When I was in second grade, once a week after school I would walk down the street to the home of Mrs. Roberts, a lonely old woman who sat next to me on her piano bench while I plunked out little ditties during a half-hour lesson, trying not to be distracted by her yapping dog, the ticking metronome and the strange smell wafting from her kitchen.
If I had practiced enough that week, she’d place a small star sticker on the page of my John Thompson’s piano lesson book, and I’d move on to the next song, wishing I could play something more exciting than “From a Wigwam” or “Bill Grogan’s Goat.” It was old-school, boring and oh-so-low- tech.
Times have certainly changed for music education since my days in Mrs. Roberts’ living room. Case in point: Gulf Breeze music school Minds On Music ® . This isn’t your average piano lesson, Minds On Music (M.O.M.) incorporates video games, a variety of instruments, a professional recording studio, and a performance stage complete with stellar lighting and sound and a Steinway grand piano.
The Early Stages
It all started with little Tommy, the son of founders Kelly Koch and Thomas Koch. “Every single decision we make at M.O.M. is based on what we wanted for Tommy and his music education,” shares Kelly, a Florida native who met Thomas in Atlanta and later moved with him and their son to the Florida Panhandle for what they thought was a temporary stay. After spending time in Gulf Breeze with other couples who had young children, they fell in love with the area. “We realized that this was where we wanted to raise our son,” recalls Thomas. “This area truly cares for its children. It’s what made us want to grow our family roots here.” Having heard about the powerful ways music affects the brain, they enrolled Tommy in music classes starting when he was very young. When he began kindergarten, Thomas and Kelly made the bold move to switch careers, he was operating an engineering company, and she owned a veterinary products business. Since they both had musical backgrounds, they pivoted to music education and acquired additional training at Pensacola State College. They started out teaching music lessons in their home to neighborhood kids. But when they outgrew
the space in 2014, Kelly and Thomas opened the doors of Minds On Music’s studio in Gulf Breeze.
A Comprehensive Approach
Their custom teaching program, MusIQ ® , is for students ages 5 and up (including adults). Each one-hour lesson includes private instruction on an instrument; music theory, history and appreciation using videos, worksheets and games; and access to M.O.M.’s performance stage and recording studio. “We wanted to create an environment that fostered learning in an engaging and dynamic way,” says Thomas. “We employ technology in our music lab to accelerate the process of learning musical concepts while making it fun.” The studio, which employs 10 teachers who are experts on multiple instruments, also offers music classes for babies and toddlers, one-on-one music therapy, and a band and vocal ensemble program. M.O.M. helps students prepare for music competitions and assists recent college graduates with finding music education jobs.
M.O.M. holds the distinction of being the first and (so far) only Steinway Select Studio in Florida. Lessons and recitals are offered exclusively on instruments designed by Steinway, the renowned manufacturer of gold-standard pianos for the past 175 years. Steinway recording artists offer workshops, concerts and master classes for M.O.M. students and staff to enhance their learning.
Rewiring the Brain
“Our whole philosophy is centered around how good learning music is for the brain and development,” Kelly says. And that’s not a sales pitch to entice prospective parents. Scientific studies continue to show the benefits that long-term musical training has on the brain. The Global Council on Brain Health reports that music training in childhood imparts health benefits that may endure throughout life by, among other things, reducing stress and facilitating interpersonal connections. The Brain and Creativity Institute at USC Dornsife, in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and nonprofit Heart of Los Angeles, published results of a five-year study finding that music instruction during childhood helps kids’ brains develop more swiftly and yields
verbal and language-related benefits that may last a lifetime.
The federal government’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health stated that certain brain structures are larger in musicians than non-musicians, with particularly noticeable changes in people who started their musical training at an early age. And the findings of a panel of experts convened by the National Institutes of Health showed that performing music profoundly changes the brain by modulating its various networks. They even described highly trained musicians as “auditory-motor athletes.”
The Sky’s the Limit
Applying what they learn at Minds On Music, students have found success beyond the walls of the studio. Young students Guinevere Villegas, Tony Aninon and Anastasia Wade were invited to play piano at Carnegie Hall in New York City after placing at the top of their divisions in the Gulf Coast Steinway Society piano competition. Starting as an 8-year-old M.O.M. student, Summer Campbell excelled at a variety of instruments and became a part-time music instructor with the studio while she was in high school. One of M.O.M.’s first students, Austin Sanders—now known as ASTN—is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and producer with more than 1.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
And what about Thomas and Kelly’s original music student, their son, Tommy? Not only does he continue to play piano, guitar and drums, but he is currently playing Division 1 baseball for the University of Tennessee, an achievement that his proud parents feel is due in part to the performance experience he gained from years of music lessons and recitals. The adventure of learning to play a musical instrument, like any rewarding enterprise, takes dedication. It also takes guidance, encouragement and tools that make the journey achievable; precisely what Kelly, Thomas and their Minds On Music team aim to share with the
community.
“Success for us is that students become aware of the magic of music,” Kelly says. “Whether they want to sing in church, in a band, play alone in their bedroom or perform at Carnegie Hall, we tailor our instruction to what they want and where they want music to take them.”