In Focus: Students Learn Rock and Roll at Bemidji’s Headwaters Music & Arts

Bring together some guitar, some drums, and some vocals, and you’ve got a rock band. The annual winter Rock Band session at Headwaters Music & Arts in Bemidji is going on now, where the school brings students together once a week to play some rockin’ music.

“The Rock Band is a place where we all get together and make a little bit more noise than people is used to here in town,” said Rock Band Assistant Instructor Mauro Guttierez. “Just trying to teach the children how to play rock and roll.”

“A lot of music lessons focus on classical music literature, so we incorporate rock music both from our suggestions and from the input of the kids: what they like listening to, what they want to learn how to play.” explained Rock Band Instructor Vincent Noble.

The winter sessions lasts for eight weeks, and students will learn how to play covers, use chord progressions, write songs, and work together in a group environment. One of the most important aspects of Rock Band is that the students have the chance to play each of the instruments, the heavy favorite of which is the drums.

“Most of our students come in with a primary instrument that they’re used to playing,” said Noble. “A lot of our students take lessons here at Headwaters, but we encourage them to learn new instruments. A lot of them don’t have any experience coming in playing drums, so we try and get them on the drums, try and get them singing a song so that they can make their own bands and learn how to play with others.”

Rock Band ends every session with a final performance so the kids can show off all of the songs that they have learned. The students work with instructors to put together the set list.

“We have a big show at the end of it. All the parents come and some other people, and it’s always really fun,” added Guttierez. “We have four kids now in this session, so we probably do about four, eight songs for the last concert. So yeah, just excited to see what happens and what songs they choose. It’s always nice to learn the music that they like, too.”

Several sessions are held each year for Headwaters’ Rock Band program. The winter one lasts until February 27th, and the sign-ups for the next 2025 session will start soon after.