Hey! I’m Jake – founder and CEO of Practicing Musician.
Practicing music is near and dear to my heart, as music was the catalyst that led to my sobriety after 14 years of severe drug and alcohol addiction. Without the deep mind, body, and spirit connection that is inherently developed through learning how to play an instrument, I would likely not have had as clear of a vision of how my thoughts, behaviors, and actions were creating harmony or disharmony within myself and when interacting with my loved ones.
That’s why I founded Practicing Musician: to create truly equitable access to world-class music education so every child can become a practicing musician and learn how to express themselves authentically. In addition, neuroscientists have found significant evidence that playing music benefits almost every area of the brain, benefits that are transferable to all other aspects of life. That’s right. Practicing music isn’t just about becoming famous, making music a career, or having fun (although practicing music is EXTREMELY fun!!!). Practicing music is a way to enhance every aspect of your life. For an easy-to-understand explanation of these benefits, I suggest watching Dr. Anita Collin’s Ted-Ed here.
So, what qualifies me to lead the charge in creating globally accessible music education? Mission-driven passion and perseverance have repeatedly proven to be the ultimate qualifiers throughout history, but I have also:
1. received a B.A. in Psychology (I focused heavily on music therapy, although that degree wasn’t offered) at the Claremont Colleges
2. earned an Executive Development Program (condensed Executive MBA) certificate from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business
3. lectured Masters students and Ph.D. candidates across the United States from the University of Florida to Central Washington University and many institutions in between
4. obtained a 200-hour yoga teaching certification
5. taught private drum kit, flute, and piano lessons for 15 years
6. directed students ages 9-16 in a concert band at a homeschool co-op during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This well-rounded academic and experiential education as both student and teacher has afforded me a unique perspective into how humans acquire and integrate knowledge and skillsets – an absolute necessity for transforming traditional instrumental pedagogy into an online format.
As for my perseverance, I’ve never received a paycheck from Practicing Musician since I finished writing the business plan in September of 2016. In fact, I’ve invested $330,000 (which I made while serving tables to support Practicing Musician), and my family has invested $210,000. Practicing Musician hasn’t received an institutional investment. Not that I wasn’t able to receive an investment. Many venture capitalists have asked me to change our business model to suit their primarily profit-driven interests, and multiple companies have asked to acquire Practicing Musician. I’m not sharing this to stroke my ego or exude pride. I simply want all Practicing Musician stakeholders to understand how much higher of a priority humanity’s wellbeing is to our team than money.
I currently lead cross-departmental teams totaling 22 staff and 145+ contributors, design and develop scalable technologies, envision and implement the actionable corporate strategies that will allow us to scale globally, write a monthly column for In Tune Monthly Teachers Edition, and host the I’m a Practicing Musician podcast.
As a musician, I started playing flute via the Suzuki method at age four before adding piano, saxophones, and drum kit to my skillset. I’ve played all over the world, from well-rehearsed classical music in Seattle Symphony’s Benaroya Hall to classic rock drums at iconic L.A. venues such as Whisky a Go Go and The Viper Room to last-minute calls to play flute at a music festival in Parma, Italy and drum kit at the Special Olympics reward ceremony. I was in a band named by Bruce Springsteen, I’ve attended the Grammys, and I love anything and all things music. My favorite artist is Steven Wilson, whom I also partly thank for my sobriety. I hope to meet Steven someday. Does anyone know him? Hook a brother up!
