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Hi! My Name Is Duke Michalak. I Am A Professional Private Music Instructor On Guitar, Bass, Piano And Theory. I Have Been Teaching Lessons Here In St Louis, Missouri For Almost 30 Years. It Seems Appropriate For The Web Site To Include A Short History Regarding
My Skills And How I Got Involved In Teaching Music. I Won’t Keep You Too Long Because You Know You Are Supposed To Be Practicing All Those Scales And Arpeggios!
Just To Get Started, I Thought You Should Know I Have Seen Baby Pictures Of Myself With A Guitar & A Drum, And
My Mom Tells Me When I Was 4 Years Old We Were At A Wedding And I Was Checking Out The Guy Playing Acoustic Bass.
At Church One Sunday Morning, She Claims I Was Banging Around On The Piano And Even Though I Don’t Remember Those Events, Maybe They Were Omens Of What Would Lie Ahead In My Life.
My Musical Memories Begin With My Dad Playing The Accordian And Suggesting That I Do The Same Thing. I Took Lessons For Several Months When I Was Six, Then Realized This Was Not For Me.
One Sunday Night, When I Was In Sixth Grade, I Saw The Beatles On The Ed Sullivan Show And That Was It! I Thought George Harrison Was The Coolest, So I Knew Then What I Had To Do. Dad, Can I Take Guitar Lessons? My Dad Was About As Cool As George, Because The Following Friday I Had My First Guitar Lesson With Joyce At The Crystal Lake School Of Music In Crystal Lake, Illinois. Weeks Later, I Was Crying About Not Being Able To Play An F Chord. I Kept On Trying And By Eighth Grade, I Was Playing In A Band For Graduation Parties. All My Friends Were Dancing And I Was Jamming! Life Was Perfect As Far As I Was Concerned.
The Summer Of Eighth Grade Started Phase Two Of My Musical Interests.The High School I Was Going To Attend In Cary, Illinois Had A Summer Music Program Where I Could Begin Learning Acoustic Bass And By Spring I Was Playing In The Musical. When The Musical Ended, So Did My Life In The Small Town Of Cary, Illinois.
My Dad’s Job Transfered Our Family To St Louis, Missouri
Where I Would Spend The Next Couple Of Years Playing In The Orchestra On Acoustic Bass And The Stage Band On Guitar. During The Same Time A Group Called “Just Us” Formed. My Dad Bought a ‘PA’ System, And Our Band Was Playing Weddings, Parties And Even Some Gigs At Some Military Base In Illinois. We Had Two Girl Vocalists, So All The Guys Liked Our Band.
This Is Really Where This Whole Teaching Thing Got Started.
A Man Named Merrit C. Reed, Who Helped Us Get Band Jobs Asked Me To Teach At His Music Store, Hamilton Music, In Concord Village, Missouri. I Was 17 And Had The Best Part Time Job Ever, ‘Playing And Teaching The Guitar’. This Job Was Unlike Other Jobs Where When You Are Done With Your Day, You Stop What Goes On In The Job. After Or Before Lessons, My Friends And I Would Either Be Listening To Music, Talking About Music Or Jamming. If I Was By Myself, I Was Practicing Or Reading Books About The Theory Of Music, And Listening To Everything From Country To Rock, To Classical And Jazz. The Quote, “The More You Love Music, The More Music You Will Love” Was Really Becoming Meaningful To Me. While I Was Teaching, I Was Also Taking Music Theory Classes, Class Piano And Being Mentored By Jim Goetch, A Saxophone Player Friend Of Mine. So, I Was Always Checking Out As Much About Music As I Could. From A Young Age, I Have Had The Motivation To Explore Music And Have Also Been Blessed With Conscientious And Caring Music Teachers Who Nurtured That Motivation. I Realized, As A Teacher, I Was In A Position To Exhibit Those Qualities I Found Attractive In The Teachers I Had And, Hopefully, Motivate My Students In The Same Fashion.
Over The Years, Some Of The People I Have Had The Opportunity To Teach Are: Peter & Jim Mayer Who Play With Jimmy Buffet; Jerry Jost Who Plays With The Urge; Mike McGlaughlin Who Played Guitar With Peter Chris (Drummer For KISS) When He Had His Solo Project Active; Rich Fortus Who Played With The Psychedelic Furs; and Ron Vince A Local Violin Player Who Has Played With The Saint Louis Symphony & He Was 1st Violin On The Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Show.
It Really Lifts Me UpTo MentionThe Big Success Players, But Success Is Not Just About Large Scale Recognition. If Anyone Who Has Taken Lessons With Me Has Learned Anything About The Great MUSIC Puzzle And Had Even The Smallest Amount Of Fun Learning, Then That Is The Best Success I Can Be A Part Of.
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