Rock U School of U Rock and Kids' Jams

Twice a year I host a Kids' Jam for my non-adult students (www.youtube.com/tlschafer). I always get someone who calls it a recital and that really makes my hair stand up, what little is left. When I was a kid, I used to hate recitals; going to them and being in them was always dreaded. They were stuffy, cramped affairs that only the parents and your siblings attended. Never much fun, never did anything to inspire me. Just had to do it.

I started doing Kids' Jams a while ago to have fun helping the kids learn a song they could perform in front of their peers. I also wanted to give them a taste of what performing was like, either alone or with others. I didn't dissapoint myself, I have loads of fun doing it!

So. what is the difference between my Kids' Jams and recitals? Hey, it's obvious. So much so that I won't even discuss it. A better question is how are my Kids' Jams different from what the latest local music store's School U of Rock You etc, does? They have popped up all over the place. They gave me a night's worth of concern for my business. And then I witnessed one for myself.

The idea is the same as my Jams, get kids together, work on songs, then perform. That's what they want to do and it's a lot of fun. They spend 8 to 12 weeks working on a song. The school sets a night, rounds them up and they all go over to a local restaurant or sports bar. The kids get up on stage and start to wail. When they are done sombody applauds. The same thing happens with my Jams, but not at a sports restaurant.

At the school performances I've seen, mostly at restaurants, they usually have a small audience. The performers parents and the other performers. Unless you have a lot of them, the audience is usually small about 20 or 30 people. And you might have the clang of people eating dinner or drinking or just not paying attention.

I hold my Jams at larger venues, usually a local church. There is a full sized theater, a good PA system and plenty of seating. In fact, the last four Jams had a total attendace of over 150 people each! One of the Jams was SRO at around 200 people. While these are mostly students and their families, there are enough of them to give the kids a feel of a real concert; no dodging waiters trying to rush to your parents table for a big tip. And when the audience applauds, it is never just the polite clapping of the other kids' parents!

I try to  make sure everyone gets to perform on stage if they want to do so. I usually put the more advanced kids up first; this gives the younger kids a chance to be inspired and see what can happen with practice and hard work. From the last Jam alone, I've had to teach Blackbird to more than 10 of my students because they saw Kyle play it!

Dude, you can always play for your parents and friends in your garage. But get up and play for every one else at one of my Jams!  Check out Kyle Tiltges playing Blackbird/Day Tripper medley. http://youtu.be/y-o0HBGzrLs

Another High School project!

HI, Terry. 

Thank you so much for answering my questions. They were exactly what I needed to get a better understanding of the guitar and the life of a professional guitarist. You have helped me with my project and inspired me to keep playing , and therefore I thank you. Thank you for your generosity and I will be sure to tell you my grade.

    Thanks, Si M.

HI, Si. Below are my answers to your questions .

 1. What inspired you to play the guitar?

 I just wanted to be part of the music I liked to listen to, like Led Zepplin,  Niel Young, CSN, etc. I had been playing drums since I was 11.  Actually my motivation to start guitar at the age of 19  was to impress a girl. I was going to Purdue and dating a girl at Ball State. She was a music major, played guitar and piano. I would hitchhike to see her on weekends. We would sit around talk and listen to music. She would play her guitar and I really liked it. I'd go back to school , borrow a guitar and start bugging everyone to show me chords. I'd go back to see her, play a song I'd been practicing all week long. She was never impressed. We later broke up but I got more out of the relationship; I learned to play the guitar!

2. Do you think your age, when you started playing the guitar, was prominent in your success?

 Yes, I do believe it was good to start early. I was 19 at the time and now, 40 years later, I'm glad I invested the time to learn to play. I had more time to spend learning , less distractions.  Time to play and practice is very important. But you can start at ANY age ( I have a lot of adult students) as long as you commit to learning.

3. Why did you decide to pursue music into a career? I've always given guitar lessons, most of the time it has been part time. About 2 years after  I started playing/learning , a friend of mine told me if I really wanted to learn guitar, I should teach it. So I did. He was right. About six years ago, I kept telling my wife "I should have given guitar lessons full time 30 years ago". She said that I should go ahead and try it because she didn't want to be hearing that same old thing 30 years from now! It's fun, I get to control my schedule and I love it!

