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Why Music Education Matters: Building Resilient, Creative Leaders · The Thriving School Podcast with Jenni Awesome

• Jenni Awesome: And thank you for tuning in to the Jennifer Awesome podcast. This is already going to be a great podcast because I'm already giggling before we've even started. All right. So today I get to have Jennifer Witt on the podcast. She's the director and institutional marketing director for Sweetwater. Jennifer Witt is a flute player. Or a flautist, we were just discussing that. A teacher, a Jennifer Witt: Right. Jenni Awesome: music education advocate, and award-winning marketing leader who understands the transformative power of creativity and connection. Her professional success is built on the foundational skills she learned as a young musician, whether working in marketing with large corporations in the music products, office furniture, and food service distribution industries. So All different directions, directing the strategic communications and growth plans for religious communities and nonprofits, or serving the instructional needs of fine arts departments. Jennifer draws upon her training as a flautist. The skills she learned as a budding musician are what unlocked her ability to connect and communicate with key audiences in a truly meaningful way. As the director of institutional marketing at Sweetwater, Jennifer leads educational initiatives, institutional marketing campaigns, and outreach programs for music educators and organizations nationwide. In her role, she also builds strategic partnerships aimed at strengthening music education programs in the United States, including collaborations with Music for All and Bands of America, the Percussive Art Society, and Music Will. Jennifer is passionate about expanding across or expanding access to music education and creating meaningful connections among educators, students, parents, and the musical instrument industry. She is energized by helping her clients, team members, flute students, and music ensembles achieve their goals and perform their very best. So, Jennifer, welcome to the Jennifer Awesome Podcast. Jennifer Witt: Thank you. That was a lot. Thank you for running through all of that. Tired. Yeah. Jenni Awesome: It is. You've done a lot. Like it it I mean, if I wrote a list of all the things I'd do, you know, I'm I'm glad I haven't. But yeah, you have done a lot. So what was it like? Let's let's start with your entry into music, being a flute player, like what did that open up for you? Jennifer Witt: Goodness. I remember, I don't know if you remember this because I think you were also a band kid, right? Like you played in band two. What was your instrument? You were a drummer. Jenni Awesome: Yep, I was a drummer. Drummer and piano player. Jennifer Witt: Perfect. Both percussion instruments, right? So perfect Jenni Awesome: Yes. Jennifer Witt: fit. Yeah, I love that you started with piano because that's like the gateway to all other instruments, right? Jenni Awesome: totally. Jennifer Witt: and I so desperately wanted piano lessons as a little girl, but it was just a little out of reach financially for my family. So they got me this tiny little organ. At at a catalog store, and I would sit there and plunk away on it and play little tunes and things. I played every tune in that book. And then I think they were ready for something different and were probably thrilled when I picked a different instrument. And so fourth grade rolls along and they came in and they did an instrument demonstration. And I just knew that I was gonna be a flutist. I don't know how. It just spoke to me that the sound of the instrument, the way it looked, everything about it just really appealed to me. So I went home and talked to my mom about it. And soon enough, my dad came by with a flute that he picked up that was, you know, in the newspaper. I think he paid 50 bucks for it from somebody's attic. So it was used, but it was new to me. And so I just set about trying to make a sound, right? And and with the help of the band teacher that came to our school and pulled, she kind of pulled everybody into one room and tried to teach us each a little and let us work on things and then got us playing Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: together and I think it was the start of me feeling like there was something special about me, something different about me, something that I could control, something that Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: I could work on and get better at. And I just really loved it. I loved making music. Jenni Awesome: yeah. No, I I was blessed that my dad was a classically trained piano player. He played guitar, he wrote his own music, things like that. He he kind of stopped doing that when I was born. And, you know, I have pictures of me as a little baby sitting at my grandma's piano learning to play. But I wanted to share with you that I had nightmares in high school that my band teacher was gonna make me go play the flute because I didn't understand how you could walk Breathe, play the flute at the same time, because I was in marching band. So the the fact that you can do all those things at the same time, it it just blows my mind. Jennifer Witt: Yeah, you develop a lot of really interesting skills as a musician, right? And and bringing it all together, but it's like an elephant, you don't eat it in one sitting, it's one bite at a time that you start to acquire these things, right? But it really Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: is a very complex thing learning to speak the language of music, which I'd already had some exposure to from music class in elementary school, right? Loved learning to sing, love learning about basic rhythms. And from there you learn this fluency in the language of music, and then you apply that to the instrument of your choice, learning the Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: technique of playing that instrument, how those what the note range is, how those values correlate, what pitch your instrument is in. Mine luckily was in the key of C, otherwise there'd be smoke coming out of my ears every time I tried to play. So Jenni Awesome: Mm, mm. Jennifer Witt: Much like the piano, it's very easy. And I do understand the piano keyboard and I can play at a very basic level. It's great for teaching music theory, right? It's probably the best music theory tool in a classroom Jenni Awesome: yeah. Jennifer Witt: is just let's look at the piano. Okay. Cause this is these are the building blocks of a major scale and a minor scale, diatonic scales in general. yeah, it's it's a lot to learn those pieces, but they all start to come together as you progress on your journey. As I did all the way through high school and into college and then after college, it became part of my achievement pathway in life. I just became really good at playing the flute and I I got a chance to take private lessons when I was in seventh grade because my middle school band director, Mr. Emmons, identified that I needed more of a challenge. And Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: although it was a financial stretch for my family, he made arrangements with the principal flutist of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra to teach me flute lessons every week. And she had a Jenni Awesome: Wow. Jennifer Witt: bust of herself in the entryway of her home. Okay. Jenni Awesome: wow. Jennifer Witt: So I remember coming into that first lesson and going, okay, she's the real deal. And she really was. