TEACHING methods

music exploration FRAMEWORK + applied skills

We are all innately creative. This belief is at the heart of my music and creative focus programming. My Music Exploration framework encourages creative expression and connection while building - and applying - foundational music skills.

Through song learning and skill building activities, Music & Songwriting students develop their innate creativity and style, strengthen musical confidence, and apply music theory concepts. Community Music Program participants explore music through singing, songwriting, and creative play. Creative Focus students apply the Music Exploration framework to their individual creative projects and practices.

I tailor my music lessons and programs to support each student or participant’s interests and learning styles. We often incorporate singing, percussion, piano, or songwriting as learning tools. We explore a range of musical elements: musicianship and expression, music theory and ear training, songwriting, improvisation, values-based goal setting, performance skills, and creative collaboration.

I draw on experience and training in collaborative songwriting facilitation (Lullaby Project, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY), bereavement peer-group facilitation (Center for Grieving Children, Portland, ME) and community health music (Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA). My Studio offerings are designed to welcome beginners getting started, seasoned musicians + artists, and anyone reconnecting with music and creativity.

teaching artist bio

Sorcha Cribben-Merrill is a Performing Songwriter and Teaching Artist working at the intersection of music, education, and community health.

Sorcha engages people in music making across the lifespan — from lullaby writing with new parents to interactive concerts with Older Adults and Memory Care audiences. She teaches music to all ages through her Portland, Maine Studio and she partners with Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project. Sorcha co-created a music and literacy program for the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine and taught early childhood music classes at Breakwater School (Portland, ME) and 317 Main Community Music Center (Yarmouth, ME), where she also taught Teens and Adults.

Devoted to interdisciplinary work, Sorcha earned her BA from Skidmore College (2003) in Anthropology with a Music Minor, including studies at University College Cork in Ireland. She studied classical guitar, music performance (solo and with vocal & guitar ensembles), and the intersections of music, art, and culture. She is currently completing a Community Health Musician Certificate Program through Berklee’s Institute for Music and Health (Sep 2025).

Sorcha witnesses and celebrates the many benefits of engaging in music — parent-child bonding, improved confidence and resilience, boosted memory and immune system health, stress relief and comfort, and overall wellbeing. These themes show up in teaching settings and are echoed in Sorcha’s original songs, which she shares through album recordings, film soundtracks, and live performances throughout New England.