East Texas senior citizens learn guitar at free community lessons

Published 12:27 pm Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Cynthia, Dutch and Donna Schorr listen during a guitar lesson at Guitar Center in Tyler, Texas, on Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. Guitar Center is hosting free community classes for seniors on the first Friday of each month. (Chelsea Purgahn/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Guitar instructor Steve Graham starts his beginner guitar lesson for seniors by showing them how to hold the guitar with their hands, at the same time resting it on one leg while sitting down.

As the free community guitar class gets underway, Graham points out different parts of the instrument, including strings, the headstock, neck and frets, body and bridge.

He talks about the different guitar chords and illustrates with certain fingers how to play chords, such as D chord, C chord and G chord. As the class progresses, seniors begin strumming the guitar and learn how to play a couple of songs.

Graham, who has played guitar 37 years and plays professionally in bands, said seniors easily pick up the skill of playing the guitar because they have heard music their whole life and already have a feel for it.

He conducts the seniors’ guitar lessons in Cumberland Village Shopping Center at the Guitar Center, a nationwide chain of stores. Hanging from the walls and stretching to the high ceiling are rows and rows of different types of guitars including electric guitars, acoustic guitars and classical guitars.



Seniors coming to class are allowed to use one of the Guitar Center’s guitars during the session or they may bring their own guitar.

“I love to teach beginner guitar to all ages and take them on a musical journey,” Graham said.

Cynthia Schorr, 69, of Tyler, who came to a recent guitar class for seniors, has taken piano lessons many years but never learned how to play the guitar.

“They offered this (beginner guitar class) and I’m curious,” she said. “I want to learn technical ability on the guitar and at least understand where the notes are.” 

Her husband, Dutch Schorr, 69, accompanied her and said, “I’ve always been interested in playing a guitar but I have 10 thumbs.” He added it would be fun (to learn) to hammer out a tune like a dear friend he had in the Navy who used to play guitar when they were not on the ship.

Their daughter, Donna Schorr, lessons studio manager for Guitar Center, explained that Guitar Center used to offer a combined beginner guitar class for all ages. It was divided in January into three specific groups.

The seniors’ class meets at 10:30 a.m. on the first Friday of each month. The children’s class (ages 6 through 15) is at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month and the women’s class meets at 6:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month.

Creating the three classes was done, she said, to provide classes at multiple times because people have different availability and in hopes that people would feel more comfortable with similar classmates, such as children with children, seniors with seniors and women with women.

“The classes are 100 percent free and you don’t have to register or tell me you are coming. Just come to the class and we will teach you,” Donna Schorr said. “You don’t even need to have a guitar. We will provide a guitar for you to use during the class.”

Guitar Center also offers lessons in how to play several other instruments in addition to the guitar, including bass, piano, mandolin, ukulele, trumpet, banjo and harmonica. They also teach home recording.

Sometimes learning to play an instrument can be intimidating, but coming to a class designed for a beginner can be a good introduction to what it is like to play a guitar, Donna Schorr said.

She added that Guitar Center offers the free classes as a community outreach for the sake of music development, creating new musicians and sharing a love of music.

“Another reason is to inspire people to pick up an instrument,” she said. “You can play some great songs at the beginner level.”

Spreading the word that the free beginner classes are available is a challenge. People see the Guitar Center and think it is a place to buy a guitar, but do not necessarily think they can go there to learn how to play an instrument, Donna Schorr said.

“All of our students learn how to read music, music theory and ear training. We teach all of those skills and try to develop well-rounded musicians,” she said. “We teach people of all ages. We have over 200 students ages 6 to 76.” The Guitar Center has nine studios.

The guitar center’s display area features items for musicians from the novice musician to the professional including a huge selection of guitars, bases, drums, DJ equipment, speakers and lighting. It also has a repair shop for guitars, basses, drums, microphones and keyboards.

TWITTER: @Tylerpaper

WHAT: Senior Group Guitar

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. First Friday of the month

WHERE: Guitar Center at The Village at Cumberland, 8966 S Broadway Ave Suite #160

COST: Free