Local Half Note Music School needs funding

The purpose of this fundraising campaign is to stabilize the financial standing of the Half Note Music School in Bellevue, Washington. When COVID-19 pandemic emerged in earnest back in March 2020, about half of our students quit!  Since then, we’ve had a small handful of new students sign on. Unfortunately, the same number of students left. The money we hope to raise will go towards salaries, bills, debt relief and possibly, marketing costs to increase our enrollment.

HaIf Note History - The Move

In June 1996, I relocated from San Antonio to Bellevue, Washington intent on continuing my public school teaching career. Not knowing the local job market, months before my move, I advertised for guitar students using physical bulletin board ‘tear-off’ sheets my brother Tom had placed in several  Microsoft break rooms. Two days after I arrived in Bellevue, I began teaching the 13 private guitar students who had taken to my ad. Brother Tom came through again, by yielding his master bedroom to me, which I converted into a teaching studio. Within about 10 weeks, my student count had doubled to 26!  It was clear that this side gig, which I had always counted on to supplement my teaching salary, could turn out to be much more.  So, I leased a small single office space in Bellevue. New students continued to trickle in week after week.

First Employee

Then one afternoon, I got a call from someone who wanted to study classical guitar, a genre in which I could not teach at a high-level.  I told this potential student that ‘we’ could begin teaching him in two weeks.  I immediately placed an ad for a part-time classical guitar instructor, and hired the best among the applicants.  I followed this same procedure when one of my students referred a friend who was seeking piano lessons. Again, piano not being my strong suit, I told her she could begin her classes in two weeks. I bought a used piano, hired the best piano instructor I could find, and invited the new piano student to begin classes. And, thus, the HNMS Piano Department was launched. This growth trend continued and before long we were teaching strings, horns, percussion, voice, etc.  Interestingly, at that time, 100% of our students were adults, all Microsoft employees.

Expanding

That single room office space had gotten very ‘tight’ with all those students. In order to meet the growth, I had a dividing wall built, courtesy of my brother Jim, (a master builder and cabinet maker) thus  doubling our capacity. Fast forward… three ‘growth’ moves  later, in 2017, we landed at our current location. I was especially excited about moving into this location because our neighbor (in the same building) was Bellevue American Music. I had begun a wonderful working relationship with BMA way back in 1996 when I leased my first little space. The folks at American Music always treated Half Note students well!  

With a little help from my friend

As much as I desired this location, I didn’t think I could have it because it was nothing but a large empty rectangle and the build-out cost was going to be astronomical.  I was showing the space to my dear friend and band-mate Jeff Gilles, lamenting that it was cost prohibitive.  Jeff concurred citing the high cost of building materials.  And besides that, I replied, the labor cost will be huge and contractors can be quite expensive.  Then Jeff said something I will never forget; 'I'll build it.'  'Wait, what?', I replied quizzically.  A few sentences later, I was to learn that my pal Jeff, whose family I'd known decades, had serious building experience.  I had no idea.

So, supervisor Jeff laid out the rules; 'I don't do 'tape and flow' and no heavy lifting.'  His final rule was the one that sealed the deal.  He would not accept any remuneration.  Out of necessity, (Ok, desperation) I honored his final rule.  Besides, I believe people like Jeff are eventually remunerated largely for their deeds whether they want it or not.

The House that (Jack) Built

So, I signed the lease and bought the materials. Then, we (Jeff, myself, and some outside laborers) got busy. Three weeks later, (Yes, three weeks!) I had a school with 4 private studios, an ensemble room, a teacher’s lounge and a little front office.  Jeff worked me like a rented mule, such that by the end of those three weeks of labor, I went from 194 to 176 pounds!  Some evenings, I was simply too tired to eat!  I gained an instant respect for those among us who do work like this every day. (Sure, we all say we work hard, but really….)

Oops, there goes my friends and new neighbors

Just three months after I signed a long-term lease, Bellevue American Music - adversely affected by the growth of online sales - was out of business and gone!  Poof!  After 34 years!  We still have people wander in here asking where the music store is.  Without BMA as a strong ‘anchor’ business, our growth rate slowed down a bit. But, we kept chugging along.  Then, the pandemic hit.   I am still astonished as to the magnitude of the mass exodus. That brings us to today. 

I probably waited longer than I should have to launch this fundraising campaign. I have always been of the mindset that when things get difficult, the remedy was to work harder and smarter. To pull myself up!  That was the case during the ‘great recession’ of 2008-2009. During that challenge, we were down to myself and only two other instructors.  Obviously, we eventually worked our way out of the recession when the people began returning.  As scary a time that was, at this moment, I am even more concerned. It’s going to take a big push for us to continue staying in business.

Our efforts to date

In our effort to mitigate the lost revenue, we have a applied for all the small business financial aid available to us. What we were able to get, was spent immediately due to our bills and the accumulated debt. We are doing all we can to keep the doors open at Half Note Music School.  I’ve probably provided you with more details than necessary. However, I think it is important for you to know that we’ve exercised every option in front of us. In a nutshell, we’re in trouble!  We clearly need a substantial amount of money to get us on track again, but every and any individual donation will be greatly appreciated.

 If you are not in a position to donate, (or are, but want to enhance the cause) there are other things you might consider doing.

1. Refer a new student.  That represents income, presumably over several months.  AND, since remote classes are an option, we can teach students            from anywhere in the country. (We do not recommend remote learning for very young beginners)

2. If you are familiar with our services, write a review on your favorite review site(s).
 
 3.  Maybe the most effective thing you can do aside from a direct donation, is to forward our GoFundMe link to your social media friends.              


Thank you in advance for whatever you are able to do to keep the music education going!!