4. What is challenging/difficult about your profession?

Finding new students can be difficult. It takes time and money to find new customers. Once you have them, you must keep them happy. But I would say finding them is the most challenging and most expensive.

5. Did your family/friends support your musical career?

Yes, my wife was my biggest supporter. She encouraged me to do what I loved. She helped me and continues to help me. She took it seriously even when other family members wanted to know if I could even make a living doing it.

6. What type of guitar do you prefer and why?

I love to play acoustic guitar , that's probably my favorite. But I do have a lot of fun playing and teaching electric guitar. 

7. What is you favorite style/genre of music to play and why?

On acoustic ,  I like to play Howie Day, Doc Watson, Neil Young. On electric I like to play Red Hot Chilis , rock, classic and newer stuff.  I play a lot of styles, country, folk , rock , some jazz, some classical. Why, I guess because it makes me feel good.

8. Who are you idols?

My true idols are probably any person that I ever heard play guitar. But I really like Doc Watson on acoustic and Eric Clapton on electric.

9. Do you prefer performing or teaching and why?

I prefer teaching, I guess because I love to help people. But I do like to perform, not as much as I used to when I was younger. I hold Adult Jams almost every month and I perform at those.

10. If you could give advice to starting musicians what would it be? My advice to starting musicians is listen to as much music as you possibly can , practice/play as much as you can and try to learn as many different styles as you possibly can; variety is important.

I hope that helps. I'm a little tired so if there's anything you don't understand please let me know.

Hey, let me know what grade you get! Good luck with the guitar playing.

Thanks,Terry  

Kids' Jam Winter 2011 Success!

Hi. We had a great time at the Jam , Saturday. There were almost 50 students and 100 guests! It was a great place to have it, The Underground , in Naperville. Kids from 5 to 17 played. Everyone did a great job. I had three people making vid's so hopefully I'll have some good shots. As soon as I get something I'll post it.

After another successful Kids' Jam I think some thank you's are in order for all the help I had.

First I want to thank Wendy Daly for suggesting The Underground at Alleluia Lutheran, it was a nice place to play music. She also did a lot to setup/takedown chairs and to get the show started.

I want to thank Craig Johnson, Katie Khoury and Scott Dahl for taking video during the performance. This way I don't have to run around looking for snippets of video and trying to put it all together.

I want to thank Missy Wichhart and her daughter for keeping track of the smoothie coupons. I anticipated 55 students running around and she did a great job getting liquids into their empty stomachs.

I want to thank the parents of the performers that made sure their students were able to practice. And to the students for diligently practicing in-between homework.

I want to thank the parents who brought their kids just to watch and had to stay an hour longer than I said. 

I want to thank Morgan and Hannah for working so hard to sing songs they didn't know. They did that to make some of the bands more complete. Well done, ladies.

I want to thank my student and associate teacher Joe Pillatsch for running around with a tuner so kids didn't sound too avant-guard. 

I want to thank Alissa McCoy for popping popcorn even though we couldn't have it at The Underground (my misunderstanding).

I want to thank my son, Brendon, for helping put amps in place, running extensions, setting up chairs, helping with the organization and getting some of his students to perform.

I want to thank my daughter, Tegan, for putting up with me when I made her practice and learn a very difficult acoustic guitar part.

Most of all, I want to thank my wonderful, beautiful wife of 36 years who has to put up with all this and my general madness in the week leading up to the jam. She did a great job rounding up adrenaline-crazed, smoothie-high musicians for their performances. 

If I forgot someone, I am sorry. Please let me know.

It was really, really fun... and I think the kids had a good time , also! 

Terry

Kids' Jam Winter 2011

Hi there. Saturday , January 29th, we will have our next Kids' Jam at The Underground in Naperville! I'm real excited. There are over 30 performances on the schedule. The kids have been working real hard to get ready for it. I'll post videos and pictures as soon as I have them.

