I tried to learn how to create electronic music for two years. I watched every video I could, I played around with music software and any classes that taught how to make electronic music were only for adults. So I was extremely excited when my mom told me she heard of someone who taught how to make electronic music at the Hartland Music Center.

I didn’t know what to think when I first met Mr. Ecoff. He told me, “I am not going to teach you how to make music. If I do that, it becomes my music. And I won’t teach you how to make a certain sound. If I do that, it becomes my sound. But I will teach you the way sounds are created--that way, the sounds you create will be your own and the music following that will also be yours.”

Then he showed me his studio--not the one he teaches in, but the one at his house. He had hundreds of boxes with knobs and buttons on them--He would later tell me that these are what you would use to make your sounds and music. At the time these machines he had looked like something out of a sci fi movie. but i still ended up taking lessons with him

My first lesson with Mr. Ecoff was awesome even though he didn't just start teaching. He first asked me what I wanted to learn and what I wanted to accomplish. Then after learning my goals, he created a lesson plan that would help me accomplish them. He said his job isn't just to teach, it's also to keep me interested in what I'm learning. This is one of the main reasons he is my favorite teacher (I’ve found most teachers just run through the motions and they don’t try to make the class interesting). 

After my first lesson with Mr. Ecoff, I realized how smart and knowledgeable he is--he was like an endless music encyclopedia (and not just on electronic music and sound design but on everything related to music). He taught piano, wrote books, and even studied electrical engineering just incase he had to fix a broken keyboard.

Even though he is so smart, he doesn't mind when I ask questions struggle with something or bring in music I tried to make. With all the stuff Mr. Ecoff is busy doing, you would think he would be a hard person to reach, but he still finds time to reply to my emails, or reschedule a lesson.

Anyone can tell you how to do something. Most of the teachers I have had have taught me a lot, but when I  look back on my past teachers I realize the stuff I am best at now is due to the teacher making the class interesting. Mr. Ecoff is one of those teachers.