Meet Myles Tate, III

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Myles Tate, III a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Myles with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

My father. He was a musician and a custodian. I am from Chicago, so that mean rain, sleet, snow, sun, heat, fog, or whatever; he would be work by 5am. I remember going with him to his Sunday afternoon independent custodian gig after we played music for the church, He played the piano and the organ as well as sang. I played the drums. We played at my childhood church, as well as churches in the area that had no musician. He would also play weddings, funerals, and special events if he was called upon.
Usually funerals would happen during the day so he would take his lunch break to go down to our church, another church, or any of the funeral homes in the area and play and sing at the funerals. Then he would clock back in and go finish his shift.
My grandfather was a mail carrier, and did the same thing. He would go on lunch, play the funeral and come back to finish his shift. As a result, I am a fulltime music educator at a school in Texas, I lead the music ministry at a church in Texas,
I teach private lessons both in person and via facetime or online, as well as performing live jazz wherever I am contracted. I am also a recording artist as well as a producer. I have written a children’s book and am getting the artwork done so that I can release it.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

The root of what I do is music; multiple iterations of it. I am pianist who plays mostly jazz but can play multiple genres. I am multi-instrumentalist because I am a band director and I teach the instruments. So the way I practice is to play along with my student musicians. One day it may be trumpet, the flute, the next, bass, or drums, or sax…Whatever suits my fancy on that day I will play it. I am a private studio teacher. I am a composer and arranger of music. A skill I acquired in my high school years. I am a producer of music for myself and others. I am author, I am working on my first book now. As soon as I get the illustrations done, I will release it. I am also working on another book concerning music theory. I publicly speak, and I am a music clinician. I have a whole lot of things going on and I love it!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1) People skills/soft skills. You can be mediocre at your craft but have strong soft skills and get a very long way… I have seen it.

2) Self analyzation. If used appropriately once can pivot effortlessly when the situation calls for it.

3) Marketing skills. Doing all that I do is great….But what good is it, if the marketplace isn’t privy to it?

My advice for skill development is that my mother said to me: If you want to do something, go ask someone who is doing it already, or has done it already. In other words, get an education be it formal or informal; just go learn!

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

I can’t just name one. THE most impactful thing they did was to raise me in the church. Because of this, I have faith and when things get tough, I know how to pray and get in front of God so that He can direct me. They also instilled humility in me. Arrogance was NOT tolerated in my parent’s house. ALL of my gifts are provided to me by God Almighty and He can take them back WHENEVER He pleases. So since they don’t belong to me, I have no right to be arrogant towards my fellow humans. I am not better than any, I am out here trying to better at life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mylesaheadmusic.com
• Instagram: theofficialmylestateiii
• Facebook: Myles Ahead Music
• Linkedin: Myles Tate, III
• Youtube: Myles Ahead Music
• Soundcloud: Mylesaheadmusicco
• Other: Spotify-Myles Ahead Music and Myles Tate, III
  Apple-Myles Tate, III