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: What a good teacher. But boy, what an education I got from an orchestral Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: flutist on tone development and technique and really teaching me the fundamentals of becoming a great flutist. And one of her rules was, you know. I understand that you may have band music that is somewhat difficult and you may have some challenges challenges that you want to address with me. Those are for the end of the lesson. Everything we do in this lesson is going to make that music easier to play. So I'm going to teach you how to teach yourself. And it was, Jenni Awesome: I love that. Jennifer Witt: it was, it was a lot, right? It was tough. And she had very high standards, but I'm so grateful for those things that she instilled in me. And I still Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: really treasure all of the manuscript paper with her exercises written by hand on them. I'm not kidding. Because it's her handwriting. Any markings on music that I had, solo music, etudes, whatever I was playing at the time, I look back at those and I smile because that meant that she believed I could do something difficult well. Jenni Awesome: Yes. And and doesn't Jennifer Witt: That meant she believed I could do it. And often don't you think that young learners hear those that feedback and sometimes interpret it as criticism when in fact it really is just optimism? Jenni Awesome: Yeah, and and doesn't music open that door in a very different way than say even sports does? Like I believe that you can do hard things and the hard things that you do, they come out as absolutely beautiful and it's it's generous because it's it's also something that you're giving to others. Jennifer Witt: Yeah, I think so. and and I did play sports growing up. I mean I I was I played softball and I ran track and you know I was fine at it. They were things I wanted to try and I think you should try a lot of things when you're growing up. I think playing team sports a hundred percent. I'm Jenni Awesome: you should try a lot of things when you're an adult too. yeah. Jennifer Witt: still learning and trying new things. I love adventures. Because I think that curiosity is super important to maintain your entire life. And being curious and and adaptable is is are part of the skills that you build as a musician. And it goes it goes beyond that. You know, you we talk about the soft skills that you learn as well. It's about who you're becoming. It's about character development as much as it is about the discipline of learning to be a musician in a lot of Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: ways, I think. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. So let's let's talk about you're you're talking about some of the skills that you've learned as a flute player. How have those skills, how do they show up in your leadership today? Because you've you've transferred this to so many different areas. Jennifer Witt: Yeah, and I think I didn't realize when I was in band and orchestra, because I got to play in both, right? If you are the first chair flutist forever and always, you are the first chair flutist in orchestra too. That's a really neat experience because the repertoire from orchestra is so much older and goes so much farther back, 200 years before symphonic band arrangements, right? So the experience of getting to be in band and orchestra as a wind player. was super important at my school. And because I worked really hard to stay in first chair, I got to do both things. So I I got challenged on a regular basis, like almost every week. Other flutists would come in, they'd have their piece prepared and I'd have to have that piece prepared and we'd play against each other. And the best flutist got to keep the first seat. And I was able to hold onto that seat every single time. Jenni Awesome: Nice. Jennifer Witt: From middle school all the way through high school. And and it I really made it a point. I think it I give it credit to my flute teacher for training me to play with expression and training me to use dynamics and all these other things in interpretate interpreting the music properly, but also being good under pressure. Because Jenni Awesome: yeah. Jennifer Witt: that's one of those skills that you learn when you're performing a piece in band. If you make a mistake, you gotta keep going. And and you learn from it, but you can't go back and correct it and then go forward, right? You've got to go forward and do the next right thing. And that was one of the most valuable lessons I learned playing a band and orchestra. also to show up prepared, you know, as a matter of responsibility and accountability, so that when you get to rehearsal, you know your part, you're learning everybody else's. Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: When you don't know your part and you're hearing all of this other stuff going on around you rhythmically and note-wise, it's very easy to get pulled off your part and get distracted. But it's also really important to focus on what's important for you to do and what only you can do, but understand how it plays into the bigger picture of everyone else's part. Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: So it's really that exercise and give and take and teamwork and that discipline and diligence to keep going, even when something is hard to do, that it's worthwhile, and trying to do it with excellence. Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. Like Jennifer Witt: So I see that tying over into my every job I've ever had, whether I was selling donuts, which was my first official job other than babysitting, who doesn't babysit growing up, right? Keep other kids alive and enriched and having fun while Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Yeah. Jennifer Witt: mom and dad are away. That was that's a trustworthy job. But then, you know, when when they take you into someone's business and they entrust you with their customers, that's a very different experience. And you want to give that customer the best experience and serve them well. at your highest level. And so do everything you do at a little bit higher standard because you're a musician. I like to think of it this way: as an achievement-minded student, because I saw that as my way of getting out of Muskegon, Michigan, where I grew up, like getting into college and having a career. It all depended on me doing really well in school and getting scholarships, right? So I was a very achievement-minded kid, and that was very good for me. But as I went through that journey, being minded about the fact that a 90% wasn't good enough to me. It was less about the perfection, but more about the I wanted to get all the right notes. I wanted to get all the right rhythms. I wasn't just satisfied with 90%. And so that higher stand, it's still an A. And it's still a good grade. And you can learn a lot from the things you miss, right? If you are. able to go back and go, okay, so what is the 10% I didn't get here? But I really y think that I just approached everything in life wanting to take it up a notch because Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: of being a band and orchestra and being a flutist. Jenni Awesome: Well, and you you've talked about so many of the skills and I I think about my own experiences as well. And you mentioned that the show must go on. We I I really feel like we're missing a lot of that with our social media driven culture that we have that