We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elaina Mcbride. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elaina below.

Hi Elaina, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I have been a piano teacher professionally for about three years now. In this time, I have had the privilege of teaching students of all ages, all backgrounds, and all levels of experience. For me, it is tricky to pinpoint one specific project or event that is most meaningful to me, because I feel I am gifted with many opportunities that remind me of why I love what I do as a piano instructor.

BUT, if I had to choose one specific project, it is actually one that is still in the beginning stages. My current studio specializes in teaching adults. Before actually starting lessons, I like to meet with potential students first to go over scheduling, expectations, goals, and prior experiences with music. A student I began working with very recently expressed an interest in learning “Autumn Leaves” by Nat King Cole. The reason why he wants to learn this song is why I think this is the most meaningful project I have worked on so far.

This student, let’s call him John, is currently in a long distance relationship with his partner, who lives out of country. When John travels to visit his partner, he mentioned that they frequent a jazz club in the area. In fact, this is their favorite jazz club, and it is one of their regular spots to stop by when he comes to visit. As John and I were speaking about his goals, he pulled up a jazz playlist of songs that he and his partner listened to- songs that reminded him of their love and relationship. His only request was to learn “Autumn Leaves” by Nat King Cole on the piano.

I asked him when he wanted to have it learned, and he said that he would like to learn it by the springtime. He then disclosed to me that he had contacted their favorite jazz club and asked if he could perform this song the next time they came to visit.

Needless to say, I have been working on a practice plan that allows John to learn this song so that he can play it when he sees his partner next.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi! My name is Elaina, and I currently run an independent piano studio that specializes in teaching adult beginners. I have about three years of professional experience teaching students of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience.

Piano teaching was not always something I imagined myself doing, but in my junior year of college, I realized that I loved teaching, and more specifically, I loved teaching adults. When we all entered lockdown in 2020, I had just graduated with my Bachelors degree. At the time, I knew that I was going to be taking a gap year, but I had no plans of what to do afterward. After receiving five acceptance letters for graduate school, I signed a contract with Louisiana State University, where I was a student and full time teaching assistant for two years.

My time at LSU confirmed for me that I wanted to pursue a career in piano education, specifically for teaching adults and students in higher education. In my pedagogy classes, I learned about Recreational Music Making (RMM for short) and decided that this would be my method for teaching my adult students. So, what am I up to now?

At the moment, I am working part time as an independent piano instructor. I currently teach students of all ages online and from my home in St. Pete. I love teaching, and I think my studio is unique because I specialize in teaching adult learners, and because I am younger than many teachers in my area (I’m 26).

Teaching is my passion, and I think I am good at it. There is something so special about sharing my experience and knowledge about music and piano, and giving students the tools to make and share music with others. This may sound corny, but being able to teach about the thing I love most is the greatest gift, and I am so thankful I am able to do it as an independent instructor. Over the next year, I am hoping to make piano teaching my full time career- if you’re interested in me and/or my story, I’d love to meet ya!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Oh boy… Buckle up friends, it’s about to be a bumpy ride.

In May of 2023, I made a very risky and spontaneous decision to move from Baton Rouge, LA to Tampa, FL to teach music. Just to give you a background on what I was working with: I had no car, almost no savings, no place to live, and I knew virtually no one. The only reason I made the decision to move was because I was afforded the opportunity to live in the music school I taught at, and I thought, “Hey, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Well, it turns out a lot could (and would) happen. Disclaimer: please do not do what I did LOL.

After landing in the Tampa Bay International Airport and riding to my new temporary home, I began to process the decision I made to move to a totally new city. However, it would be a few weeks before I would truly realize the trouble I was really in financially. You see, this teaching job required me to commute, so I had to purchase a car. I threw what little savings I had to a downpayment for a 2011 Nissan Versa SE (affectionately named Vickie the Versa). Vickie served me well for a few months, but you will soon come to find out the fate of her, and the story of her unfortunate departure from the streets for good.

Though purchasing a vehicle is a huge accomplishment, it is a huge financial commitment. Aside from your monthly car payment, you also need car insurance, which, in Florida, is insanely expensive. This was not something I was financially able to fulfill from music teaching alone. So, I found a job bussing tables on the weekends. Needless to say, this was not part of my plan.

Summer 2023 was very tricky for me. I didn’t really have a place I could call home, I was living out of suitcases, and I was barely making ends meet. I decided that if I didn’t find a job by the end of Summer, I would go back home to Alabama and regroup. At the end of July, I accepted a position to be a teacher in St. Pete, and I also signed a lease for a hostel in the heart of downtown St. Pete. It finally seemed like things were working out. That is, until the last week of August.

As I started making plans to move into my new space, I began having issues with my car, and came to find out that I had a recalled transmission. Two days after this realization, I was in a car accident that totaled my car (Rest In Peace). The next day, my friend helped me to move into my room in the hostel I would call home for the next year (which is a whole other part of my story). The week after I moved, I quit my music teaching job. Three hours later, I was terminated from my other job via Zoom. And then it was September.

Before moving on, let’s have an emotional checkpoint. How are we doing? Are we in shock? On the edge of our seats? Totally understood. Well, when you feel you are ready, we can move on.

At this point in my journey, I had no idea what to do. I had less than $1000 to my name, bills to pay, and no job. More than that, I had literally just moved to a city where I knew no one. Oh, and I didn’t have a car. Lol. My options were limited, but I had to find a job. So, I walked around until I found one. I worked part time as a gelato server, and then I found a position working front desk at a hotel. Though this was not my first, second, or even third choice of career, I am very thankful for this job because it provided me with the financial stability I needed. And, just keeping it totally real, I kind of relied on free meals they offered for a few months while my bank account recovered from not having a job.

My reality for about six months looked like 50-60 hour work weeks, where I would pull doubles with my part time and full time jobs. The only reprieve I felt was having the ability to teach lessons to a student online. You’re going to laugh when you read this, but I taught lessons without a piano for a year. Apparently it worked, though, because I am still teaching this student. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but he’s doing pretty dang good.

My “now” looks very different from my “back then”. And to tell you the truth, I didn’t think my “now” would be possible a year ago. It’s crazy what can happen in a year.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Hm, I think non-creatives would probably be curious as to why I haven’t quit yet. Given the circumstances life has thrown at me, you’d think I would have caught the hint by now, right?

I’ve always been stubborn, and when I see something I really want, I pursue it wholeheartedly. My heart speaks through piano teaching. It’s what I love to do, and what I want to do with my life. I tried forgetting about it and throwing myself into corporate life, but the more time I spent away from music, the more I thought about it. The more I missed the community, the act of playing piano, the time spent planning lessons.

My purpose, I believe, is to share my love of music with others, and my hope is that others will be inspired by my passions for music and education and will find a love for music in their own way. This pursuit doesn’t always make sense and isn’t always stable. But, I feel an inescapable desire and commitment to see it through despite the instability because I see what could be instead of what currently is.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elainamcbridepiano.com
• Instagram: elainacmcbride
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaina-mcbride-mm-9a97b4137
• Other: https://beacons.ai/emcbide

Image Credits

Millan Photo