School of Rock: Ross Howell rocks mid-Michigan
After five years of teaching music, Ross Howell discovered a new way to inspire his students — rock bands.
He started School of Rock in 2006 to give students a tangible reward for their hours of training.
“I know that kids want to jam out with other kids and perform in front of a live audience,” Howell said.
And that is what spurred School of Rock.
Eight- to 18-year-old students work with Howell to put together bands and perform in mid-Michigan tours. He teaches them everything they need to do in a band, from how to play their instruments to how to write music.
Time to rock
Though bands are divided by age and skill level, students like Jack Fleming, an 8th grader West Intermediate, feels like he has equal talent to any of the older students.
“I have been working on the guitar for three years and Ross has taught me so much,” Fleming said. “I didn’t just learn the guitar, but I learned music as a whole.”
Shepard High School sophomore Gabrielle Trice, lead singer of Tachycardia, has been working with Howell for 8 months. Trice has a deep appreciation for Howell, ever since he taught her how to play the guitar.
“I love Ross and he is so nice,” Trice said. “He really took my music to the next level.”
School of Rock is wrapping up The Great Lakes State Tour, which includes performances in Mount Pleasant, St. Louis, Farwell and Alma.
The last performance is tonight at 8 p.m at First United Methodist Church, 400 S. Main St.
He realizes that he has a tremendous impact on his students, but Howell sees himself more than just a typical role model.
“I am more of a big brother to these kids more than anything,” Howell said. “I teach them values while we work on the music, but also I am just a friend and a mentor.”
The start
Howell didn’t always just focus on just music.
After graduating from Hope College with a political science major and music minor, his career counselors began to question his future.
“I didn’t know where I was going,” he said. “I was earning my Master’s degree at CMU and I (knew) that I wanted to teach music in the mean time.”
The 32-year-old’s passion for music began as a young boy. After jamming with his friends growing up, he took the guitar more serious once he reached high school.
“I picked up the passion for it and just ran with it,” Howell said. “I considered playing guitar as one of my hobbies.”
Without any music lovers in his area, Howell and his friends were not able to start their own band.
The few bands that existed during his high school days did not last too long.
“They didn’t last long because they lacked musicians,” Howell said. “Nobody seemed to be interested in music for some reason when I was growing up.”
When he began professionally teaching music in 2001, the Mount Pleasant native saw a noticeable pattern with his students — they fiddled away after months of training.
Howell knew exactly why.
“It’s because they didn’t have anything to show for their hard work,” he said. “There was no method to the madness and once they learned an instrument, things get boring and they would eventually stop playing.”
Unsure about his future in music, Howell took a job at the Guitar Center, now known as the Mount Pleasant Music Studio, in 2006.
That was where he started the School of Rock.
