First the tuning fork. Then, the music.

I started on a secondhand harmonium at seven, mostly because it was the only instrument in the house nobody minded me touching. Hindustani vocal training came first, formal piano years later, and somewhere in between I realised I was more interested in how music got taught than in performing it myself.

Eleven years on, I've taught everything from a first C major scale to a Grade 12 choir rehearsing for a state final — and I've learned that confidence, not talent, is the thing most students are actually missing.

If your school wants a music program that produces more than a noisy December concert, I'd love to talk.