Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Valerie Gunning. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Valerie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I was fortunate enough to be sent to music school, in my home city of Limerick in Ireland, for classical violin and piano lessons from a young age. Learning music really is a lifelong project. You don’t consider that when running into your piano lesson at 7 years old of course. It may be a cliché but you really never stop learning. It’s not all plain sailing of course. There’s yearly exams along the way, if you choose that route. Many lifelong skills are developed on the musician’s journey: creativity, self-esteem, critical thinking, and self-discipline are just a few that spring to mind.
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?
I’ve been studying and performing music from a very young age. I now teach students of all ages classical violin and piano. I see them through the total beginner stages, from learning how to hold the violin or sit at the piano, right up to advanced level. It feels like a somewhat natural progression to use my years of training and experience to help guide others through the learning process. I have been running a successful music teaching studio for many years in my home city of Limerick, Ireland. Alongside my busy teaching schedule I’ve had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally. My orchestral performing has taken me to places as varied as Abbey Road, The Swiss Alps, Seoul, and a 10-city concert tour of China. My love of music and travel combine when I get the opportunity to head off on some solo travel adventures. These trips provide amazing inspiration in the forms of sound, colour, and community. I channel this inspiration into my creative and teaching work upon returning home. I am currently travelling around Mexico for a couple of months. This country really is a feast for the senses. Just last night I attended an evening of performances in Mérida, the capital of Yucatán state. Local dancers performed the traditional dances of each Mexican state. As a musician who performs both traditional Irish and classical music, as well as being a competitive Irish dancer in my youth, it was fascinating to watch the dancers in full traditional costume performing to the music of each region. While sitting and watching in a modern mercado the juxtaposition of modern and traditional is so apparent in a performance like this, but is everywhere to be seen in Mexican daily life. I see many similarities with Ireland in this sense. I am only a few weeks into my journey so far and I look forward to absorbing all the sights and sounds of Mexico before returning home and back to my teaching and performing schedule in September.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During Covid I, like so many, definitely had to pivot in my work. Music performing and teaching is so often associated with “in person”, “live”, and “hands on” experiences. Of course all these aspects were not possible at this time. I, like many music teachers around the world, had to make the shift to teaching online. Obviously this has many disadvantages: losing the in-person experience, the sound cutting out, instructing through what felt like a small window or mirror! However, I tried to make the most of the advantages. It gave me a window into the student’s home practice setting. I could advise on things I would never have had the opportunity to see, such as the height of the piano stool or music stand. These are small but important things for learning instruments. I feel it also helped me develop a more personal experience with my students and their families. Previously they were getting an insight into my musical world while coming to my studio weekly, and now I was getting a glimpse into theirs. Family members (and pets!) I had never met were coming onto the screen to wave hello. I think we were all relieved to go back to in-person lessons when the time was right but it’s good to know the online option is always there.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I feel the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is the sense of achievement. An achievement doesn’t have to be big. It could be working out the notes of a tune I’ve heard a street busker perform, or getting to the end of a new page of sheet music for the first time. It could also be in the form of overcoming anxiety of performing in public. Whether it’s to 3 or 3,000 people the nerves can kick in at any time. I also feel a sense of achievement when I watch a smile and relief cross the face of a student after they get through a tricky part of a new piece of music, or indeed when they receive their music exam results, and this goes for any age or level.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.valeriegunning.com
- Instagram: @valgunning
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valgunning
- Twitter: @valgunning
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/vgunning