Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Richardson.

Hi Tracy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

First, thanks for this opportunity! I’ve been playing piano and singing pretty much my whole life. My grandpa got me interested in playing piano; he played by ear which is a strong point for me too. I started taking piano lessons when I was 9 and writing when I was about 10 years old. At 15 I started playing keyboards and singing in bar bands. Throughout college, I was in bands that toured regionally through the Midwest and we were the local opener for acts like George Strait, Randy Travis, and Keith Whitley.

In college, I studied music therapy and became a board-certified music therapist. After college, I got married to a great guy (and drummer) who happened to have MS. I ended up having to work full-time because of the progression of his disease. I was fortunate to get a job teaching music therapy at a college. My husband always encouraged me to keep writing and singing. We made an album together in the 90s and since then I’ve recorded 3 more. We have 3 amazing kids who are now adults.

I joined NSAI in 2012 and started getting serious about improving the craft of songwriting. For the past 10 years, I’ve been writing /co-writing on a daily basis. I’m in Nashville regularly playing rounds, meeting with publishers, and writing. It is my happy place!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I’m not sure I know anyone who has had a “smooth road” for most of their life. Having said that, I feel very fortunate to have had a wonderful husband for 33 years, to have a great family and lots of wonderful friends, to have good health and a good job, and to still have my mom in my life (she just turned 90!), to have great co-writers, to have a college education and to have been able to support my family.

One huge obstacle was losing my husband last year. He passed after a short time in the hospital with heart problems.

It’s been devastating. Family, friends, and music have, thankfully, kept me moving forward. Another “obstacle” was wanting to do more with music when that was not possible. But I’m grateful for every second of my journey and how it unfolded; those years molded me into who I am now and I think I’m a better songwriter in this season of my life because of all the living I’ve done.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I went to college, I really just wanted to study music and then move to Nashville. But I discovered a profession called “Music Therapy” and I majored in that. I’ve now been a board-certified music therapist for over 30 years and it is an amazing profession.

I have worked with teens with drug problems, kids with developmental disabilities, people in hospice care, adults with cancer, persons who have had strokes, etc. Music is a powerful way to reach people and address problems in mental health, physical well-being, communication, social skills, and more.

I’ve been teaching music therapy at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College since 1995 and in 2020 I became a Dean. But I’ve never stopped songwriting; I’ve continued to write for myself and to help music therapy clients by using songwriting as therapy for them. I think writing songs with clients has made me a better writer and collaborator.

What I’m most proud of (outside of my kids) is that I am a creative problem solver, a hard worker, and am eager to keep learning. I’m really proud that I created a college program where people with music degrees can take music therapy classes in a distance format and become music therapists without having to relocate. I’m also proud that I have been able to dive into songwriting heavily over the past few years. In January 2023 I won the American Songwriter lyric contest for my song “The Woman in Black.” I’m very proud of that.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I think I’m pretty easy to get along with. When you start digging into being a songwriter, people will tell you how important it is to be a “good hang.” You want to be someone who is easy to get along with, on time, pleasant, empathic, hard-working, understanding, etc.