purely their own.


When I get a new student, the first thing I look for is what ultimately captures the students attention about music. From here I build on that and allow them to experience for themselves why that captivates them. This becomes the hook for the student to begin learning from this perspective. Empowerment will then begin to take shape within the student.


Encouraging my students to learn to think for themselves and understand how to make the best musical choices is the single most important thing I can do. The knowledge of music, the theory of music, the cognitive understanding of music all hinges on the student first discovering what music means to them.
Make this the platform for learning and your byproduct will be musicians and artists that play music for pure enjoyment and expression. They'll play music because they want to.

Thoughts on learning

This morning the MyTown Staff had a great meeting where we discussed (among other things- you know, as our Corey is an excited rambler) the experience of learning. It got me thinking. Our whole purpose in providing private lessons at Mytown is to provide a different type of learning- to blow away the barriers that our education system has built and release artists, confident and creative in their own merit into the community. So what does that look like? Are we dancing flower hippies that hoola hoop in your living room with hawaiian lays on? Or do we revolve around a structured platform of textbook learning, standardized for all students in a method book, void of personal ambitions or experiential learning? Neither, really. Mostly because I've never been able to hoola hoop. Our mission is to create a balance between an artistic student-centered curriculum that is individually defined, and that whimsical artistry that is born in a space created by a platform of freedom. Freeeeedom, the keyword. So what's it look like? Excited to find out.

On Early Childhood Development

In all honesty, it was never apart of our scope of focus to serve young children when we first began. It wasn't until the introduction to Dr. Carroll Rinehart, my mentor, where this not only changed but became a central focus for our services.

According to Dr. Rinehart, from prenatal to 4yo a child who has been exposed to both a language and experience-rich environment, he or she can have up to 40,000+ words in their vocabulary. The opposite is true that by depriving those essential elements to their development, he or she can have less than 10,000 words in their vocabulary. That is a massive neurological gap.

After 4yo the development begins to diminish rapidly and all growth in their communication, social, literacy, math, and science skills are built upon the already established foundation.

So what does this have to do with music?

Music is unique in that it is one of the only learning entrees that is both experience and language rich.

After I discovered this it really inspired me to see music empowerment as much more than even helping students enjoy and express themselves through an art form; I wanted to see MyTown Music partner with families in the process of building great individuals and contribute to a brighter future.

Meet, Polo. (16mo)