Meet The Music Teacher #2: Darryn

Young Darryn!

leverly bringing together music teachers of all chords and creeds, Darryn and Elaine Scott have high hopes for their Harmonics Music School.

Especially given that everyone involved loves what they do.

Just how much, we decided to find out by asking each of the teachers involved just where their passion for music came from.

And how it got them from getting down in front of their bedroom mirror to teaching classes on Theatre Lane.

Second up to the podium, it’s the man of the house, Darryn…

GG: When did the music bug first bite?
DS: It was from a very young age that I got into music. It was a really big thing in our house, with lots of rock’n’roll – Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, etc; anything that would stir me up really. I always liked the more frantic side of rock.

Then the logical step came next, my Dad introducing me to The Frantic Four, aka Status Quo. This was the precise moment the change from enjoying music to it becoming essential in my life!

With Scott Snr

I was obsessed with Quo, and I still am to some degree. Which is what they’re all about, of course.

As the years went on, I opened my mind and got very big into electronic music, most notably The Prodigy, who also completely changed my life, as they were the influence for me to become a producer.

These days, I am into anything that makes my heart race. I don’t care who it is; if it resonates with me, then I’ll be all over it, whether it’s classical, film scores, punk or pop, etc.

Ultimately, all of these influences propelled me to challenge myself and push myself out of my comfort zone, which is what got me into to singing… something that was initially way out of my comfort zone.

Was there a point when it went from a hobby to a passion, to something you wanted to do for the rest of your life?
For me, I’d always wanted to be a rock star, certainly for the first half of my life. As time went on, I started to realise that in whatever way I wanted to be involved in music, I needed to be in that creative environment. Whether it was me being creative on my own or being involved with others, it was important for me to keep pushing myself and face some creative fears head on.

With Plant and Matthews

Once I did this, I found it opened up immense opportunities for me that I could have only dreamt of as a kid – like becoming a tour manager and working with the likes of Scott Matthews (personally, a musical inspiration to me and just an all-round beautiful genius), Tom Baxter, and having recently come off tour with Robert Plant. I mean, this is the stuff of dreams!

With Tom Baxter. And the missus.

The fine art of teaching has a degree of the Yoda about it, given that it involves the passing on of magic; when did you decide to become a Jadoo master?
The desire to teach came as a bit of a surprise to me. It was not something that I had ever gravitated towards because of my own largely negative experience of education. However, it became apparent to me that throughout the years I had gained a lot of experience, techniques and skills in order to help me overcome my own performance anxiety, self doubt and other issues that were preventing me from being my true, authentic self. For me, it felt almost selfish to have learnt all of these great techniques/skills that helped me overcome so many things, to not share it with other people that might be struggling in similar ways.

Basically, my thought process was, ‘there’s so much out there for people who already have all of this confidence and self belief, but, what about everyone else? What about the people who do want to do these things but don’t have the confidence or self belief to take that step?’. So I thought, maybe I can combine these skills with my musicality and my life experiences, and help others. And that’s what it all boils down to – I just wanted to help others.

Finally, what can students expect in your particular class? What’s your approach?
My class is centred around making you feel comfortable, encouraged and supported – and I genuinely mean supported. To make you feel you’re in a safe place to, at times, fall but to ultimately flourish. I also incorporate mindfulness techniques in my class; this is a great one to help put somebody at ease. Kind of like a reset button!

Essentially the emphasis is on having fun, keep it light, and to be nurturing.”

You can find out more about the Harmonics Music School on their website here, or contact them directly on [email protected].