19 Feb 2015 The gift of music

by Donna Lampkin Stephens

Music has taken Jim Skelton of Conway all over the United States, and now he’s passing on that gift to new generations through his Conway Institute of Music, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.

Skelton, 49, has family roots in Conway and Faulkner County that date to 1890. A Conway High School graduate, he studied music at the University of Central Arkansas and the Atlanta Institute of Music, from which he graduated with honors in 1991 with a focus on the guitar.

“My plan back in those days, like every musician then, was to be on MTV,” Skelton said, chuckling. “But I was smart. I knew that I needed to have an education background. As a musician, you have to have several jobs because the pay isn’t good.”

Among those jobs, he worked as a studio musician, toured in bands that opened for such acts as Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh and played with local bands. But he was always drawn to teaching.

“I enjoyed giving the gift of music to people because not everybody is a natural at it,” he said. “I wasn’t, either. I had to work hard and use my talent on the guitar to get to that level.”

His teaching philosophy is a personal one.

“I didn’t want people giving up on me because I wasn’t a natural, so I want to be sure to give the gift of music to people on guitar so they can enjoy it or pursue music as a career,” he said.

He’s been teaching guitar in Conway since 1983, and has taught the instrument to more than 2,000 students. He opened Conway Institute of Music in August 2009. That endeavor followed a couple of years of a “communal style” of teaching.

“The way the music lesson industry was going, everything started accumulating together to offer multiple instruments,” Skelton said. “So from 2007-09, I got with a group of other musicians and we rented a space; everybody paid their own bills.

“Then I decided I was going to do this as a real, legit business, so I took off and hired a few teachers — piano, voice, drums. Through marketing, I got 40 or 50 students that first year.

“Over the years, I’ve found teachers who wanted to teach, and we’ve grown right now to 200-plus students.”

In fact, the schedules for his 14 teachers are sold out, and at press time, he was interviewing for new positions.

“We’ve got a waiting list for those classes,” he said.

Skelton said Conway Institute of Music had been nominated for the last two years as one of the top seven music schools in the United States, according to Music Academy Success.

According to conwayinstituteofmusic.com, CIM is the largest music school in Conway, with students coming from as far away as Little Rock and Russellville. Classes available include guitar, voice, piano, drums, bass, violin, ukulele, viola and rock band. All teachers have either college training or professional performance experience. Lessons, once a week for 30 minutes, are offered from 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The institute runs year-round and features two recitals a year, among other benefits.

Skelton said one of the main differences between his institute and other local music schools is that he concentrates on “the most popular five — guitar, voice, piano, drums and bass guitar,” and it offers year-round rock band classes.

“Little kids form bands, either country or rock, and they play in several shows a year,” he said. “We’ve done three benefit concerts for the Boys and Girls Club of Faulkner County.

“We’re teaching them to be musicians and not just to play one instrument.”

He said his average student retention rate was 16 months.

“Normally they stay until they graduate from high school and Mom and Dad quit paying, or they’re living the college life and don’t have money for lessons, but if they’ve been with me for years, they can continue,” he said. “We’ve got several adult students, but the majority of it is youth.”

He said future plans for the institute include continued growth and interactivity with the community.

“We plan to do fundraisers for organizations, and we will have a continued partnership with Kings Live Music on Front Street in Downtown Conway, where the benefits for the Boys and Girls Club are held several times a year,” he said.

The next one is scheduled for April; details will be on the website.

“We just want to continue to give musicians a place to come work and teach kids and do what they love to do — pass on knowledge of music — and to continue to help Central Arkansas kids learn music,” he said.

Now, instead of working multiple jobs for 70 hours a week, Skelton has one job but still keeps those long hours.

“I’m just a country boy, and I felt like there was something here I needed to do, so I wanted to come back home and do my musical career here,” he said. “At that point, I knew I wasn’t going to LA and becoming a big-time star.

“This is exactly what I was put on earth for — to give the gift of music to people. I love being here. It’s not work; it’s a passion for me. This was my calling. I’ve lived in other big towns, and I’ve always come back home. There’s no place like home.”