By Nancy Brumback, Contributing Writer
Business name: Keith’s Music House
Address: 750 Main St., Boylston
Owner: Keith Lewis
Contact Information: 508-869-0500
How long have you been teaching music?
“I started teaching about 21 years ago,” said Keith Lewis. “I went to Dean College to study music and started teaching when I was 19 in a place in Milford called, ironically, the Music House. I opened this place in mid-November.”
What do you offer here?
“We offer lessons in guitar, bass, piano, upright bass, voice and drums. Also ukulele, and we have two banjo students right now. We offer week-long summer rock sessions, and have a rock jam session on Thursday nights during the school year.
“I do sell some instruments, plus strings and accessories. I have beginning level guitars, and I’m able to get whatever anyone wants or needs.
“We do primarily private lessons, one on one, a half-hour once a week. We think it’s also beneficial for kids to get together and play, so we do that whenever we can. We get kids together, learn the songs, then I can record them and they can listen back. It’s quite a thrill for them.
“During the summer rock sessions, we have a performance on Friday for family and friends. When kids know they are going to perform, it forces them to practice. They don’t want to let the rest of the group down.”
Are you the only teacher?
“No. There are five other teachers. All of us are professional musicians as well, and we still gig three or four nights a week, travel quite a bit on the weekends and teach during the week. Everybody’s input makes this place successful.” That input includes the chance for each student to add a name or drawing to the studio’s walls.
Do you teach adults as well?
“Definitely. Adults come in and say this is on my bucket list. I’ve always want to play the guitar. Kids tend to come after school to early evening, and adults generally come in later in the evening.
“Right now, we try to keep the lessons on Monday through Thursday since we are performing professionally on the weekends.”
What is your approach to teaching music?
“Over the years I’ve learned that kids learn differently. You have to be patient and you can’t use only one way of teaching for every kid,” Lewis said.
“I studied classical and jazz. So I do include learning to read music. It’s important to be able to pick up that piece of paper and be able to read the chords. Some kids take to it more than others, but I try to incorporate it while making it fun.
“It’s important that there is structure and technique, but it also is important that music is fun. That we play rock tunes. It’s the reason kids want to make music in the first place.
“Some kids have natural ability, some don’t. But I never give up. There was a kid I started teaching when I was 24 and he was 10. He loved music, he loved listening to it, but he wasn’t really getting it. Suddenly, after about three years, it just started to click. In three months, he became an amazing musician. And he ended up with a scholarship to Berklee [College of Music] in Boston. When I heard that, I swore I would never ever give up on a kid as long as he wants to take lessons.”