Workshop Aims to Combat Artists’ Addiction, Isolation and Death

THE WAY TO MAN’S ART IS THROUGH HIS HEART –

Oct. 2021 – During a recent workshop, seven students were in a music class led by Wil Snyder, a pianist who plays 13 other instruments.

“When I teach people music, I’m teaching them music. But when I teach these classes, I’m teaching people to get in touch with themselves, and to push through their fears, and to learn how music and the practice of music can help you heal in different ways,” Snyder said.

“Sobriety sometimes just isn’t enough,” he said. “It wasn’t for me. I needed something else, and having a community of creative people just was the thing I needed.” During a recent workshop, Snyer acknowledged that fear may arise while students are practicing the skills they learn in class, while at home on their own.

People sometimes throw up their own emotional barriers to learning music, he said. “I’m not good enough. I can’t do this. I don’t have talent. What are people thinking about me?’”

The same emotions can pop up for people while they’re in recovery, he added. Learning how to overcome emotional hurdles during a music class can help people manage those same emotions when they arise during sobriety, Snyder said.