No Free Stickers. Joe Valentine’s New School For Musicians Everywhere

One question Joe Valentine has been grappling with: “How can you consistently deliver meaning, without just throwing in free stickers?”

Last summer, Joe and his girlfriend Sami launched an online music school called Music Made Simple—a music teaching platform featuring one on one workshops in songwriting and artist development. And they’ve been making strides to grow their user base. The Instagram page reads: “Now available worldwide.” And, “Try a lesson for free!”

Hey, why not?

“I never thought Id be hopping on Zoom every week to work with someone from Norway on guitar music,” says Joe. “It feels crazy in a good way.”

Joe has been focused on formulating a method to teach music in a way that’s meaningful over the internet. The students Joe has worked with are from around the world, young and old, and represent a range of musical proficiency.

“It’s been inspiring and extremely humbling. I’ve had that interaction dozens of times now—I’ll send a random DM to someone in India and end up in deep conversation and sometimes a teaching opportunity will arise.”

By seeking people out who are active in the online music communities, Joe is able to connect with potential students on a genuine, personal level.

“Most of the time I don’t hear anything back, and in some cases I hear a lot back. And we hop on a zoom. The company offers a free trial to anyone who’s interested in experiencing it. And it’s so easy to do with zoom.”

The amount of individual attention given to students is clearly what makes Music Made Simple a stand-out version of its kind.

Joe will sometimes produce a song written by a student who is early on in their musical journey, giving them an idea of what a more professional sounding mix of their song might sound like, which Joe says usually is exciting for students to hear for the first time.

Another method Joe uses to work with students or just interact with people on social media is by inviting people to listen to raw versions of Joe’s own music, and provide feed back. He shares his own progress with followers each week.

“The thing that I’m capable of doing right now is write a song every week and create a demo in Logic or Ableton and record a video of myself performing it,” Joe said.

Another thing Joe grapples with: Holding on to your music vs. setting it free. Do you covet a bunch of songs and hold out for an album release? Or do you share everything, grit and all, for the sake of inspiring one another?

“The beautiful thing about being an independent musician early on in your career with a small platform and a small community is that you’re capable of doing things that are not scalable—things that are impossible for people at the top of the industry to do. Beyoncé can reach a billion people which is a total feat, a real human achievement, but an independent artist early on in their career has the potential to development a one on one relationship with the people who are listening to their music.

Qs:

Favorite color at the moment?
Cyan

Describe your happy place?
A wide open quiet field, breezy, and 65-75ºF at sunset, but without the sadness of a day ending.
Or right after playing a show and talking with people after in a quiet place.

What is your art?
I make music and am working on a whole bunch of songs. Writing songs weekly (sometimes with the help of friends on socials) and beginning to share weekly across socials!

Is there an overall message, feeling or theme that your art is meant to evoke?
Re: message:
While each song has its own punchline, the most important message I'm trying to communicate as an artist is to "be your most unapologetic, sincere self".

Re: feeling:
I'm hoping people feel energized, liberated, and inspired to conquer their own obstacles.

Where do you create?
I work in a room in my house in North Hollywood!
When writing songs, I usually start with a melody in the shower, record it as a Voice Memo on my phone, and then grab a guitar or sit down at the keyboard to hash out some chords and a concepts (usually after I've gotten dressed, but not all the time).

If I get stuck, I'll ask friends on Instagram and/or TikTok for opinions: sometimes I ask for people's experiences or sometimes I ask for people to vote for how a song should end, etc.

I'm always trying to finish as much of a song as I can before I jump onto the computer to record a demo; it forces me to make a song that can stand on its own without the bells and whistles of production.

Who or what have you been inspired by recently?
Longer periods of daylight. I hate the winter for its lack of daylight. Sunlight in the evening is a muse to me!

My girlfriend: she's always focused on expansion and able to maintain a mind-boggling amount of tasks simultaneously...while still being the friendliest person I know.

Necessity: "necessity is the mother of invention"...it's so true. I've been inspired by so many friends and strangers overcoming obstacles in this past year. As insane as the world has been, the creative problem-solving that we've seen is incredible to me.

What are you working towards now?
Delivering value to as many people as I can, as rapidly as I can.

Where can we find you online?
itsjoevalentine.com

Fellow artists/creatives to recommend?
Maris Jones
IG: @themarisjones