I constructed a plan to purchase the guitars and keyboards for my students.
First, I explored what was free. I knew our district had at least a dozen upright pianos in storage that werereferred to as “surplus” so I got the five best of them into our music room. Once word got around town that I was looking for pianos, families were making piano donations to the school. I drove my van to a house in Newport where an old lady with twelve cats wanted to donate here 1950’s Sears Silvertone organ. I sneezed all the way back to school (That organ quickly got “surplused”) Eventually, we hit a total of nine up-right pianos in one music room with additional keyboards I purchased coming in every month.
If the school district wasn't going to buy these instruments, if they were going to rely on charity to provide for them, if what they really wanted was for me to go out and sell more candy bars to provide for them, then I was going to start a financial plan of playing specific gigs to buy pianos and guitars for my students.
Once I played the gig, I made a purchase. When I bought a guitar, I always bought a stand. I didn’t buy keyboard stands until I had purchased all the keyboards. I kept the boxes all the instruments came in for summer storage so I saved by not buying cases.
First, I explored what was free. I knew our district had at least a dozen upright pianos in storage that werereferred to as “surplus” so I got the five best of them into our music room. Once word got around town that I was looking for pianos, families were making piano donations to the school. I drove my van to a house in Newport where an old lady with twelve cats wanted to donate here 1950’s Sears Silvertone organ. I sneezed all the way back to school (That organ quickly got “surplused”) Eventually, we hit a total of nine up-right pianos in one music room with additional keyboards I purchased coming in every month.
If the school district wasn't going to buy these instruments, if they were going to rely on charity to provide for them, if what they really wanted was for me to go out and sell more candy bars to provide for them, then I was going to start a financial plan of playing specific gigs to buy pianos and guitars for my students.
Once I played the gig, I made a purchase. When I bought a guitar, I always bought a stand. I didn’t buy keyboard stands until I had purchased all the keyboards. I kept the boxes all the instruments came in for summer storage so I saved by not buying cases.
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I would provide these instruments and they would be mine to own when I was done purchasing them.
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I could also tell my students that the school didn’t want to buy these instruments for them so I did – these were my instruments and anyone of didn’t treat them properly or respect them was not going to play them.
At the coda of my career, I had 17 guitars in 18 keyboards, all with stands. I literally taught thousands and thousands of children piano and guitar before I left.
At the coda of my career, I had 17 guitars in 18 keyboards, all with stands. I literally taught thousands and thousands of children piano and guitar before I left.
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I definitely knew the value of establishing piano and guitar skills at an early age so they can take off as middle schoolers and high schoolers, and eventually adults. If the school district, principal, and music department head did not see the value or priority of having guitars and pianos in our classroom, then it was impingent upon me to provide those instruments.
Almost every adult that I speak to on a gig will often say to me, “Gee, I wish I learned how to play guitar when I was a kid” or “Man, I would really like to be able to play piano now, I wish they taught that when I was a kid.”
I knew the importance of these instruments and was determined to provide them as I moved through the end of my sonata allegro form. On my last day on the job, my son-in-law, Ryan Connell, showed up with his Toyota pickup truck and along with Ty Tedrick, we loaded all the keyboards and guitars in his vehicle and mine. I took them to a charter school, the Odyssey Charter School of Wilmington. I flat-out gave everything to them, no questions asked.
I've never heard from the music teachers.
I’v never heard from the principals, I've never heard from The school board president or any board members.
I don't know if they like them or hated them.
Or if they're sitting in a closet.
But on the day that I packed them up and donated them, I felt weightless. It was the feeling that we had just finished the coda.
Two years before I retired, after I had already amassed my collection of instruments, I suggested to the music department that since the district invested in science kits that traveled around in plastic boxes from school to school, the least the district could do could be to create a traveling set of keyboards as well as a traveling guitar set that could be shared in a similar way among all the district schools.
Admin followed up on my suggestion. I like to think their decision might have had something to do with my successes over the past fifteen years teaching piano and guitar. But I’d probably be wrong.
What I knew for certain was that I made the right decision, created a solid financial plan, critically timed the purchases, and successfully executed the curriculum I devised linking xylophone, piano and guitar together for optimum impact.
If you’re interested in developing a piano and/or guitar program the way I did, drop me a line. I’ll be more than happy to share what I’ve learned.
Have a plan. You're a musician. Those thirteen and a half hours that you're not in school, maybe teach some music lessons, play a few gigs, work in a music store, put some money aside.
Take it from me, just about any thing's easier than selling those chocolate candy bars.
As for me, I’m the luckiest guy I know.
I’ll leave you with some of my favorite guitarists and pianists. I miss them.
Almost every adult that I speak to on a gig will often say to me, “Gee, I wish I learned how to play guitar when I was a kid” or “Man, I would really like to be able to play piano now, I wish they taught that when I was a kid.”
I knew the importance of these instruments and was determined to provide them as I moved through the end of my sonata allegro form. On my last day on the job, my son-in-law, Ryan Connell, showed up with his Toyota pickup truck and along with Ty Tedrick, we loaded all the keyboards and guitars in his vehicle and mine. I took them to a charter school, the Odyssey Charter School of Wilmington. I flat-out gave everything to them, no questions asked.
I've never heard from the music teachers.
I’v never heard from the principals, I've never heard from The school board president or any board members.
I don't know if they like them or hated them.
Or if they're sitting in a closet.
But on the day that I packed them up and donated them, I felt weightless. It was the feeling that we had just finished the coda.
Two years before I retired, after I had already amassed my collection of instruments, I suggested to the music department that since the district invested in science kits that traveled around in plastic boxes from school to school, the least the district could do could be to create a traveling set of keyboards as well as a traveling guitar set that could be shared in a similar way among all the district schools.
Admin followed up on my suggestion. I like to think their decision might have had something to do with my successes over the past fifteen years teaching piano and guitar. But I’d probably be wrong.
What I knew for certain was that I made the right decision, created a solid financial plan, critically timed the purchases, and successfully executed the curriculum I devised linking xylophone, piano and guitar together for optimum impact.
If you’re interested in developing a piano and/or guitar program the way I did, drop me a line. I’ll be more than happy to share what I’ve learned.
Have a plan. You're a musician. Those thirteen and a half hours that you're not in school, maybe teach some music lessons, play a few gigs, work in a music store, put some money aside.
Take it from me, just about any thing's easier than selling those chocolate candy bars.
As for me, I’m the luckiest guy I know.
I’ll leave you with some of my favorite guitarists and pianists. I miss them.
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