They say writing about music is like dancing about architecture.

The magic of sound – plinked out on piano keys, coaxed from guitar strings or tumbling forth in open voices – is hard to capture in words.

Which is, of course, the heart of its power.

Casey McCann believes everyone has a song to sing – instrumental, vocal or both – and all they need to find it is the willingness to try.

It's not about being perfect, she says, but about being able to express the joy of being alive with sound. And she’s proven it with Eclectic Music, the community of students and teachers who have turned the curvy stretch of Virginia Avenue –where it rolls toward Rosedale like the back of a G-clef – into one of the coolest spots in town.

As founder and director of Eclectic Music, McCann has been preaching the gospel of “go ahead and try” in the neighborhood since 2002, when the recent music school grad moved here from Maine and started giving lessons in piano and guitar from the tight confines of a Greenwood Avenue apartment.

Glowing reviews brought ever more would-be pupils to her door and over time, she assembled a team of like-minded teachers and expanded into her own storefront space, where for the past three years, students of all ages have shown up every day to practice, learn or just play.

Her school has proven so popular, she’s added two locations – one in Ansley Park and one in Inman Park – to give the community room to sprawl. Now, some nine years later, the music studio’s 20 teachers serve between 250-300 students each week, and class offerings mushroomed.

Families can choose between private or group lessons, learn piano, guitar or violin, or take advantage of instructor Kim Steen’s yoga and tumbling classes in Inman Park. Not in Atlanta? Not a problem – McCann even offers distance lessons, spelled out on her website, along with an engaging blog about all topics musical.

Still, the compact Virginia-Highland location – with its brightly colored practice rooms branching off a central hallway – is Eclectic Music’s main home.

One of the sweetest ways to start any day is with the dozen toddlers and their parents who gather each weekday morning at 10 for singalong. At first, you might think the kids and adults sitting on the floor of the small back room one recent Friday are here for just another play date.

But once Tara Chiusano grabs her guitar for a song about now’s the time to put our toys away, it’s clear that Eclectic’s music appreciation philosophy can reach even the tiniest ears.

She does most of the singing on some of the greatest hits of kid music – “My Bonnie,” “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” as well as a handful of Tara originals – though moms and dads help. And for the better part of an hour, kids who can’t even utter a full sentence are learning about rhythm and timing and making music together.

“Everything is song-based,” McCann said, who says giving students the ability to play a tune from the very  beginning helps the lessons stick.

Concepts about what they’re doing will come over time. Her creative approaches to putting students of all ages at ease has helped her grow a community of musicians who have performed at events ranging from the Dogwood Fest and Virginia-Highland’s annual Summerfest to a series of less formal jam sessions.

In the morning, it might be a busy mom who’s recently reconnected with her piano.

“Your tone has improved so much,” McCann said, watching her student’s fingers fly across the keyboard.

Like many adults who find their way back to an instrument they played seriously when they were younger, the mom is learning how to play for just the pleasure.

“Relax,” she advises. “Make it a little lighter in the right hand – good! – if all you ever do is find that quiet place and stay relaxed, that’s enough.”

Her adult student leaves encouraged, inspired, and eager to practice taking it slower.

By the afternoon, when kids fresh from school are crowding in for their lessons, her approach may be more playful.

Crocodile tears for one boy who keeps forgetting to read the notes, followed by a sticker on his chart for the way he’s mastered the art of counting time out loud as he plays.

They chat about a recent Beatles party, where he hadn’t felt ready to play.

“What’s your favorite Beatles song?” McCann asked.

“Yellow Submarine,” he said.

“Oh you can play that,” she said, plinking out the heart of the tune on the keys. He smiles at the thought of being able to play it all the way through, and she adds a note to his to-do list (charts and folders track everyone’s progress).

By the time next year’s Beatles party rolls around, she told him, he’ll be able to play the whole song.

A natural teacher whether she’s joking with a young piano student or encouraging an older beginner on guitar, McCann exudes the joy of someone who’s found a way to make a living doing what she loves best.

The explosion of her community hasn’t changed her philosophy, that: “Effort is more important than talent, age is just a number, and the highest purpose of music is to uplift the human soul.”