Guitar mania strums on young Ahmedabad

The guitar seems to have struck a rocking chord among young Amdavadis this summer, with legions of them signing up for lessons, while other instruments in music schools gently weep for some attention. 

In fact, there seems to be a rush to buy that first real six-string and play it till the
fingers bleed: music stores are reporting a prodigious leap in the demand for guitars.

“There has been a 50% increase in the sale of guitars during the vacations,” said Tej Kumar Sharma of the Sharma Music Store, Mansi Circle.

“After exams are over, parents want to encourage their kids to engage in some meaningful activity, and learning to play the guitar is one of the best options.”
One of the youngsters who will happily strum along with Sharma’s sentiments is Ishita Ghosh, a student residing in Vejalpur. “I have been fascinated by the guitar since the time I became mature enough to understand things,” Ishita said. “My standard X exams are over, and this is the best time to begin guitar classes.” 

Ishita, it seems, is perfectly tuned to the zeitgeist.  “We teach keyboard, drums and guitar. But enrollments for guitar classes are the highest,” said Nirav Mehta of Harmony Music Classes. “This summer, we have around 70 students learning to play the guitar. Most have taken their standard X or XII or exams.”

The learners are picking up their cues from TV, which is teeming with guitar-swinging  nascent bands. Shagun Chauhan, a standard X student said, “A band called ‘Sweet Blame’, comprising students from standards XI and XII, has been playing on our campus for the past year. And it inspired me immensely.”

For aspiring musicians like Shagun, guitar appears to offer more star value than, say, drums. Vasav Bhatt of Muzika Academy of Music teaches guitar, piano and keyboard. “We teach three instruments, but we get 50-70% of enrollments for the guitar classes alone,” said Bhatt. Bhairavi Yogesh Lakhani of Shashi Kunj Academy of Art, Music & Cultural Activities said that the institute, affiliated to the Trinity Music School of London, teaches all courses according to the university syllabus.

“We initially offered classes for only harmonium,” Lakhani said. “But the increasing number of queries for guitar classes persuaded us to start them. Now almost 50% of our students learn to play the guitar.”

Anupreet Khandekar of the Khandekar Sangeetam Symphony has totted up similar figures. “We teach guitar, harmonium and violin, among many other music instruments, at our academy,” Khandekar said. “And it is unbelievable that 50% of students opt to learn the guitar.”