[Nashville Voyager] Conversations with Ariel Bui

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Bui

Hi Ariel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Ariel Bui, and I am a musical artist, activist, and educator.

In addition to being a singer-songwriter, I am the founder of Melodia Studio, offering music lessons for all.

My musical journey began in my youth, singing in choirs, playing percussion in band, teaching myself piano, and writing songs on guitar. I was eventually recruited as a piano major at Rollins College, where I received a formal education in piano and voice. Meanwhile, my passion for activism developed – for community radio, grassroots organizing, social justice, sustainability, and being a part of a DIY (do-it-yourself) music scene. After graduation, I followed my passion for sustainability to Taos, New Mexico, where I worked and lived off-the-grid with Earthship Biotecture.

Yet, my calling for music persisted and landed me in Music City, U.S.A. in 2011. Here, I developed a dual career as a musician and music educator. As an artist, I’ve recorded two full-length albums with Grammy-nominated producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes) at The Bomb Shelter in East Nashville. Both albums garnered international praise, airplay, and placements in TV & Film, from the likes of MTV, NPR Music, American Songwriter Magazine & more.

Meanwhile, I’ve taught piano to hundreds of students through my small business, Melodia Studio, and grown a network of teaching artists offering music lessons in other instruments as well. As an activist, I have organized arts & education programming for nonprofits like Oz Arts Nashville, WXNA 101.5 LP-FM, Youth Empowerment Through the Arts & Humanities, and more. And now, I am building my own off-grid, Earthship-inspired artist retreat in Taos, where I can hopefully inspire others to live a more sustainable life, while finding a space where I can feel inspired to create.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has certainly not been a smooth road.

Music has helped me cope with a difficult and traumatic life. My family escaped the Vietnam War before I was born in the U.S. My mother suffers from schizoaffective disorder, my father was absent for a lot of my life, and I lived with various extended family members. I experienced a great deal of trauma and abuse. So, I found solace in music. It has always been a space of mindfulness, expression, and healing for me.

I sincerely believe that music saved my life. This is why I not only pursue music as an artist but as an educator. I strongly believe in the immense benefits of music and am passionate about sharing those benefits with others.

The road to my dual career as a teaching artist has not always been easy. For many years, I pieced together multiple jobs as I grew my small business Melodia Studio and my music career. I babysat and nannied, substitute taught, waitressed, worked with multiple nonprofits, all while teaching piano and writing music, performing and putting out records. Now that my career consists of Melodia Studio and my music, the challenges are of running two small businesses, wearing all the many hats required, while being a long-distance caregiver for my severely mentally ill mother and pursuing my other passions.

My biggest challenge has always been being on or over the edge of burn out, and carving out time for breaks and self-care.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As an artist and singer-songwriter, my music is genre-fluid, subtly combining elements from many musical genres and not always easily defined. I’ve long occupied a space somewhere between folk, rock’n’roll, classical, and more. One of my favorite descriptions was by Ann Powers of NPR Music, describing me as a “psychedelic cowgirl cool rockabilly queen”. American Songwriter Magazine says that my “unusual approach to countrypolitan…pushes all sorts of boundaries”. For my most recent project, “Real & Fantasy”, I was commissioned to write a female alt indie rock record for sync licensing in TV & film after the label Audio Network had determined I was not a country & western writer but a “concept artist”.

I am also proud to be more than ‘just’ a musician. The Nashville Scene once described me as “musician and arts advocacy polymath Ariel Bui” as they described how I pivoted my music school Melodia Studio to online lessons during the pandemic. I am proud to be able to support myself and others through music education and providing a network of teaching artists a platform to do so as well. Melodia Studio now offers sliding scale tuition to allow teachers to earn a fair wage while providing access to folks of different socioeconomic backgrounds. We hope to one day be able to launch a scholarship program as well, with the help of our fiscal sponsor the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. I am proud of the work I have done in my community, and I hope to be able to continue to contribute in a multitude of ways, through my music, teaching, and activism.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I just started using the Finch app, and so far I am loving it. It’s a really cute self-care app that is like a mixture of the Tamagachis from the 90s, where you take care of a little digital pet, and the language-learning app Duolingo. Each day, you get encouragement to achieve self-care goals like drink water, stretch, take deep breaths, and express gratitude, which in turn takes care of your little digital pet. You can interact with friends and keep track of how many days in a row you took care of yourself (and your pet). It’s been a new and rewarding way to approach self-care, rather than feeling this constant dread of, “Did I do my yoga practice today or not?” and feeling guilty if I didn’t. It’s just cute and fun.

Pricing:

  • Sliding scale music lessons: $140-200 per month for weekly 30-min lesson

  • Sliding scale music lessons: $190-275 per month for 45-min weekly lessons

  • Sliding scale music lessons: $245-350 per month for 60-min weekly lessons

  • Live musical performances: Contact for details

  • For more, visit melodiastudio.com or arielbui.com

Contact Info:

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