Second Annual (kinda sorta) Kids' Jam

This last Saturday, the 21st, we had an incredible Kids' Jam! I invited all my non-adult students and most of them showed up. My son, Brendon , had two students there and my associate, Kevin Conlin, had four students attend. There were over 40 students and a total attendance of about 120 people! 20 of the kids performed for the audience and we all jammed on some songs. The turnout was very humbling. The kids did a great job and the parents were very supportive. If anyone has pictures and/or videos they would like to share please give me a cd, dvd or send them to tlschafer@gmail.com . We will do this again, I'll let you know when, where and how.

I want to thank all the parents that helped make the Jam possible and Grace United Methodist Church for the space. Vendors that contributed free handouts were Music Solutions in Bolingbrook, Lunaguitars.com, Daisy Rock guitars, Ernie Ball strings, D'Addario strings and Dunlop accessories. ( BTW Fender ignored my requests and Gibson didn't send anything ). 

This September 4th (a Saturday), we will be holding our first Annual John C. North Memorial Outdoor Jam. John was a student, associate teacher, a friend and an all-around good guy. It will start at 6PM and go until we run out of songs. This will be at Nancy Bolliger's house in Cress Creak next to the forrest preserve. Please send me an email so I can tell her how many people will be there and I'll send you her address. Please bring a lawn chair and munchies or food or whatever.  We will only have something to drink. Since John was a family man, families are welcome.

If you send me an email I will send you a list of the songs we'll be playing. I'm still working on the chord sheets. You don't have to play, but you can perform or play along or just listen. We're going to play some songs and have a good time. Be there or be L7 (jk).

Thanks, Terry

Kids' Jam 2010

Hi. This August, the 21st to be exact, I will be holding my 2nd Annual (kinda, sorta) Kids' Jam. I'm inviting all my non-adult students, Brendon's students, Joe Pillatsch's students and Kevin Conlin's students. We are going to get together and play some songs, play some jams, have some contests and listen to some solo performances. The last one I had was a lot of fun, this one should be just as fun, and more.

The kids get to play with other kids, durning the jams they get to play anything they want and they get to play it as loud as they would like. This is about as close to a recital I can come. I used to hate recitals, being in them and listening to them. No fun.

And this isn't about showing off. We're just going to play and share music and try to have some (loud) fun for a while.

Right now I have over 20 students registered and, with parents and friends, it totals almost 100 people. Ernie Ball and D'Addario have sent some goodies for the kids. Luna Guitars said they would send some soon. I haven't heard from Jim Dunlop.

I'll post updates as I have them.
Terry

2nd Annual (kinda sorta) Kids' Jam

NapervilleGuitarLessons.com is proud to present the 2nd Annual Kids' Jam August 21st , 6-8 PM at Grace United Methodist Church in Naperville Il. The Jam is by invitation and registration only. We are going to get a bunch of guitar , drum and bass students together and just play a lot of music. There will be some contests ( some hard some easy) and any kid that wants to perform alone (shiver) for the group will be allowed to.

I have also invited Randy Buescher to speek/demo his voice teaching philosophy . Randy shares the same values I do as a music teacher; we both help the student reach their musical goals. Visit his website a t www.speechlevelvoice.com/

Here's the location for registration

www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/kjam.html

See you there.
Thanks, Terry

Kids' Jam

Hi.
I don't know about you but I always hated recitals. I didn't like playing in them and I didn't like watching them; they were always awkward for everyone except the parents of the kid sweating through Ode to Joy or Moonlight Sonata. Yuk.
Some people like to be out front no matter what they are doing. But I always liked playing with other people. Like in a group or a band. It was fun and you could really expand your music. When everyone is on the same beat and having a good time, there is not much better in life. The guitar is a very social instrument as well as a very personal instrument.
So, I don't force any of my students to perform. That's very personal and I feel it's up to them. I give them the chance to play with other kids. If they would like, they can play solo for everyone. But I don't like show offs. You can go to Guitar Center just about any day of the week and get your fill of guitar hero wannabes. That's not what it's all about.
It's making yourself feel good about the music. If it's alone or with others that's good. If someone listening likes it, great. If not, that's ok also.

I'm starting to work on my August Kids' Jam. I expect to have a lot of fun. It will be loud, but fun.