Community | 06.21.2023

An Interview with Owner of Mason Music

Musician Will Mason established Mason Music in 2012, with its first location in Cahaba Heights, and has since expanded to five locations across Birmingham. We had the chance to sit down with Will and learn more about his early experiences with music, his touring days, and his transition from musician to instructor.

Will, you started playing the keyboard when you were just six years old. Was your attraction to music immediate? Were you a quick study?

It’s hard to remember being six years old. I definitely was a quick study, though. My family also had high expectations that I’m thankful for because it instilled this internal drive that I still have to this day. My grandmother bought me my first keyboard, and that’s how I got signed up for music lessons.

Honestly, I outgrew my first teacher. I would look at my lesson book in the car and have the week’s material memorized by the time I got home from the lesson. The pace was just too slow. So we found another piano teacher who was more challenging and strict. Mrs. Mann wasn’t mean, but she was definitely firm. Like my family, she had high expectations and required daily practice for an hour that my parents actually had to sign off on.

I liked being good at something. I liked excelling and doing something that was hard. It was also more competitive, which I liked and participated in. Mostly it was just something I felt confident doing, and it built my self-esteem. I moved to Mountain Brook when I was ten. As the new kid in town, I could hang my hat on music and being good at music.

“Music is just innately human. Our heart is literally beating inside of us, rising and falling with our movement, every day. Like our heartbeat, music is just essential to our survival. We should stay more focused on things (like music) that inform our mental health and well-being.”
Will Mason, Mason Music