“At its core, music is human and simple,” said Mahealani Lee, a Santa Barbaran who now works as a senior producer for online music-teaching website Soundfly. “There are those who claim it will always be a mystery to them. Good. It’s a mystery to all of us — but there’s a melody to your speech and a rhythm to the way you eat a sandwich, so in a sense, we're all musicians,” she asserted. “Since music’s a part of what we are, learning more about it can help us be better versions of ourselves, even if it’s in a very small way.”
Taking steps toward self-betterment through music is just the kind of service Soundfly offers. Through bite-sized, free, prerecorded music lessons — some just 20 minutes, others an hour — the innovative new service breaks down occasionally mystifying music topics into understandable concepts, from blues chords to touring cheaply to synth oscillators to chiptune music — all you need is Wi-Fi and an instrument. Both Lee and Christina Apostolopoulos, a fellow Santa Barbara–raised singer/songwriter, contribute lessons to the site, having joined after they both attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Of learning music while at Santa Barbara High School, Apostolopoulos said, “[It] gave me a great sense of comfort and solace,” not to mention confidence: “Spending those hours learning a fingerpicking pattern or mastering an F chord gives you a kind of ‘If I can do this, I can do anything’ feeling.” She applies that assurance to Soundfly’s Open D Course, the first in a new series of free classes on alternate guitar tunings. The course includes multiple videos, chord guides, backing tracks, and simple activities, and after completing the lessons, students will receive a free set of D'Addario guitar strings. Apostolopoulos said her teaching style is “about the balance between keeping [students] excited and making sure they are challenged.” She feels that the Open D tuning allows for both creativity and the opportunity to go beyond the standard guitar tuning. “It’s a great feeling, especially from a songwriting standpoint, to be able to look at your instrument in a completely new way,” she said.