Michael Shorr

I've loved music since I was two. I loved conducting a sing-along as my family sat on the couch. (I especially loved when I stopped waving my arms and they'd stop singing. That cracked me up.)

Since then I've followed a winding road to a career as a music teacher, college songwriting professor and professional songwriter/composer. Among the twists and turns have been working for arms control in Washington, D.C. and pursuing a Masters in History of Science. Then, when I was 38, I enrolled in the Berklee College of Music. In a word: heaven!

I love teaching, too, and have found that teaching music and songwriting is incredibly satisfying. Plus, I think that helping people do what they love is good for all of us. Among the cooler things I've been able to do in music education is to create a podcast about the tools used by the great songwriters. It's called Songwriters Toolbox, and it's free on iTunes. It's my contribution to the national radio show "Art of the Song."