More About Me

Hi, I'm Terry Strange.  Over the years the question I get asked the most is “How did you get started in a music career?”
 
Well, I started playing when I was five years old.  I had a small electric guitar made by Sears and Roebuck.  Being an only child, I found at a young age that music could and would be my life-long friend and companion.  So, my practice time became play time for me and I practiced a lot of hours on that old guitar.
 
By the time I was 11, my dad brought home an old banjo that belonged to my great uncle George Cartwright).  It was built around 1906 and was in bad need of repair.  But that didn’t stop me so I started to play it the best I could.  Not knowing that a banjo should be played with three picks and instead of one like a guitar, I began picking out melodies with one pick.  After several days playing the banjo I knew I wanted to learn to play it correctly and fell in love with its sound. 
 
I started taking lessons at a small music store in our local city.  I only took lessons about 5 months and my teacher left for another job leaving me still thirsty to learn.  Like most musicians my age, I started wearing out vinyl records of Earl Scruggs, listening to is every note and learning everything I could about the banjo. All my spare time was spent playing and practicing.
 
The next leg of my musical  journey began about this time in my life. I started playing for small local venues, barn dances, church events when I was 13.  It didn’t take long for me to start getting noticed by local performers and by 16 I was playing somewhere every Saturday night with a country house band.  I even had my own band and we were good enough to win talent shows and county fairs and even State Championships.  People began asking me to teach them to play so I began teaching banjo and guitar in my first music store.  Teaching helped my skills as a musician and the following year I got my first job as a studio musician.  I was only 17 years old. 
 
In 1982 I met someone who would change the course of my life, Mr. Wayne Reynolds.  It seemed he had been looking for me for quite some time and wanted me to play banjo for his family bluegrass band.  I had never considered myself a bluegrass musician but felt comfortable enough on the banjo to give it a try.
 
The Reynold's Family Band turned out to be the best decision I would ever make as a banjo player. We played all the major festival events and I had the honor to play the same shows as some of the greatest musicians in bluegrass. Our band was together almost 14 years and they are still very dear to my heart.
 
I continued teaching part time for several years and I enjoyed learning the mandolin, fiddle and bass along the way.  In 1992 I knew I wanted to teach full time and devote my talent to preserving the music I loved so much.  In 1997 I got that chance to teach at a local music shop, Schroder Music, full time and later opened my own full time teaching studio.
 
Over the course of my music career I’ve been blessed to have played alongside many great musicians that I respect very much:   This is something that I know would not have been possible had I not dedicated myself 100% so many years ago to playing well. 
 
Music has been a life-long friend and companion for me.  Over the years my reward is seeing students enjoy and grow as musicians and carry on the styles I have taught them.