Check Out Melissa Slocum’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Slocum.

Hi Melissa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started piano lessons at the age 5 1/2 with the quintessential hometown teacher. One day a week I walked a few blocks after school to her house for my lesson on an antique upright piano with adjustable round wooden stool. She encouraged me to play and sing, count and read the notes while dinner smells wafted through and the family cat luxuriated on a side chair. At the end of every lesson my mom picked me up, paid her $5 cash, and I happily skipped down the porch steps with my bag of piano books and freshly written teacher notes in a small notebook. That routine lasted several years until I went to middle school and was referred to another great teacher. I did well, always performing in competitions and recitals. While I wasn’t her top student, my teacher always encouraged me to work harder, practice more, and develop the skills for harder and harder repertoire. I had also picked up clarinet and enjoyed concert and marching bands, and participated in church choirs and music. I grew immensely, but by my senior year of high school I had burned out. I just wanted to take a break, play fun music, and not have the pressures of competition.
While I loved music, college was my opportunity for a break to explore other things. I thought journalism might be my path, but I bumped into Organizational Communication and Business and fell in love with all things organizational (studying businesses, organizational development, org. psychology, assessments, leadership, human resources, systems theory, and all types of communication).
Still active in churches, I was asked to serve in a church post-college while I decided whether or not a Masters in Divinity might be right for me. It was not. As much as I enjoyed serving in several different churches in different capacities (education, music, leadership) over 16 years, I could no longer tolerate the dysfunctions of so many leaders and the systems that kept that dysfunction and abuse in place. I left that career to stay home with my two toddlers and considered what my next steps would be professionally.
I explored teaching piano as an option that might allow me to earn income while also being available for my family. Teaching has always been a gift and has been like a superpower throughout my life. My initial success starting a little studio prompted me to go back to school and complete a 2-year Piano Pedagogy Certification program. Between my business education and experience, and my Piano Pedagogy work I built a thriving studio. I have always networked inside and outside my profession while participating in continuing education so that I might offer the best quality teaching possible for my students. I continue to study with master teachers in Music Learning Theory & Audiation, and in Taubman/Alexander technique, so that I can improve my own skills and pass along the best ways to learn music and the healthiest techniques to prevent injury.
Now, after 18 years of owning my own studio, creating my own online course for private music teachers based on Differentiated Learning, becoming a small business coach for other Creatives, and encouraging others through a Podcast, I am grateful for the trajectory of both careers, especially for all of the amazing people I have connected with along the way. I continue to collaborate with professionals throughout the music industry – teachers, producers, tech founders, performers, business coaches, professors, publishers, and non-profit leaders.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have yet to meet a Creative who has not met struggles along the way, and I am no different. Creatives have always struggled with things like income inequality, imposter syndrome, discouragement from others, and the same discriminations present in other industries.
My biggest struggles though, have come from colleagues and people whose small-mindedness have kept them staunchly upholding ‘traditional’ ways of doing things which means perpetuating colonial white patriarchal systems. The internalized racism and misogyny in people and organizations continue to keep BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists at arms length at best and silenced at worst.
As a result, I have continued to unravel my own internalized racism and misogyny through counseling and community work. I have accepted local leadership roles in professional and community organizations with the goal of replacing myself with other highly qualified but previously marginalized leaders.
Have I struggled with all of the things mentioned above? Sure. But I have never let those struggles or hurdles define who I was or what I am meant to do. I tend to thrive on challenge and change instead of shying away from it. Change has always meant growth, even if it was difficult. Challenge has always been motivating for me and helped me get beyond where I thought possible.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the heart of everything is I do is Encouragement. And everything I do is housed under my business, MusicGro LLC.

My piano studio, Music For Life Piano, is in Suwanee. People looking for more than just the ‘typicial piano lesson’ find that I combine several specialties to create a truly unique and effective way to learn piano. Not many people in the state know about or use audiation strategies from Music Learning Theory and the Gordon Institute for Music Learning. Similarly, not many teachers know about healthy Taubman Technique to prevent repetitive motion injuries. Combining those areas of study along with my own research in Differentiated Learning, Growth Mindset, and being able to consult a Music Therapist when needed, gives me a wealth of tools to support my piano students of all ages. I am also active in my national, state and local Music Teacher Associations through MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) and NFMC (National Federation of Music Clubs). I have been a presenter at our Georgia State MTA conferences, and been at guest speaker for MTA groups around the country on a variety of topics including Differentiated Learning and Business for Creatives.

My podcast, Sounds of Encouragement, is an uplifting interview podcast with Creatives from all genres of the arts. I talk with everyday people about their work, encouragement, and we even listen to a little music. It is available on YouTube and all streaming platforms.

My small business coaching grew out of the online connections I made during the pandemic. I work with solo entrepreneurs, studio owners with a few employees, and small businesses up to 40 people. My coaching, like my piano teaching, is tailored to each client and free of gimmicks and wild promises. I am thrilled to be the small business coach for a small tech company that has grown exponentially in the last year and will reach $1.2 million in sales for 2025 alone.

Most recently, I started a collaborative Substack called ‘Empowered Creatives’ with other talented Creatives who share thoughtful content each week from their respective worldviews.

I am most proud of continuing to learn and do better so that I can do more for my industry, my community, and my friends.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters to me most right now as a Business Person and Creative are:
~ Bringing marginalized people back into leadership spaces at all levels, and amplifying their great work
~ Teaching Creatives how to create a sustainable tapestry of income streams, and advocating for higher pay rates
~ Decolonizing and deconstructing systems and structures in educational, non-profit, and creative spaces to make way for increased Creativity
~ Bringing together diverse people and groups in order to learn together, have fun together, collaborate, and create new networks of support
~ Helping each student, each colleague, each coaching client, each podcast guest, and each new acquaintance feel heard, seen, valued, and encouraged.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://musicgro.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicgrollc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082326627119
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@soundsofencouragement