During the “doom and gloom” of Covid, Fraser Rise resident Alan Brown looked around and saw people losing jobs, and his community feeling disconnected and alone.
He asked himself “what can I do to bring some sunshine and light into an otherwise gloomy situation?”
For Mr Brown, the answer was music.
Mr Brown had been playing guitar since he was eight years old, has played in bands and has studies and taught music.
In the aftermath of Covid he used these talents to bring the community together for free guitar lessons, which he has been teaching at the Fraser Rise Community Centre since 2021.
Mr Brown’s classes invite people to learn through his self-designed method, 5 Minutes to Music.
“People think when they go along to guitar lessons that they’re going to learn a lot of theory and terms and wonder when they’ll play music. I reverse that,” he said.
“I’m going to have you playing a song within five minutes… minutes, then I want [the students] to spend five minutes each day practicing what I teach each week.
“If you can do that… then after the term you will be able to play at least 20,000 simple songs.”
Mr Brown said offering free lessons gives him satisfaction and fulfillment.
“In my mind, when people contribute to their local community then that local community grows richer and benefits from the volunteer’s contributions,” he said.
Term three students have until Tuesday, July 18 to sign up, but if you miss out, Mr Brown said there’s always term four.
“The agreement with council is that I will continue to do these until the building burns down or I cease to exist,” he said.
By Liam McNally
