On Main Street in Old Town Tomball, it is hard to miss the bright yellow awning and window decals marking the entrance of Tomball Rocks. The private lesson music service caters to students of all ages and abilities. “Because it’s a private lesson, it’s really catered to the individual,” owner Dave Coronado said. “My philosophy is that you can’t just look at a person and definitively say if they are a beginner, intermediate or advanced.” At Tomball Rocks, Coronado and two to three other rotating instructors teach guitar, piano, drums, voice and bass guitar lessons. Coronado said he began playing piano and percussion instruments in elementary school and ventured into the world of guitar playing in high school. “When I got to high school in freshman year, I discovered the guitar, and it was all over,” Coronado said. “No longer was I going to be an astronaut, I was going to be a rock 'n' roll star.” Before opening Tomball Rocks in 2009, Coronado worked as a sound technician in a number of music venues, including Gary’s Spot, which was formerly located in the Tomball Town Center. After three years of teaching on his own, he was able to expand Tomball Rocks by bringing in other musicians to teach lessons. While many music students tend to be age 16 and younger, Coronado said several of the people who come to Tomball Rocks for lessons are adults looking to learn a new skill or improve their playing techniques. “We have a few people in their 60s and 70s,” he said. “I even had one [student] in his 80s. They’re pretty fun and they usually stick with [coming in for lessons] for a while.” Weekly music lessons cost $25 each and are paid for in one-month blocks at a time with no long-term contracts. The monthly schedule enables students to be able to work with the same teacher individually at the same time for each session, Coronado said. “Curriculum is really good for the classroom, and it works when you have a lot of people to teach,” Coronado said. “[But with one student] you can kind of start with the foundation, and we try to help find what [students are] lacking and fill in some of those cracks.” Since the business is open on weekdays from 3-8 p.m., more people are able to fit music lessons into their schedules, Coronado said. “Our hours are very good for people who have jobs or go to school,” he said. “I think sometimes people think, ‘Oh, I can’t take lessons or I can’t take [my children] to lessons because I don’t get out of work until 6 p.m.,' but that’s our prime time.” After six years at Tomball Rocks, Coronado opened a second business closer to his home in Cypress—Encore Academy of Music—in early 2015. “The reason I [started teaching music] was more out of necessity,” he said. “It wasn’t something I had thought about doing for a long time. It’s funny how things come together.” Tomball Rocks 311 W. Main St., Tomball 281-516-2353 • www.tomballrocks.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 3-8 p.m.