Mason Music

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Photo by Intisar Seraaj-Sabree.

Sarah and Will Mason opened a Mountain Brook studio last month. Photo by Intisar Seraaj-Sabree.

“Do not forget where you came from,” the saying goes. And Will Mason, co-owner of Mason Music, did not.

Mason, former guitarist for the band Moses Mayfield, grew up in Mountain Brook where he attended high school with Matthew Mayfield, the lead composer for their band.

Signed with Epic Records, the band toured nationally for about four or five years. But Mason gave up the fame for family in 2007 when he married Sarah Mason, co-owner of Mason Music.

However, Will did not lay down the guitar pic. In 2008, he began teaching music lessons from his home with Sarah. And their clientele has continued growing since then.

In 2010, the couple added a recording studio to their home where they expanded their lessons. And in April 2012, they opened their first commercial location of Mason Music in Cahaba Heights.

With approximately 300 students, a waiting list and those yet to come, the couple is set to open its second location early this month in Mountain Brook Village. Because the majority of their clients live in Mountain Brook, the couple said it was the best place for a second location.

The new location is the same size as the original at 200,000 square-feet, but he said space is more efficiently used. The new location features wood fixtures, exposed beams and eight classrooms.

With about 14 instructors, the company offers lessons in violin, guitar, voice, piano, drums and music theory.

“Private lessons are best for learning the basics, but group lessons put it in practice,” Will said, citing how participants to get to know each other, and the group dynamic makes learning more fun and more practical.

Private and group lessons start with individuals as young as age three. The instrument selection connects to who they are; hence, there are no lessons in flute, Will joked.

Will instructs students in guitar, and Sarah teaches piano and voice.

Some of the featured group lessons include band camp, beginner’s music camp, American Idol (emphasizing auditioning and singing), rock band and Munchkin Music (for preschool-aged participants). The couple plans to incorporate choral and acapella groups in the future.

Families are also welcomed to take group lessons. Some families have told Will that the experience has united their family in unique ways.

“It’s a team activity that teaches [people] how to interact with each other and how to take direction from peers,” Will said. “There are a lot of life skills developed by playing on a team.”

Both Masons attest to music also having the ability to take a person to a completely different place through emotion and memories, and to increase wellness, confidence and self-esteem.

Although both have played piano since the age of 6, they have learned more playing techniques through teaching others.

Mason Music teachers focus on teaching students something that they can take with them as they grow. Sarah believes participants will remember how to play basic chords rather than remembering how to read notes.

“With classical music, it’s just playing what’s on the page,” Sarah said. “You can’t jam to Mozart, but you can get your friends together and play basic chords to any song you hear on the radio.”