kids think, man, I didn't get this right the first time. I have to keep going until I get it perfect. But in music, if you make a mistake, the song keeps going on. And and we get to then, you know, deal with those emotions and that that quick moment of, I made a mistake. However, I'm I'm still gonna continue on. I I can't even think of how many times that I would, you know, play the wrong beat or whatever, but it still went on. I remember I played the cymbal at the wrong time and the director looks right at me and it's like, I'm sorry. But Y you still move on. Jennifer Witt: But Jenni Awesome: It's just it's that quick response, that quick, here's my feedback. Now I move on. Jennifer Witt: That's right. And in rehearsal, you want to practice the way you wish to perform. And if you do make a pretty noticeable mistake, you that banner is cut off. All right, back to measure 41. Okay, that symbol crashes on beat three, not four or or two. Let's get it on the right, you know, and then a million things can go wrong in a live performance and often does. But you do keep going, right? And you pivot and and the goal is to stay together as a team and locked in as a team. Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: And that's a super important lesson that I learned. So in in a work environment, you know, it's inclusion. It's talking with the right stakeholders and finding out how you can help each other and how your parts help each other march in the same direction toward the same goal. And that translates whether you work in the donut shop or whether you work in a large corporation or for a nonprofit organization. locking arms with the people around you and finding out what their strengths are and celebrating those and leaning on them when that's not your strength. Great. I don't have to be good at everything. I need to be good at my part. So Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: that when they need me, I'm reliable. I show up and I deliver a consistent performance. Right? There may be a little mistake here or there, but consistently good performance is what we're looking for, if not great. And those are things that women orchest orchestra teaches. Jenni Awesome: Yeah, absolutely. I even had a conversation with one of my friends in a leadership group I'm in. And she said that I I feel like we're on opposite, you know, we're disconnected. We're on opposite sides of the spectrum. And I said, Well, no, because her and I are the team leaders, it's that we complement each other. It's that if if I'm not able to, you know, be my best that day, you're up able to pick it up and be your best. And so we compliment each other. It's not that we have to do everything right all the time. It's we know each other's strengths and we know how to support the rest of the team so that they're all working to their strengths and and as the team grows in their ability, or in this case the band grows in their ability, we raise up the whole team and we get to move on to that next higher level of what's the next achievement that we can make. Jennifer Witt: Absolutely. And there are times in the music when another instrument or voice is going to be forte or strong, right? And then there are times where you're going to be a little bit quiet and you're going to be listening and you're going to be waiting for your moment. And that's okay. Everyone gets their moment, right? That's Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: the great thing about music is that different parts are featured and you get to appreciate what's wonderful about a great performance in each area and uplift each other. So I see it as a very uplifting activity. the competitive part comes when, of course, you're you're being adjudicated in a in a marching band competition. For example, I did marching band, I got the picture of my bands of America marching band performances Jenni Awesome: I love it. Jennifer Witt: in high school behind me on the wall, because that was Jenni Awesome: Love it. Jennifer Witt: a transforming experience for me as a young person. not having gotten out of my hometown very much for them to take us to Indianapolis to march against some of the top marching bands in the country. And what I learned. In that experience is, you know, we were not in the top ten. Not but did we go and we performed our very best? Yes. Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: And when you do your very best, can you be proud of that? Yes, the world is a competitive place. and comparing yourself can be good and bad. but knowing what good is and being able to appreciate it in other ensembles, even when they play better with you than you that day, and being able to go, wow, that was really great. That is a wonderful experience to understand where different groups are coming from and their different interpretations of music and see all of that on display. So I can't say enough good things about that organization. I'm sure we can talk about that later, but all of which is to say, because of all those experiences, I was building those leadership skills that made me effective. And even when I don't necessarily want to be looked upon as a leader or put in charge of something, in my life, I have often found myself in leadership roles I didn't expect because I was capable. Jenni Awesome: Yeah, and I I Jennifer Witt: And capable capable goes a long way in this world. Jenni Awesome: Well, I think you've answered this question, but if you want to articulate it in another way, what is it that students or that we humans learn through music that is difficult to teach from a textbook or from online learning or from our traditional model of education? Jennifer Witt: Yeah, I've got a couple of ideas about that. Hold on, I have a little list that I typed up. Also, my computer keeps asking me if I want to open Siri. I don't. yeah, I think it's in practice it sounds great, like when you're sitting first chair flute and you've got to show up every day and play all the right notes. But in when you're actually dealing with other human beings and their feelings, picking up on Nonverbal cues is really important. And when you play in an ensemble with people, you start to kind of feel their feelings and pick up on when they're having a good day. To your point about your colleague or they're having a bad day. it's that relation building that is hard to teach in the classroom any other way. And I and I'll give an example. It seemed like when you are good at just about every subject and you so show up to school and you do a group, a group project. Sometimes the burden of getting that work done falls on the most capable people and others will sit back and not contribute as much. And then and that can happen in a in a teaching environment. I experienced it. in band, we all need to stand up because the ensemble is only as good as the weakest link that day, right? So Jenni Awesome: Yeah, yeah. Jennifer Witt: even if you show up with your best 90% You're showing up the very best you can, and everybody else does too. You know, it's hard to teach that relational read-the-room skill any other way than getting in the room and practicing all the things you're learning in the other subjects. Communication, relating to others, the math of reading rhythm. Boy, it really comes into play when you sight read, doesn't it? Right? Jenni Awesome: yeah. It it really does. Jennifer Witt: Yeah. Exactly. It's that fluency, right? It's getting to practice your fluency and respond in the moment to things that are unexpected. Those are some of the things that are hardest to