A great music teacher is hard to come by. Balancing technique, application, and fun is paramount to keeping a student interested, and the number of skilled musicians a teacher sends out into the world is the legacy of his or her ability. Jerry Coelho has been teaching and performing guitar on the Central Coast under the Coelho Academy of Music moniker for 40 years now, and has provided the area with constant musical insight, instruments, and a strong stock of local players.
His story begins on the family farm east of Arroyo Grande. After he thinned a 40-acre field of corn, Coelho’s father told him he’d earned guitar lessons. The young Coelho started lessons with Rex Gallion, the son of the man who helped develop the first Fender Stratocaster.
“He taught me how to read music. I had no choice but to read, and before you know it, I was off and running,” Coelho remembered. “Rex said, ‘I’m going to make a pro out of you one day,’ and I believed him.”
In his early 20s, Coelho saw a magazine article about Howard Roberts that mentioned a seminar with the guitarist in Los Angeles. Coelho made sure he was the first person there. Of the 20 guitarists at the seminar, 10—including Coelho—continued on with Roberts in an extension course that was the genesis of GIT, the Guitar Institute of Technology, which became MIT, the Musicians Institute of Technology.
“I was there for their first year’s tuition,” he said. “I don’t know what it is now, but I was happy to pay it then.”
By this time, around 1971, Coelho had already founded his academy, and was traveling down to L.A. on the weekends to learn from the legendary guitarists at the school.
“It was very much jazz oriented,” he said. “It is more of a rock school now, but I did a lot of jazz there.”
Coelho is well known on the Central Coast as a top-notch jazz guitarist who can tackle any genre that takes his fancy. He currently performs regularly with the Frank Gary Band at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. But during the day, he can be found behind the counter of his business where the walls are covered with guitars, bass guitars, mandolins, ukulele, and banjos. Pianos stand in a couple of corners.
The shop offers lessons for guitar, bass, piano, voice, drums, and flute. Any accessory necessary for music making, from guitar strings to effects pedals and amplifiers, is available at the shop. A diverse library of music books is also available.
“I’m a big study-holic. I swear by books. And I don’t know anyone who has ‘Beatles Banjo,’” Coelho said. “Because we have it!”
Coelho also teaches intermediate and beginner guitar at Allan Hancock College. He’s been teaching at Hancock for 12 years, and even though it’s a much larger group setting, the students reap huge benefits from his knowledge and skill.
A few notable local guitarists had their start at Coelho’s academy, including Pryor Baird, Dominic Castillo, and Damon Castillo.
Coelho swears by application. It’s one thing to learn technique, but to be able to apply it to a group or performance setting is important. The Coelho Academy of Music mission statement reads, “To Inspire Musical Excellence, To Apply Musical Knowledge, To Impart Musical Destiny.”
“It may sound trivial, but after 40 years, it is what I have deducted,” Coelho said. “A lot of people get into music teaching without understanding the higher calling of it.
“I had a saying printed over my desk for years,” he added. “It said, ‘This is not a job, it is a calling.’ And if I were to have anything on my tombstone, it would be that.”
Music at the Maverick
The Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez presents DJ Totem on Oct. 27 at 9 p.m. The country music of The J.D. Bernal Band is Oct. 28 at 8:30 p.m., followed by DJPJ at 11:30 p.m. Concert on the Deck is with Just Dave on Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. The J.D. Bernal Band performs Oct. 29 at 8:30 p.m., followed by DJPJ at 11:30 p.m. Tickets are available at 688-0383 or talesfromthetavern.com.
Country lives
The Chumash Casino Resort presents the contemporary country music of Martina McBride in concert on Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. at the Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 East Highway 246, Santa Ynez. Cost is $75 to $135. More info: 1-800-CHUMASH.
Mall music
The Santa Maria Town Center presents a “Salute to the Arts: Music in the Mall” event featuring a performance by 3 Martini Lunch on Oct. 29 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the mall on Main Street and Broadway. More info: 925-0951, Ext. 414; rnarez@ci.santa-maria.ca.us; or ci.santa-maria.ca.us. m
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 3, 2011.