Tish McFadden is a private music teacher in Ashland, Oregon who specializes in bringing the joy of making music to all ages.  She offers lessons to beginners on guitar, ukulele, piano and flute.

Tish founded Rum Tum School of Music in 1988 and finds music a wonderful and rewarding vehicle for developing a person’s self-esteem, creativity, and confidence. Around the year she brings families and friends together through song and rhythm, helping students gain skills and reach new goals.

The pleasure, the growth, the challenge, the commitment and the sharing of music — all bring us deeper into ourselves and fosters a harmony in the world that I believe makes it a better place.

Making music helps children, teens, and adults believe in themselves. In teaching, a huge reward is seeing the unimagined become possible – hearing young voices open up, ears sharpen, and small hands move with intention on piano keys, flute keys, and guitar and ukulele strings.

No other activity is better suited to human beings than the pursuit of music for experiencing our whole selves at work and play. At any age, the direct benefits of music to brain function are vast and well documented. But physiology aside, what matters is the incredible enjoyment and personal growth it brings to player and listener alike!  Music takes us to many new places in very real ways while giving us a voice beyond our own to communicate a variety of feelings.  Daily I witness celebratory moments with my students.

Tish wants to bring music making into your own two hands, following her own “Learn it, Know it, Play it, Show it” approach she’s developed after 25 years of teaching.

Tish has been singing and writing original songs for Ashland’s elementary-age classrooms since 1991. Songs from her recordings have been nationally featured on public radio’s “Musical Enchanter Radio Theater” and included on the CD “Wild Child”, released in 2011 on Big Round Records.

Tish also teaches ukulele classes at Willow Wind Community Learning Center in Ashland. Many of her students perform in downtown Ashland and in Lithia Park for public enjoyment.

In addition to her teaching, Tish performs traditional Celtic music on flute, with her harpist partner Kathleen Page and writes manuscripts for children’s picture books. Upcoming projects include releasing three new CDs of original music, launching her websites, and publishing children’s books based on her song themes.  Musical projects in the works include hosting a monthly ukulele jam session and launching Flute Q, a new flute quartet.