teach any other way but in an ensemble environment. Jenni Awesome: And I I love that you've also brought up that you learned how to play with a lot of expression as you're playing the flute. And just that, you know, people may interpret music in in different ways. And just the the fact that through music, we're able to embody and share with others those emotions, those ways that we're feeling in a way that transcends language and words. So being able to be in that ensemble, be in that environment, it's I I my favorite thing was being in jazz band. Like I love jazz band. Jazz band was zero hour. It made my day all through high school, getting there at six in the morning, doing music first thing. And Jennifer Witt: That's a commitment, Jennifer. Wow. Jenni Awesome: yeah, six in the morning every day. My mom had to drive me to school pretty much every day. I started actually in eighth grade doing I started band through jazz, being in the jazz band because I played piano. Jennifer Witt: Mm-hmm. Jenni Awesome: And then they convinced me to join percussion. And so I went in that way. I went in a non-traditional way into being in bands. But the the the music and and the the expression and and getting to know my friends on a deeper level because of the way they express themselves through their music, like my friend Kyle, the way that he drummed and it's i it was a a different way for him to express some of the difficulties he was going through in life. Or my friend Aaron who played the saxophone, like, man, he he was like the heartthrob lover of everything and it just came out through his saxophone playing. Or my friend Tyler who played the trombone. Like it's amazing how it it expresses us and who we are on a deeper level. Jennifer Witt: I can really relate to that. And I just think it's so neat that you were in jazz band. my band director is very traditional as we didn't allow flute in jazz band at the time. And so Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: I really wanted to be in jazz band, but he kept it very strict. Now that's very common, of course, and flute solos and doubling and all those sorts of things. But to get that ensemble experience playing jazz is is so neat. My kids actually both got to do that as they were coming through band and orchestra. and I think it really expanded their palette and ability to trust themselves and improvise Jenni Awesome: Yes. Jennifer Witt: in a way that classical music typically keeps you on the page and true to the composer's wishes or the t the type of or the genre of music that you're performing. Like Baroque music's a little different than romantic era music and and the the sort of liberties you can or can't take, right? Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: but jazz, I mean, goodness, it's like it's just a open. opportunity for expression and and that improvisational piece, which I think takes a lot of bravery. Jenni Awesome: yeah. It I felt very held back honestly, because I was more of a classically trained perfectionist playing piano. And I'm, you know, in Jennifer Witt: Yes. Yes. Jenni Awesome: the background playing the chord, supporting everyone. So when they're like piano solo, I froze. I would freeze. I wouldn't know what to do because I was more classically trained of I need it written down. I need to see it. It needed it in front of me. And I missed a lot of opportunities because I I didn't embrace that, I can just make a mistake and and move forward. Jennifer Witt: Yeah, and it really tests your music theory knowledge and chord progressions and the blues scale and all these things that are really exciting to delve into. But to your point, that security of having the music on the stand, I'm gonna play these notes and I'm gonna play them correct. it's a complete departure. So I can totally relate. I've done some jazz playing. Most of Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: the time it's written down for me. Occasionally there's a little bit of improvisation or getting off the page, but there is so much more for me to explore as an adult. player, especially in the realm of flute choirs, which is where I've spent a lot of time playing as an adult over the years. I kind of fell into that in my early twenties. the woman I was studying with at the time, Karen Betts Griwan suggested that I audition for the West Michigan Flute Orchestra. And I was like a flute orchestra. Now I know what chamber music is, right? And I had played in chamber groups, but an a whole orchestra of flutes. And she said, you really just have to experience it. Here's a CD. Go listen to this at the time we had CDs. And so I'd auditioned for the group and I got in and there were 40, 40 members of this flute choir. Jenni Awesome: Wow. Jennifer Witt: And it was an experience and we we played with harmony flutes, so alto flutes, bass flutes, contrabass flutes, piccolos, and arrangements and new works that had been written for flute choir at the time. And it was really a neat experience for me. I just continued throughout my adult lifetime, every time I moved, which were many times, I found another flute choir. And it made that connection point for me with other human beings that wanted to make music too and express their feelings through music. In the same way that your peers, you got to know them on that deeper level in a way that you never Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: would have before. It also almost works as like an instant friendship. when you have this camaraderie and you belong to this ensemble, it It's kind of magical how quickly relationships can develop and how authentic those relationships and sustaining those relationships can be throughout your life. Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Well, and it's it's amazing when I meet new people and music comes up at some point in time and it's like, okay, well, what did you play? And then it usually turns into a guessing game of, well, what kind of musician do I think you are? And then Jennifer Witt: that's a good one. Jenni Awesome: and then either way it's it's having that connection of, well, I did this, I did this, and you have that instant bond of having a shared experience. So, I wanted to move into, so I know that in our in our education and in a lot of the schools in the United States, they have been moving away from music to the point where when I went to college to become a teacher, I was going Jennifer Witt: Mm-hmm. Jenni Awesome: to be a music teacher. That was always my dream. However, that was when they first started cutting music programs in Washington State. So I went and became Jennifer Witt: Okay. Jenni Awesome: a middle school math and science teacher. But, you know. What are what are some of the the biggest challenges now that we're moving away from offering this hugely important and impactful educational tool for, you know, the next generation? Jennifer Witt: that's a great question. I think about it this way, and I think information is the thing that can help change minds about the importance of music education and why we should preserve those programs in schools and fight for those programs in schools. And it's because music education is workforce development. Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: Because we're building durable skills, and I'm quoting a friend and colleague, Mike Campfeiss, who is the chief education officer at Con Selmer, and he just released a Substack article on this topic a day or two ago that I read, and it totally inspired me. And so I made a couple of notes on that. To paraphrase him, he cites some recent America Succeeds and Lightcast research in this article, by the way, about the durable skills that only people can do. And these Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: would be the skills that employers most covet and most want or seek that AI cannot do, right? As as Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: AI tools and assistants are going to start doing more automated things and repetitive tasks as we feed them prompts to get good outcomes from them, it's inevitable this is going to take on. an even stronger presence in our lives than we realize. But at that at the same time, there are things that only humans can do. And so those sort of skills that states are seeking from from their residents so that employers will stay there and retain their businesses and generate revenue, those would be like the ability to collaborate, the ability to communicate. The ability to solve problems, staying disciplined under pressure, the ability to lead, and the ability Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: to keep growing. Those are things that without prompting, AI cannot do. But people can do those things. And according to NAM, the global music products industry generates about $17 to $20 billion in revenue or annual sales a year. And in the United States, that's about five to six billion. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: and that includes the sale of musical instruments, pro audio equipment, and music technology tools, many of which are used in schools. So there are careers that involve music at every discipline you can possibly think of. So when you think Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: of career readiness, every music industry company needs accountants. Every music industry company needs HR, every music industry company needs marketing and sales, and all of these other disciplines. That together are harmonizing together to create something that people need to make music. So we place such importance on the music industry as a whole, and it is a very large industry in this country. Let's not take away the music education pathway or gateway that builds the skills you need to be successful in anything you pursue in your life professionally. I think that if decision makers understand the importance of that, They might be more inclined to keep the music educators on staff there teaching those classes because you might in the short run, and this is again paraphrasing Mike's article, you might in the short run lose that teacher's salary, but in the long run, you've lost everything I just mentioned to you. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: The syllabus for band and orchestra is career readiness, and that's growth mindset, metacognition, mindfulness, critical thinking, fortitude, which means don't give up. even if it's hard, creativity, and then character development and accountability. Showing up prepared to do your job and do it consistently, well. And losing music education means losing the the opportunity for students to build those skills in school. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. E even for the kids that like I'm pretty sure when I was in fifth grade, you either had the option you did band or you got like an extra math class. I ended up getting like the Jennifer Witt: Yeah. Jenni Awesome: extra math class, whatever it was. But everyone Jennifer Witt: Okay. Jenni Awesome: else went to band because I was like, I play piano, there's nothing for me, not knowing that there was the percussion option back then. Jennifer Witt: Sure. Jenni Awesome: But Everybody, because they did that music for that time and it it wasn't necessarily optional. I mean, I mean, you could opt out like I did, but it gave everybody a chance to learn all of those skills, even if they decided that, hey, playing the trumpet's just not for me. Playing whatever it is is just not for me. Jennifer Witt: Right. Jenni Awesome: They still got that experience of learning those those skills. And Truly, it was only because of being involved in the music, choir, band, those were the things that kept me going through school. Jennifer Witt: I love what you said about that and that really resonates with me too, because man, that extra math class, that's makes for a long day. but that get knowing that you have band or choir or even art class to look forward to, right? Like there any fine arts class is good and gonna develop these creativity outlets for you and expose you to things you might never have known or a talent or passion, things that energize you as a human being are clues. To the pathway you should follow. And Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: if students knew this earlier in their careers, I think it would be it, I think it's so important for music educators as they're training those ensemble members, right? To tell them, hey, you're a great trumpet player, and I understand that you're going to go and get your degree in in something else. But did you know that there are all these careers available in the music industry? And so that you have that love of music that you can apply to your day job. And it Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: it sort of becomes mission driven for you. Mission driven work is very important to the generations that are coming up and following along behind us and and under and having that resonate with them, that they could do something that contributes to the greater good and enriches others' lives as well in a really Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: In a really relevant way, really authentic way, is also super important. So I I don't know, if you've been to the NAM site and seen all of the tools that they have available and information they have available on careers in the music industry, because that's worth checking out at NAM.org. if educators are looking for tools to educate students on You know, what careers are available? That's a great resource. They have tons of information on career pathways and things that you could do with a music career in your life beyond teaching, which is albeit a very fulfilling and wonderful career, or performing. Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: I do think that if there's any myth to dispel with decision makers about keeping fine arts programs, it's that the only career pathway is teaching or performing, and it's simply not true. I wouldn't be here today working at the nation's largest on-time online music retailer if I hadn't played the flute when I was nine years old. I'm confident I wouldn't, Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: I wouldn't be at Sweetwater today and having a wonderful career that's fulfilling to me and changes lives if I hadn't picked up that flute. And so it really is a gateway to things that are just far and away beyond your wildest dreams. Jenni Awesome: Yeah, absolutely. And and I attribute my my leadership skills and my ability to be on stage and having conversations with people to the fact that one of my dad's favorite stories about me is I was four years old. We were at a restaurant and I said, I just went out in the middle of the floor, I said, hit it, boys, and started singing songs. And that was something I Jennifer Witt: You said here oil. Jenni Awesome: I said, hit it, boys, and started singing like raggedy and songs. And that that's just who I am. And so even running this podcast, being able to use my voice, my band director in high school, Doyle Clauser, who I went to his birthday party a couple