Release what's inside you through music and art. MUSIC. ART. RELEASE.
MUSIC LESSONS
As a former public school music teacher, I have a deep passion for igniting and nurturing a love of music in others. In particular, I absolutely LOVE working with people of all ages who KNOW they love music and have a desire to create their own.
I especially LOVE working with teens and adults who are finally ready to take their passions and dreams seriously and give themselves the skills they've always longed for.
As a singer/songwriter who writes, records, and produces my own music at home, I am proud to be able to offer a wide variety of services to meet you or your child's individual goals and desires.
I would love to teach you or your child any combination of the following things:
SINGING
I went through five years of classical training in college but it never really felt quite right because pop/soul/jazz really have my heart. It took me years of exploration and additional voice lessons in a totally different style to really find my voice and develop it the way I had always wanted to since childhood.
I'm still working on it and I probably always will be, but the journey is so so so fun and rewarding! I would love to help you find and develop your unique voice in whatever style feels most authentic to you!
PIANO
I started taking lessons at age 4 but I have to be brutally honest - I got almost nothing out of those first six years because my teacher and I weren’t on the same page. I only wanted to learn to play songs I actually enjoyed (cough EVANESCENCE cough), but my teacher was very traditional and insisted I go through the methods book in order. I begged my mom to let me quit but she said no, so I simply never practiced!
It wasn’t until I was an adult that I finally learned the specific piano skills I was looking for all along. My ADHD brain has never been a big fan of sheet music, and while it’s a very useful tool to have in the toolbox, I've learned that chords work better for my brain, so I now use leadsheets for 99% of what I do as a professional musician. I would love to work with students who are interested in playing piano as a way of accompanying themselves singing - either their own songs or covers!
SONGWRITING
Second only to singing, this is one of my biggest passions in life and I believe it’s the best medicine for nearly any situation! I wrote a bunch of songs between the ages of 10-14 but because I didn’t have the skills to accompany myself on piano, I felt defeated and gave up.
I didn’t pick my songwriting practice back up again until I was 26, and it’s really hard not to beat myself up about all that wasted time when I wasn’t giving my soul what it needed because I didn't have the right tools in my toolbox. I would love to share those tools with others and empower them to work through the heavy things they’re carrying and find a release in writing and singing their truths.
PRODUCING/ARRANGING
I think I love this part even more than writing the actual songs! This is where the imagination truly gets to run wild. We have so many incredible tools at our fingertips with technology, your original songs can sound like anything you want them to - all from the comfort of your bedroom!
One of my proudest accomplishments so far in life has been releasing my first album, Jesus Issues. The entire thing was made at home from start to finish - writing, recording, arranging/producing, mixing, and mastering (my wonderful husband did the mixing and mastering but I did all the rest).
Writing the songs is just the first part of a really fun and creative process, and I would love to help your child learn how to use a DAW (digital audio workstation - GarageBand, ableton, etc.) to make their music sound the way it does in their head.
Questions, policies, & More
I would love to teach students who:
-
have a passion for music
-
have an idea of what direction they want to go in musically or what their goals are
-
have not responded well to traditional "by the book" music lessons
-
are neurodivergent - me too! 🙂
-
march to their own beat - I do too! 🙂
-
feel misunderstood, don't fit in, or are struggling in some way and need an outlet for releasing and processing emotions
-
are old enough to want this for themselves
I may not be the best fit for you if:
-
you are looking to play virtuosic classical piano sonatas
-
you want traditional "go through the method book in order" piano lessons
-
you are signing your very young child up for something they have not yet expressed interest in
How young is too young to sign my kid up for lessons?
There is no firm answer for that as all kids develop at different speeds, and it really depends on their goals.
If your child is interested in writing their own songs and learning to accompany themselves on piano or arrange/produce a track using a DAW, I would say middle school, or at least 10+.
But if they just want to work on their piano or vocal skills in general, then all ages are welcome!
Make-Up Lessons:
For planned absences I am more than happy to reschedule for a different day if I have advanced notice and room in my schedule (the earlier I know, the better!).
I understand that life happens so I will do my best to offer a make-up lesson time if an illness or emergency comes up last minute, but for cancellations less than 24 hours in advance I cannot guarantee a makeup lesson will be available.
Payment Policies:
All lessons must be paid in advance.
I will send you an invoice for the upcoming month and payment is due in full by the first lesson of the month unless an alternate payment arrangement has been worked out ahead of time.
I accept cash, Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, or credit cards (credit cards charge me a fee so I highly prefer the other options if you can :) )
Where will lessons take place?
In person lessons will be taught from my home in Wyoming, MI.
Do you offer virtual options?
YES, I am happy to offer Zoom lessons to teens and adults, as well as younger students on a case by case basis. I taught elementary general music and middle school choir virtually during COVID, so while I definitely learned to adapt, I am aware of the limitations, especially with younger students. Let's chat if you have questions about this!
My Story
Hi! My name is Marissa Postler, but you can call me Mar! I am a singer/songwriter based in Grand Rapids, MI.
Music has been my #1 passion since I was a toddler, but it's been a very long journey for me to get to where I am today.
I battled piano teachers who didn't "get" me, immense self doubt, undiagnosed ADHD, performance anxiety, regular anxiety, you name it! I know that becoming a musician is about way more than just learning to play an instrument or read music.
