Jerrica Alyssa is one of our top teachers here on Lessonface, teaching a variety of subjects like voice, piano, songwriting, artist development, and more. We've known Jerrica for years, but recently, many more people have gotten to know the talented musician through the video-sharing app TikTok. With 300,000 followers and growing, Jerrica has found success on the app, which has opened many doors for her. 

Jerrica Alyssa Talks About Her Musical Influences, TikTok, and Upcoming Classes

We had the opportunity to chat with Jerrica Alyssa and ask her all about her musical influences, advice for aspiring artists, and her explosion on TikTok. We also chatted about her upcoming class, TikTok for Musicians.  Read on to learn all about what makes Jerrica Alyssa Tik! (and Tok, too)

1. What was the first instrument you played? 

When I was 4 years old, my grandmother, an accomplished piano teacher, started to teach me fun songs on the piano.  Lucky for me, we began performing duets together from the start, which I looked forward to every week.  When I turned 5, I began my piano studies with the Royal Conservatory of Music and eventually studied Voice as well.  

2. Who are some of your musical influences?  

Great artists and composers of the past and today. Alicia Keys always tops the list with Diana Ross and Whitney Houston, running a close second.  Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, Bruno Mars, Anderson.Paak and Brian McKnight always inspire me as well.

3. Advice for someone starting their musical journey today? 

It is hard not to sound old school when talking about musical training, but there is no way around becoming proficient on your instrument and basic theory. That means dedicated study with great instruction.  Today YouTube and TikTok can teach you almost anything, but there is no replacement for one on one instrument and voice study.  Then practice and perform with others, as much as possible. 

4. What is your favorite medium? Live, audio or video? Why?

I don’t have a particular favorite, for each of these mediums play a vital, daily role as learning tools and the primary sources of presentation and preservation of our art.  Always record your practice sessions and performances.  Start as soon as possible utilizing technology as your second instrument.

5. Your TikTok account is amazing! What did you find fun about TikTok and has it changed the way you approach music?

Wow! TikTok has come on so fast in our world of performance and communication.  My first few weeks were fun, just getting used to posting and enjoying the community.  Then I started to discover how I could relax and just share musical posts every day.  Sitting down and playing/singing for others is what I love to do, live or on TikTok.  

With social media and TikTok being such a powerful tool to reach so many people around the world that love music,  it has helped me reach a wide audience doing what I love! 

Whether I have the first 15 people liking a post or I wake up in the morning to find a post has a million views, I get a thrill.  Be careful though, everybody I know gets hooked and wonders how in the world they just spent an hour glued to TikTok.

On a daily basis, I have ideas and goals for new presentations on TikTok.  My Instagram and YouTube are also starting to benefit from my work on Tik Tok.

6. What can students expect from your upcoming "TikTok for Musicians" class?

Students will learn valuable tips and tricks of showcasing their musical skills, teaching and providing value and entertainment through short form video on Tik Tok.  

I will cover how you can build an engaged audience over time and how that can translate into building your fans, brand, business or student base in and outside of Tik Tok. 

We will focus on how to create meaningful content by providing value through tutorials, performances and other creative videos.  We discuss quality, duration and ways to build an engaged audience over time.  

I will present what creates a successful video by covering quality video, audio elements and screen composition presentation that works best.  We will explore powerful tools available on Tik Tok and how to best bring them into your creative content.  

Check Out Upcoming Classes Taught by Jerrica Alyssa

Along with 1:1 lessons, Jerrica also teaches some incredible group classes to help you reach your learning goals.

Sign up for group classes with Jerrica Alyssa and other exciting top Lessonface teachers:

Music for Cartoons: Piano Fun for Kids!
TikTok for Musicians

ABOUT JERRICA ALYSSA Along with being the Lessonface Teacher of the Year 2020 for Pop Voice and Pop Piano, Jerrica Alyssa is a professional singer, songwriter, pianist, recording artist and touring dancer. Her recent TikTok music performance videos have reached over 30 million views, 2.4 million likes and 262,000 followers. >> Book a lesson with Jerrica Alyssa