months ago, but he was emceeing the concerts and I'm like, can I take that over for you? Can I MC the concerts? Because you're missing a lot of opportunities to really connect the audience with the music. He's like, Yeah, sure, we'll try it out. And then I was the MC for my last two or three years in high school. And so because I saw that opportunity and and I felt safe enough to take that risk with my music teacher, it gave me an opportunity to learn things that I wouldn't have. I didn't like public speaking in English class, but let me public speak for the band concerts, I'll do that in a heartbeat. Jennifer Witt: I love that. And you learn, you transferred all of those skills that you were learning academically into basically real world work experience. Because as a teacher, you're presenting every day on subject matter and you're pivoting in any given moment. You've got all these heartbeats in front of you. And every single one of them learns differently. And every single Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: one of them comes in with different things every day that may get in the way of or allow them to learn better, right? And so you've got to pivot and figure out how to reach them in a real tangible way and be aware of them and what's going on with them. And so it just really being a musician, I think makes you super hyper aware of that. Jenni Awesome: Yeah, I I would agree with that. So really quickly, if we have a teacher out there or an administrator out there that's like, man, we don't have the funding necessarily to do a whole music class, but what resources could I provide to my students, the teachers for some ways that they could build in some of these musical opportunities in their classroom setting? Jennifer Witt: It's interesting question. So if they don't have s significant funding, how do they get started offering opportunities to students? And are we are we restricted to any particular grade level as you're asking that question? Are if you have a thought in mind about that at all? Jenni Awesome: Well, I'm I'm thinking about that I had when I did elementary music for my teaching, Jennifer Witt: Mm-hmm. Jenni Awesome: they're like, Here, we want you to learn to or have a guitar or whatever. It's like, so I bought a guitar. I don't understand the guitar, but I can take a piano into the classroom. And as a middle school math teacher, I always tried to incorporate some of the things that maybe students didn't recognize were math. So like you said, understanding music scales or talking about how to break up like the beats of a rap song versus beats of a classical Jennifer Witt: Hello. Jenni Awesome: song and like are do you have any resources, things like that that maybe teachers could use in their classrooms? Jennifer Witt: In terms of resources, I guess I look to some of the organizations that are helping educators provide broader music education in schools than just band and orchestra, especially if you're thinking about elementary level. I recently had the opportunity to attend the Music Wheel Modern Band Summit in Fort Collins, Colorado, in July. And You Sweetwater has an amplifying change philanthropic platform where we partner with organizations like Save the Music Foundation and Music Will and others just to address challenges like the one you speak of, like gosh, I don't have a lot of budget, but how do we get instruments into kids' hands and get them making music from a young age? And falling in love with music so they can do that their entire lives. And and music, Music Wheel is a wonderful organization. I mean they prepare teachers to teach modern band, which really can be rock band, it can be hip-hop, it can be whatever genre of popular music serves the population in the building. And get those kids making music together, even if it isn't your instrument type, there are all kinds of new instruments being developed now from companies like Nouveau that get kids making music, these small little percussive instruments and things like that, handheld things that are easier to manipulate, learning to play the ukulele, that sort of thing. But they they have Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: programs to train the teachers and get kids making music in a program that would appeal to a broad base of students. And then when the time comes around that maybe band and orchestra are a possibility in late late elementary Or early middle school, the door is open and it has been a gateway to them, or they can continue on their journey with those combo instruments. But I think looking to organizations like Music Will for resources and NAFME for how to get funding and how to get a small program started and get a few kids interested because it will just flourish the more kids get interested. And the more kids that get interested, the more funding you will get. You show Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: administrators: hey, here's how we started. With this small group of students, and here's where we start at the beginning of the year. Invite them to the concert at the end of the year, they see the growth and go, wow. So not only did they play this music, but they also created posters promoting the concert. They sent an email inviting me to come hear them play. You get the students Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: involved in the advocacy and inviting administrators to be. kind of part of the insider that that is like promoting this thing. And you try to build that leadership support from the ground up so that when you come to them with the ask, they see the difference you've made. And and so I think those are just some resources I would look to NAFME, Music Will, Bands of America and Music for All also being great organizations for musical opportunities for students if they've gone through that band and orchestra phase and they are performing with ensembles and schools that participate in their programs. They also have tremendous resources available to teachers. Jenni Awesome: And and I would say another thing that teachers can do is I've been blessed to be at multiple schools where a lot of the the teachers or administrators, they're musicians themselves. They they may be good, they may not be the best musicians out there, but being vulnerable and and taking that risk of say, Hey, I'm gonna sing a song in front of my class, I'm gonna bring in my guitar, we had we did a talent show last year at the school I was at. And the English teacher, he's actually a drummer for a local band, he backed up two of the students that were playing guitar and singing. So he was able to support them in that way. But, you know, even teachers that are musically inclined, share that gift with your students because you may spark something in them that they didn't even know was there because they hadn't had that opportunity or exposure to music before. Jennifer Witt: And I love that it's walking the talk. Right. Because even even as a member of a faculty or or or a team of teachers, you can become so focused on the teaching piece of it that it's easy to forget that you also need to be doing the thing and modeling for the student what you're Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: trying to impress on them, they should be doing too. So when they see you, go out there and take a chance and and even if they hear you, heaven forbid, make a mistake, right? You can go. Okay, great. So let's talk about how that happened and what are some exercises I can practice in the future to build that skill or to learn that piece of music better. But seeing you be human in a world where everyone can attain perfection resonates Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: more authentically with an audience than even the feeling of love. You can love something like Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. Jennifer Witt: you and I love music, right? Like we have already got this. We I mean we have a lot of common ground because we love music. But the authenticity that comes from showing my journey and being vulnerable in that journey enough to go, yeah, I'm gonna do this and I might make a mistake, but you know what? I might also make some really amazing music with these people and have fun doing it. And I might inspire one student to go, you know what, I want to have that in my life. And I Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: wanna keep that in my life forever, lifelong musicianship, because it's not something you don't have to put down your trumpet when you go to college, even if you're not majoring in music. There's an ensemble on that college campus that needs you. Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. Jennifer Witt: Right. That one credit hour class that you have the ability to take can give you that creative outlet and that release from all the other really difficult stuff you're you're studying and doing in college that gives you that balance in life that's very important, just like balance is important in music and arrangements. Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: Learning to find balance, which I'm still working on by the way. I I I work sometimes a little too hard and a little too focused and a little less on Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: just personal pursuits and pastimes. But taking that time for yourself and investing in yourself to do those things that again provide energy to you and restore you are very, very important. And if it makes you feel good doing it and playing it, imagine how that makes an audience feel. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. I as someone who I'm I'm a singer too, and I I haven't been out there using my voice as much as I had in the past to be able to recognize that, my gift is also giving to others. That's been a big revelation for me is that I thought I was being selfish sometimes when I would sing or whatever, but no, it's not. It's it's a gift that I've been given and that. Other people truly enjoy hearing my voice or listening to me play the piano. So it's not being selfish. It's being selfish if I don't do that, if I don't share that passion and express myself in that way with others. Jennifer Witt: Jennifer, I love that. That it is that passion and the not sharing it that would be that would be an injustice in some way for everything you've invested in developing your talent, right? don't keep it to yourself. Go out and share it with the world. and be brave and do that and bold and do that. And you will find a community of people who appreciate it and salute it and want to join in you with in it with you and maybe Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: inspire them to pick up something new. I mean, even I'm I'm going to join a flute choir here in Fort Wayne. I moved here three years ago Jenni Awesome: Yay. Jennifer Witt: when I took my job at Sweetwater in marketing. Jenni Awesome: Yep. Jennifer Witt: And At that point, I really just threw myself into the adjustment period of making sure my son transitioned really well here to his new high school. I moved in when he was a junior in high school. He agreed to this, by the way, because Jenni Awesome: Ooh. Good. Jennifer Witt: it just and my daughter was also a junior in college and she she also agreed to it. We lock arms and we just make a decision as a family when we do something. but he got some choice in the matter. He got to choose the high school he wanted to attend based on his interest in being a marching band and jazz band. Jenni Awesome: I love it. Jennifer Witt: And so we found a place to live so he could go to that school. And he had gotten his Eagle Scout and finished marching band season and gotten his driver's license before we moved. And so Jenni Awesome: Wow. Jennifer Witt: it sort of made that transition easier, knowing that the first semester was probably going to be a little tough. But as he got to know those students that he was playing with in jazz and combos, He developed friendships that have now sustained him. And it really did my heart good as a mom, because honestly, as a as a marketer in the music industry, it's really helpful to be all the audiences that we speak to, right? And and I know you're in the same boat. You're you're the parent of the student who's enrolled in these fine arts programs. You're also a teacher of of this discipline. and and so you're you're viewing this from all these different lenses and that understanding of the uncertainties that can make it hard. to decide whether you even want your child to participate in music education. You know, having that knowledge and being able to communicate convincingly, like, yeah, you may not have been a musician and I was, but trust me when I tell you. Everyone will w walk along with you and help your students succeed, right? So any uncertainties Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: that parents might be feeling if their kid wasn't involved in music, they can be reinsured that they'll find a community and a sense of belonging while building all of these durable skills and all of these music skills that will really set them up for success in life, no matter what they pursue. Drive a garbage Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. Jennifer Witt: truck. You'll drive that garbage truck better because you were a musician. If you're going to Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: be a heart surgeon, you will you will be a better heart surgeon for how having been a musician. It just is, it's kind of a yes and thing. and I saw that firsthand with my son having to transition to new school. I even I was uncertain, like, I don't know, but music saved him. It got him connected with great students, great teachers, and it made what could have been a really difficult transition so much easier. Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. The the community of musicians that's out there, like they're so warm and welcoming. Like even if even if there's a couple of bad seeds, like I had a professor who just he the way that he did music, it just turned me off to to music. But it also set me on the path that I have today and and I'm grateful for what I did learn from him, even though I didn't necessarily agree with him. But Jennifer, we're we're coming close to time, so I wanna ask, is there anything we haven't gotten to cover yet that you wanted to cover? Jennifer Witt: I wanted to talk just a little bit about my role at Sweetwater and the reason that I Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. Jennifer Witt: moved in the first place. So about three years ago, Sweetwater stood up with great intentionality a rental program for band and orchestra instruments, wanting to increase access to great instruments everywhere in the United States, and especially where there aren't music stores, right? So an online rental program that's really easy to use for parents and really customizable for educators that addresses the things that make their job hard. Right. It makes their job really hard when the instruments that students have in their hands don't play well. And Jenni Awesome: