Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaclyn Mrozek.
Hi Jaclyn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Teaching was gifted to me as a high schooler.
As a young student, I attended a home studio run by a woman and her three adult children. When there was a death in the family, they needed people to fill in. They must have been desperate to ask an eager 14 year old, but when they did it opened an entirely new world to me.
After the first lesson I knew I wanted to teach piano lessons for the rest of my life.
My teachers mentored me as an assistant teacher all through highschool. Later, I was accepted at a university with a renewable scholarship for piano performance and pedagogy. The early success of my teaching caused me to think this degree was not necessary. I did not end up taking the scholarship.
Unfortunately, I rationalized that I was already doing enough and there was no need for school.
My youthful assumption did not pan out.
A few short years later, I found myself a young, divorced mother of two.
I was not involved with music. I was not practicing. I didn’t even own a keyboard or a piano.
Instead, I was working an office job trying to support my kids 100% on my own.
I had accepted that my chance with music was over until one day my mom called and said one of her clients was looking for a piano teacher.
I had dismissed the thought of teaching ever again, but I needed the money, and I missed music, so I said yes. Soon I got another call from a different family. And then another.
My studio grew out of nowhere and after a few years of organizing processes and gaining certifications, I was back in the teaching game in a local music academy.
Suddenly I had access to amazing and experienced performers and teachers. I shadowed lessons, revised my policy, joined my local music teacher association, participated my studio in local events, enhanced my recitals for students, and more.
Although my students were doing well, I knew my own skill was lacking. Along with the gap of practicing while working at the office, I also was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Moving my fingers to play anything well was challenging.
Not to mention my schedule. By this time I was remarried with a baby and had my two young children. Running a business as a mom leaves little time for practice.
Regardless, I started taking lessons from an incredibly patient colleague. She helped me with my technique and during this time I found a protocol for my health that alleviated my joint pain.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Ask my friend/instructor and she would tell you I was consistently unprepared, full of excuses, and would unfairly cancel due to guilt of no practice. I was so nervous I would even break out into hives at lessons!
My career is teaching. And I am a good teacher. Yet, at that time, I couldn’t crack the code of my own adult education.
This experience allowed me to empathize with my students younger and older. I could see how preparing specific elements as a child could prevent issues later on in the piano education.
I could also see how incredibly terrifying it is to learn such skills as an adult. The guilt of not practicing. The embarrassment of not playing as well as I once did.
After a few years of self-reflections, lots of books, research, webinars, and figuring out a real practice routine, I am genuinely happy with the pianist I am.
It is thrilling to learn new pieces, perform them, laugh about mistakes, and to just play music.
So, not only have I implemented foundational skills for my younger students, but I am launching an online adult piano program that better fits realistic needs of adults.
An adult piano program that will help them to play beautiful music, keep their mind’s sharp, and to relax. A realistic program to fit in with their busy and complex lifestyles.
If you have ever wanted to play piano but felt that you are too old, not ‘musical’ enough, or learning piano would be too much work, I encourage you to book a call with me.
If you are frustrated that you are not seeing your desired results or you give it another shot, only to throw your hands up and quit, I encourage you to book a call.
If you want to learn to help your own child or maybe even get your child started, I encourage you to book a call.
I am a firm believer that anyone can enjoy and learn to play at any age. Together we can discuss what specifically you want to learn, your overall goals, and we can put forth a plan together.
Book a call today. I would love to connect and discuss your dreams to make them a reality!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The majority of the obstacles in my path have really been caused by me alone. I somewhat took a backwards way of getting to where I am, and I definitely didn’t make it easy.
The only obstacle I can really think of that could not have been prevented would be my autoimmune issues. Around the time that I was thinking of leaving my secure office job for music, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This greatly limited my physical mobility for a time until I was able to get it under control. Now I barely have any symptoms and it rarely holds me back.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a piano instructor of all ages. My studio is student-focused in understanding that everyone learns differently. I focus heavily on ear training, rhythm, and musicality first. Everyone is musical, even those who insist they have no musical bone in their body! I love enhancing a student’s strength and giving them courage and confidence in their areas of instability.
I really am most proud of the community that my studio has formed. I see parents of students that have long moved on still interact as good friends on social media, students supporting one another at recitals, and the excitement they have when working together in group classes. Playing piano is often looked at as a solo activity: many hours alone at the piano, alone with the teacher, etc. So, I find great joy that lifelong friends have been made in my studio.
In our area, we have an abundance of amazing teachers. We enjoy getting together, bouncing ideas off one another, and simply learning together.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think success really depends on taking risks. Risk-taking requires vulnerability, accepting that failure is inevitable in some areas, and it is what makes dreams become reality.
Yet I think risks are so necessary to grow as a person and as an entrepreneur. The knowledge that failure is possible pushes one to dig deeper, research, develop relationships, so on and so forth. And then when we do fail…well what a lesson for when we take the next risk.
I say this and yet I acknowledge that I have been hesitant in all the risks I have taken in my life. I never necessarily dove in all excited about it. But that is OK. Risks are scary… sometimes terrifying… but I have accepted that it is necessary to do what I love. Music, to me, is worth all of the risks.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PianoKats.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/The_PianoKats
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pianokats
Image Credits
Karen Anderson Photography
