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Photos by Sarah Finnegan.
Instructor Joseph Settine, center, coaches Max Ross, Gabrielle Metz and Faith Hagood during a Sept. 25 rehearsal of “Bennie and the Jets” at Mason Music in Cahaba Heights. Rock League Band is a 12-week program that puts kids into bands with six members and a professional coach, and over the semester, the students perfect their music skills while learning how to function as a band.
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Austin Evans, front, and Reid Ramsbacher play guitar and drums during band practice.
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Instructor Ryon Barnes explains a vocal technique to Madeline Stephens.
Reid Ramsbacher has taken drum lessons for two years, and at only 11 years old, he has performed multiple times in front of hundreds of people.
That is thanks to Rock Band League, a program at Mason Music that gives kids the chance to not only dream about being a rock star, but actually get a taste of what it’s like.
The 12-week program puts kids into bands with six members and a professional coach, and over the semester, the students perfect their music skills while learning how to function as a band.
CEO and co-owner Will Mason said starting RBL three years ago was a natural progression for Mason Music.
“One of our biggest aims as a company is to create community within our student body,” Mason said. “And we’ve always looked for ways to put students together in group-learning environments.”
Mason said many of the teamwork skills kids learn playing group sports can be lost on those who only take solo music lessons.
“This is kind of the perfect marriage of those two models,” he said. “We kind of take the youth sports league model and apply it to music.”
Reid’s mother, Valerie, said the life skill of collaboration is something she has seen her son gain through the program, and it’s probably the most important thing he has learned.
“It’s a lot of teamwork, and it’s a lot of supporting each other and getting to know each other,” she said.
She said Reid has learned to agree and work with other kids from other schools who may not have the same musical taste or skill set.
“Each year, one of the good things Mason does, is they kind of mix the bands up a little bit,” she said, adding that this year, her son’s team has a girl member for the first time in two years.
Matt Smith, a Cahaba Heights resident who has been a coach for the last year, said he also looks forward to the personal growth the kids go through, as well as their musical growth.
“It’s just really a cool thing to see the kids get involved,” he said. “I’m really, this semester, looking forward to seeing the kids personally grow as musicians and as friends.”
Smith plays music professionally, and he said working as a coach has reminded him about his love for music when he was 11 or 12 years old.
“It’s refreshing, and it’s made me also fall in love with music again,” he said.
Smith said in addition to personal development and growth, the experience of playing in actual music venues sets the program apart in his mind.
“It’s a unique experience,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Mason said the motivation of playing on a real stage in front of a real audience is one of the key components of the program.
“It really builds their confidence being able to go onstage in a group setting,” Mason said.
He said some of the kids in RBL may be hesitant to play alone at a recital or at their church, but the group performances allow them to work through their nerves, and that confidence is something Mason thinks will translate into other life skills such as public speaking.
Mason said he also hopes that the program will inspire kids to get more involved with music as a whole.
“It’s such a great model for getting kids really excited for music lessons,” he said.
In order to participate in RBL, students need to have relative proficiency in their instrument, and Mason recommends to parents that students take individual lessons for at least a year before joining the program.
Valerie Ramsbacher said she looks forward to watching the season progress, since the first week experience is a lot different than the last week.
“Just seeing the kids continue to grow,” she said, “that’s what’s exciting.”
The student bands had their first performance in October, and will perform Nov. 20 at Saturn at 3 p.m. and in a finale performance and “battle of the bands” on Dec. 18 at WorkPlay at 3 p.m.
For more information, go to masonmusicstudios.com.