Mm. Jennifer Witt: probably the hardest thing is investing a year in these kiddos and getting them started at their most vulnerable point in their journey where they don't know why they don't sound good. But their only, you know, outlet is to think it's me. I'm not good. Right? And maybe you aren't good yet, but if the instrument is not functioning properly, it's not you. It's the instrument. And so with this idea in mind that making sure instruments are inspected and tested and ready to play, so that when it arrives to a student's home and they've rented that instrument. It's not the instrument. It's just you not being good at it yet. But it allows the teacher to help you produce characteristic sounds so much more easily and clear tones so much more easily when the instrument is functioning properly. And and Jenni Awesome: Mm-hmm. Jennifer Witt: also the other thing that's kind of a pain point for educators, as I'm sure you know, is when when the instrument gets damaged, right? Like It arrived in good shape, but something happened, right? And it's gonna happen. And and with our online rental program, what I really love is that we limit downtime and and lost rehearsal time because of a student's instrument, because they're renting it, right? They could be in Oklahoma or Montana or Idaho, or I'm picking all these western states, Florida, New Jersey. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: That's a long way from Fort Wayne, Indiana. What do I do when the instrument breaks? And the answer is you just call. It's not really your problem. You call us and you exp you talk to a category category advisor on the phone, an actual human being who can ask you a few questions about it and go, okay, so I just shipped you a replacement. It'll arrive Jenni Awesome: Yes. Jennifer Witt: in a few days. So when you get it, take that instrument out, which is exactly the same brand and model that your band director wants you to have, the same thing you have right now. Take it out of the box. Use it for band, use it for orchestra. Take the broken one, put it back in the box, put the FedEx shipping label on it. We've provided and send it back. Keep a receipt. Jenni Awesome: I love it. Jennifer Witt: Keep playing. So your instrument's not held up in repairs or or delays and they keep learning and growing because every day they lose in the classroom. Don't you feel they lose a little momentum and maybe just a little bit of the passion for the thing they're trying to learn how to do, which is admittedly a little bit hard. We're trying Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: to bend the curve of attrition so that band directors can keep more students in band and orchestra and they don't quit because of the instrument. So that you can focus on, Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. Jennifer Witt: you know, doing teaching the love of music, right? Like And for me, that's very mission driven. And it's been so exciting to work for a company. It is thinking about the things that would make teachers' jobs easier and allow them to really focus on what matters most. And I feel really grateful and fortunate that I get to go to work every day and do that. And if I could inspire just one student to know they could do that with their lives, it would make all the difference in the world to me. Telling the story. Jenni Awesome: And and I just I just also wanna say out there to the parents and and to the musicians, your instruments are meant to be used. They're they're meant to get worn, they're meant to get broken, they're they're made to get like now having a husband who plays guitars, like I don't I can't tell you how many times we have to replace the strings and like pianos can be tuned and and it is possible that you may just buy an instrument that is so overwhelming. Because it has so many buttons, like my key, I have a keytar that I bought from Sweetwater. It was a Christmas present a few three or four years ago. I finally pulled it out Jennifer Witt: Thank you. Jenni Awesome: of the box and it was, it's overwhelming. It's now sitting downstairs next to my piano. I'm committed to learning it. But I also I've been able to reach out to Sweetwater and find Jennifer Witt: Okay. Jenni Awesome: someone to help me understand, okay, how do I use this? How do I make this less intimidating? But yeah, I've Jennifer Witt: That's right. Jenni Awesome: I've gotten my podcasting stuff from Sweetwater. I've ordered multiple guitars for Jennifer Witt: Hmm. Jenni Awesome: my husband from Sweetwater. I I am a full consumer of your company. So Jennifer Witt: Yeah. Jenni Awesome: I love that we were able to connect here. I I love your your online stuff. And Jennifer Witt: Me too. Well, thank you for being a customer. I'm glad we're taking good care of you and that you're getting to talk to a human being who cares very much about you succeeding with that guitar and make Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Jennifer Witt: it easier for you to actually use it and enjoy it. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. Cause otherwise it's it's been sitting in my closet for a couple of years 'cause I've been intimidated and I'm like, you know what? It's time. I'm gonna learn it. I'm gonna use it. I'm actually gonna perform with it at some point in time. Haven't set a commitment date to that one yet, but it it's gonna happen. Jennifer Witt: but when you do, it becomes the carrot or the stick, right? You're like, okay, so I'm Jenni Awesome: yeah. Jennifer Witt: gonna be practicing and getting ready every day. But I predict it's gonna be a pretty good thing for you. Jenni Awesome: yeah. It's so much fun to play with. Like it's got a whammy bar and stuff. All the things that Jennifer Witt: wow. Jenni Awesome: all the stuff that I I thought only a guitar could do, this guitar can do, and it's it's it's amazing. Jennifer Witt: I love it and I love that it's in a format that you're already comfortable with, albeit the many buttons part is probably a little bit daunting. And I will say, like, look, I had the opportunity to like test some new flutes today, because in the course of my job, sometimes vendor or manufacturer will bring in some flutes, like, well, can you play it? What do you think? And what does this key do? And how would you use this? And, you know, there's always some innovation in music in the music industry. new instruments are invented all the time. And even classical instruments that have been around for hundreds of years, they'll find a new way to make it easier to play. And those innovations, our sales engineers are great at explaining why and how so that. you can then go hone your craft and do the thing you love. Jenni Awesome: Absolutely. Well, Jennifer, we're we're at time and I wanna ask you my my last question and I ask this to everyone because it truly gets to the heart of what we're doing. If you could change one thing in education that would have the greatest positive impact on the next generation, what would it be? Jennifer Witt: It would be to convey earlier in their educational journey that people who do what they love will always find a place in this world, in the same way that people who wish to sing will always find a song. Jenni Awesome: I love it. Well, Jennifer, thank you so much for coming on to the show. It was an honor to speak with you today. Jennifer Witt: Same. gosh. I'd love to talk to you again. Thank you for having me. Jenni Awesome: Yeah. We will have to do this again. Well, thank you again and and until next time on the Jenny Awesome podcast.