Meet Leah Paul of Sweet Potato Music

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Paul.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I began Sweet Potato Music in November of 2017 when my daughter was nine months old. I’ve been a professional musician (flutist,) composer and educator for almost 20 years, teaching instrumental music to older kids as well as working as a teaching artist in schools.

I saw a lot of gaps in my student’s music education and began brainstorming about what kinds of things I could implement at a very young age with my own daughter. My background as a composer led me to write songs that were fun yet educational at the same time.

I gathered a group of friends with babies and toddlers at a friend’s house to try out material, and everyone had a great time and promised to sign up for class. That’s how Sweet Potato was born, and I’ve been growing the class and adding new material ever since.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been a smooth road in that I’ve been able to grow in a way that feels natural, letting word of mouth do its thing. I get a lot of positive energy and reinforcement from my clients, and that has given me the motivation and confidence to grow my business.

The biggest struggle is that like many artists the business side of things requires me to use a part of my brain I generally like to turn off. There’s a lot of hustling to get the word out and get people signed up (the class functions as a 10-class series) and make sure all of the details are in place.

I’m a quiet person and having to shout about how great my class is from the rooftops is not really in my comfort zone, BUT I do feel that I am offering something really special and I want to make sure as many people as possible know about it. I have discovered that I really like having my own company and being able to run things the way I feel is best in incredibly rewarding even though it’s a lot of work.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Sweet Potato Music – what should we know?
Sweet Potato Music introduces real musical learning in a fun developmentally appropriate environment. The classes consist of all original songs I’ve written, each song has at least one (usually more) educational and developmental objective. I deal with things such as working on hearing pitch centers, intervals, dynamics (loud and soft,) different rhythms and so much more! Every song is modifiable with ways tiny babies or crazy energetic toddlers can get something out of it.

I also fold in a lot of things little ones should be working on generally such as colors, counting, animals, etc. Each song has an instrument, movement or toy that makes the class highly interactive and non-stop – we get silly with animals and bubbles, but learning is happening the entire time. I’m always coming up with new ideas, new songs and new activities that get folded into class.

I’m proud that parents/caregivers are learning alongside their children so that they can reinforce and stimulate musical exploration at home, school and anywhere they’re hearing a song. This can be as simple as clapping a beat together, talking about “major” and “minor,” or observing something is in 3/4 time.

I have so many parents tell me that they sing my songs every day at home and it’s such a great feeling knowing the impact I’m having on such young minds. Watching kids develop musically in front of my eyes is the greatest gift, Sweet Potato Music is really turning into a pedagogical tool for young musical learning, and I can not wait to see where it leads.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a loyal, supportive clientele. Currently, 70% of my enrolled students have taken two or more class series with me, and the creative spirit of the group is inspiring, the fact that they keep coming back means so much.

My clients really are the best, always there to workshop a new song spread the word about class or even shoot a promo video for me (Tyler Anderson!!!) My dear friends Emily and Laurel were the ones who first urged me to start a class and really have had my back when I need advice on all thing big and small.

I’ve been in so many different teaching environments throughout the years, I spent four years at a school for children with developmental disabilities, I’ve taught instrumental and general music in underserved communities and worked at a variety of private schools as well.

All of these different environments and experiences have led me to the place I’m at now where I feel ready to be running my own program with my own values and learning environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sweetpotatomusicla.com
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Tyler Anderson

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.