GAYLA M. MILLS
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    • On Music >
      • All Steamed Up
      • Music Under a Tennessee Moon
      • A Future Imagined
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      • Finding the Right Key
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      • 12 Reasons Live Music
    • On Family >
      • Opening a Closed Book
      • Powers of Two
      • A Father's Spring
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      • Brick by Brick
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      • The Bouquet
    • On Mortality >
      • Dead Bodies
      • Being Whole
      • Shaken Ground
    • On Living Fully >
      • Everything's in Color
      • Becoming Human
      • The Immortal Years
      • The Cost of Jury Duty
      • Broken Bones
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photo by Gary Alter
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Available now!

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My Story
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Prior to writing my book about music, I published over sixty essays, features, and reviews. I've taught college students to write, ESL learners to speak English idiomatically, high school dropouts the skills to earn their GEDs, and prison inmates to read. 

Meanwhile, I've entwined music into my lessons. I designed a creative writing class “Making Words from Music,” and I taught grammar to non-native speakers by using song lyrics. Now I teach those over forty how to rediscover playing and bring more music to their communities.


As an amateur roots musician who returned to music fifteen years ago, I’ve come to appreciate the joys that making music can bring. My husband Gene and I have recorded three albums and played hundreds of gigs. I’ve joined music circles, jammed, and made new friends while nurturing old ones.
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In the process, I’ve learned a lot about playing music in the second half of life. Yet there’s been no book to help others go down a similar road more smoothly. So I talked with dozens of musicians, read countless articles, dug down to find rare resources, and pulled it together into Making Music for Life to make it easier for others to pursue their own musical journey.

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Latest Writing

Article: Why Record Your Music? appeared in Making Music Magazine.

Article: Improve Your Hearing--And Your Musicianship appeared in Making Music Magazine.

Article:  12 Reasons Live Music will Make You a Better Musician  appeared in Making Music Magazine.

Essay:  "All Steamed Up," a humor piece I wrote about playing a bass in the bathroom, was posted by Streetlight Magazine.
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Essay: "Music Under a Tennessee Moon" was published in Sasee.  It's a gentle essay about the joys of learning to play and share music.

Latest News
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Interview:  Bass Musician Magazine video interview and music links.
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From the UK blog Country Wives by Annabel and Grace
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"Book Praises Ahwatukee woman, Musc Makers Workshop" by Paul Maryniak

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 "The Perfect Strum" By Harry Kollatz Jr. featured in Richmond Magazine August 2019

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Charlottesville's Daily Progress with Jane Sathe's feature "Author Aims to Help Lapsed Musicians Get Back into the Groove."
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"The Creative Impulse" by Charlotte Morgan weaves together ideas in the book with Charlotte's experiences with creativity.
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  • Home
  • Book
    • Purchase
  • Essays & Features
    • On Music >
      • All Steamed Up
      • Music Under a Tennessee Moon
      • A Future Imagined
      • Nashville Lights
      • Finding the Right Key
      • Practice
      • 12 Reasons Live Music
    • On Family >
      • Opening a Closed Book
      • Powers of Two
      • A Father's Spring
      • The Last Day
    • On Home >
      • Brick by Brick
      • Best not to Know
      • The Bouquet
    • On Mortality >
      • Dead Bodies
      • Being Whole
      • Shaken Ground
    • On Living Fully >
      • Everything's in Color
      • Becoming Human
      • The Immortal Years
      • The Cost of Jury Duty
      • Broken Bones
  • Events
    • Past Events
  • Media
  • Contact