One of my favorite quotes that has stuck with me since my days as a public school music teacher is "Be the person you needed when you were younger." And that's exactly what I am aiming to do here.
What did Little Mar need in order to nurture her inner musician?
She needed to be able to follow the rabbit hole of her own interests, not go by the book.
She needed someone to teach her not just how to read sheet music and play songs from the book. She needed to learn about chord progressions and how to create a piano part for the vocal songs she had already written.
She needed someone to validate the singing and songwriting she was already doing and empower her to keep using songwriting as a tool for healing and self discovery.
She needed someone who saw HER and encouraged/supported her musical interests unconditionally.
She needed someone who would push her out of her comfort zone so she could grow into the musician she so desperately wanted to be, but thought was impossible for her.
There were a lot of things Little Mar didn't know, and the biggest one was a simple concept called "growth mindset."
Crazy as it sounds, Little Mar genuinely didn't know that talent is a myth, and every musician out there who can do incredible things got there by PRACTICING!
Little Mar thought that her voice could only do certain things, and the rest was not in the cards for her.
She thought that some people just "had" the ability to sing and play piano at the same time, and she couldn't do it because she just didn't have it.
Lucky for her, Grownup Mar has come a LONG way and now knows that absolutely ANYONE can improve at absolutely ANYTHING if they really want to!
Giving myself the skills to express myself musically has been the most rewarding journey of my life and I would love to help guide your child (or you!) down that road toward increased confidence and self-discovery.
Some of my top personal values are freedom, authenticity, and self-expression. For me, music is the ultimate form of self-expression, and developing my music skills has been the most fulfilling journey of my life thus far.
It has allowed me to express parts of myself that were hidden from the world for DECADES. Parts that were eating me alive from within. Expressing myself through music has allowed me to finally feel seen and understood by the world around me.
Every child (and adult!) deserves to feel seen and supported as they express themselves. Performing music is one of the most vulnerable experiences there is, and also one of the most rewarding. I believe that giving kids (or adults!) these skills/tools is the most empowering gift one can give.
I don't want to run a cookie cutter music studio. I want to get to know what really lights my students up and be the adult I needed when I was younger. I needed an adult who saw my passion and my potential, and gave me the tools I actually needed in order to use music as a creative outlet.
My website is MusicArtRelease.com for two reasons - one because the acronym spells Mar 😉, and two, because that's kind of my mission statement in life. Music and art are the ultimate release. The simple act of practicing them is a release in and of itself, and they serve as vehicles for us to release whatever is inside of us. Whatever is weighing us down, or spinning around in circles overwhelming us. All of it!
I want to give my students the tools they need to truly express themselves with music. Yes, that may include some boring stuff, but only when it's necessary to reach the student's specific goals. I personally wasted decades of my life not making music of my own because I got so bogged down by the boring parts of piano lessons that I never made it to the fun parts! As a former undiagnosed ADHD child myself, I understand DEEPLY how important it is for kids to be excited about what they're learning.
My Philosophy
Education/EXPERIENCE
I have my Bachelor of Music Education degree from Grand Valley State University, and my Associate of Arts - Music degree from Grand Rapids Community College. My primary instrument was voice and my studies included five years of classical voice training.
I taught elementary music and middle school choir for Grand Rapids Public Schools for 5+ years. In my time there, I taught thousands of kids ages 5-14 at five different schools, all diverse in very different ways. My favorite part was programming the spring concerts and getting to introduce kids to music from all different generations and watch them fall in love with the same timeless songs their parents are excited to hear from the audience!
I write, release, and perform original music as a singer/songwriter under the name Mar in Color, with piano as my main accompanying instrument. My debut album Jesus Issues was made entirely at home and I did all of the arranging/producing myself, as well as singing, playing piano and bass, and of course writing all the songs 🙂
I am currently gearing up to record my second album in a professional studio this year, and I'm so excited to learn more about recording and production from the pros!
I also frequently collaborate with my husband Aaron as a featured vocalist/songwriter on his electronic music project, TechTonic. We released an EP together in December 2023 called Darkness in Me and we've been having a lot of fun performing it all over Michigan!
Other miscellaneous cool musical things I've done:
During my time with GRPS I sang in a staff choir called Staff Notes. We had so much fun caroling through neighborhoods and hospitals around the holidays and performing at various events year-round. My favorite was when we had our own Black History Month concert at The Listening Room (before they started calling it Midtown 😉).
For Aaron's and my wedding last summer, I arranged a symphony out of all the different songs we've written over the years, together and separately. It was a massive undertaking but so so SO special and it's something I'll cherish forever. I absolutely love arranging and rearranging music into different puzzle pieces - the possibilities for creativity are endless!
My husband and I also perform at weddings and events under the name Powered by Flowers. These gigs are so much fun for me because he plays piano so I just get to be a diva and sing my heart out! We do covers from all different eras - lots of motown, jazz, swing, funk, pop, soul, rock, anything that gets a crowd moving and is fun to play! One of our favorite crowd pleasers is Bennie & the Jets. Every time that intro starts playing, someone yells YEEEEAH!!! 😄
Before COVID stopped us in our tracks, I briefly played in an all-girl cover band called Trash Queens! It was one of the most fun and biggest growing experiences of my life. I had so much fun arranging three-part harmonies for songs in all different genres, and learning a brand new instrument - bass guitar!
