M&A Spotlight: Alan Day B Y A L A N D AY, M & A S R C AT E G O R Y M A N A G E R - G U I TA R S , A M P S & K E Y B O A R D S
it, and then I got my own for Christmas
serious military-minded musician
that year. There is a picture somewhere
with a real resume and an actual adult
of me sitting in front of the Christmas
audience. Fred showed me through his
tree with a brand new electric guitar in
teaching style that my ego was clouding
my arms and a big grin on my face. I still
my ability to cross over from being a
have that guitar!
mediocre player to a really outstanding player. I realized I needed to make
At twelve, I, of course, had no idea how
a decision to challenge myself to be
to play a guitar, so I was signed up for
humble about what I didn’t know. It was
lessons in a music store somewhere in
a pivotal, make or break decision for
Alexandria. That’s when I realized how
me. I could choose to continue on the
utterly boring music lessons can be. The
path of being “halfway there” or I could
We reached out to Alan Day, a former
teacher was really uninspiring and didn’t
be honest with myself about not really
Music & Arts teacher to speak about his
really do much to show me, the student,
knowing everything, and actually pursue
journey from teaching to becoming a
much more than how he did riffs, and
learning to be a stronger musician.
Sr. Category Manager at Music & Arts,
then would periodically help me out
selecting combo equipment for stores
when he remembered I was sitting there.
To mark the change in paradigm, I
to sell and models that will encourage
It was a big block for me and I was
cut my hair and focused on learning
students to stick with their lessons.
pretty frustrated. So, I quit the lessons. I
whatever I could from Fred. The
It’s his expertise from teaching that he
didn’t however, quit playing guitar.
knowledge transfer taught me that
brings to his current position that makes
“discipline” was key in attaining success.
products in the store, really stand out to
I enrolled in the area community college
Learning to master the physical
students.
and started a major in music, studying
constraints of the instrument was as
music theory. I found myself in a guitar
important as understanding chordal
“I guess it must be the white hair, but
class studying under a high-profile jazz
scale relationships that relate to applied
people have been asking me lately about
player in the area. Fred Chapin was very
theory. The culmination of this was an
when I started playing music. For me,
strict and formal in his teaching style,
acquired perception of understanding
everything started in around 1967, in the
having been a military man, and a very
how to play real music and not just
Washington DC suburbs, which was a
well-known musician. It was studying
“songs”.
much simpler time and place, for a lot of
under him that I came to the blunt
reasons, than it is now.
realization that I really knew very little
Some years later, after playing
about music.
professionally for a while and having
I was twelve years old the year my older
some life experience behind me,
sister got a guitar for her birthday. I
I knew that Fredrick “Fritz” Chapin was
including traveling across the country
had a passing interest in music but she
a big name in the music business in
to play on the west coast, I became a
was the one that got the guitar, which
those days, but what I didn’t know until
music teacher myself. My own approach
I suppose my parents thought was a
I studied under him was how disciplined
was a little different from Fred Chapin’s,
good thing to give a teenager. Well, I
he was. I guess the contrast was pretty
in that I was considerably less tough on
was pretty jealous. I kept trying to play it
obvious, because here I was, this cocky,
my students. I realized that a balance
since she really didn’t do too much with
arrogant kid, and there was Fred, a
needed to exist between Fred’s very
4 | S O U N D T E A C H I N G | May 2018