Every month, we like to spotlight one of our incredible Elemental Music teachers. Some of them have been teaching with us for close to a decade while others might be in their first year of working for our organization, but there is one thing that all of our teachers have in common: their dedication to the young musicians in our programs.
This month, we are featuring Adrian Martinez, one of our talented guitar instructors at Elemental Music. Adrian is in his second year with us and plays a key role in guiding our guitar program, helping students at all ages enhance their music skills. With years of experience both teaching and performing, Adrian is passionate about inspiring students to explore the world of guitar. We are thrilled to have Adrian as part of our community and look forward to the positive impact he will continue to make!
Elemental Music: How long have you been teaching for Elemental Music? Can you tell us a little bit about your history with the organization?
Adrian Martinez: This is my second year teaching classical guitar here at Elemental Music. I was first brought in by Erin Young, a former guitar teacher here, to teach the intro guitar students and help them graduate to the more advanced guitar program we offer here at EM. Though my history here is short, I have been a part of a lot of amazing events and concerts this organization has hosted.
EM: How did you get started in music?
AM: My father, at a young age, had blessed our house with a lot of Mexican music with his guitar. I didn't know it at the time, but I may have been influenced by him when I started learning guitar in middle school. I tried many different instruments like the clarinet and drums in music class but resonated a lot with the guitar. It also helped solidify my decision to start learning when I discovered that many of my friends also played the guitar and were into heavy metal groups such as Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer.
I got inspired to play at their level and locked myself in my room to practice all day and night. I had no formal instruction so I had to rely on ear training to learn what I was hearing on cassette tapes my friends let me borrow. By the time, I entered high school, I was considered one of the best metal guitarists in the school and joined many bands outside of school. We entered many talent shows and competitions we had at school.
One day during an 11th grade performance, I had a chance to witness what changed my musical direction as a whole - a classmate performing Bach’s Prelude BWV 999 in front of a live audience. I knew then that this was the style of music I wanted to focus on moving forward.
EM: What is one of your favorite musical memories?
AM: I always love answering this question because it allows me relive such a vivid experience I had in college when performing my first ever classical guitar concert in front of what looked like a sold-out show. This was a collaborative concert for all of the beginning classical guitar students in the music department. Upon walking up on stage to perform Miguel Llobet’s “El Testament d’Amelia,” my hands were shaking so bad that it was interrupting my thought process when performing. I was missing important notes in the melody and felt like a complete failure. After walking off stage, my classmates rushed over to me to tell me how awesome it sounded and how well I played. It wasn’t until I saw the concert video that I thought they had just tried to cheer me up. I actually performed well and that everything I was feeling before, during, and after the concert was all in my head.
EM: What inspired you to teach in addition to performing?
AM: Simply put, I want to inspire others and provide them with shortcuts to learning music, removing the hurdles many of us faced when starting out. Music is a universal language woven into our everyday lives – in the movies we watch, the games we play, and the public spaces we visit. By becoming more attuned to these musical moments, we can deepen our emotional connection to the world around us.
EM: You’ve participated in several prestigious guitar competitions—what did you learn from preparing for them?
AM: It doesn’t matter how well you play your selections. The judges have their favorite performers based on the music and composers they like. Find out what repertoire resonates with those judges and perform them how you think they would like to hear them.
EM: What challenges have you faced when performing for large audiences, and how do you overcome those challenges?
AM: I have adopted the idea that during a performance, there are two sides to a concert: the performer and the audience, both of which are divided by an invisible barrier. On one side, you have an audience that, for the most part, is not familiar with the repertoire that is performed. So, any bad notes or mistakes that the performer makes often go unnoticed by the audience. What they do notice, however, is the energy, confidence, and emotion the performer brings to the stage. On the other side of the invisible barrier is the performer, who is acutely aware of every detail of their performance, including the mistakes. But the key to a successful concert lies in the performer’s ability to bridge that barrier – not by dwelling on errors, but by creating a compelling experience that captivates the audience, allowing them to feel connected to the music regardless of its technical imperfections.
EM: If you could give our students one piece of advice, musical or otherwise, what would it be?
AM: Just like learning a new language, a sport, or anything else in life, don’t give up. Treat everything like a bike ride and push hard through those uphills so that you can enjoy the downhills when you reach the top.
EM: Is there anything else you'd like to add, that you think might be interesting for our community?
AM: At one point, I found myself overwhelmed with completing my master’s thesis while working a full time job. I also was trying to take care of my health and fitness, maintain social relationships, etc. But when you try to do everything all at once, you actually become mediocre at all of them. I adapted to something called the 80/20 rule which means that 20% of the inputs result in 80% of outputs. What this meant for me was that every day, I would wake up and decide on something I could focus on entirely that would work towards moving the needle for my goals that needed to be achieved. I soon learned that I was getting better results because I would always ask myself if what I was doing was the 20% that needed to be worked on.