Teacher Hillary Johns of Mukwonago helps her student Gina Roll, 8, of West Bend with the correct notes as she plays the piano during her music lesson at The West Bend Music Academy Inc. in West Bend. Gina is a third-grader at Morning Star Lutheran School in Jackson. She has been playing the piano two years and likes it.

Christmas morning came, and with it the guitar you wanted.

What it didn’t come with, however, was the ability to play. That shouldn’t cause you to give up on your goal of leading the family in carols next year, however, as local music stores and academies offer lessons.

"We get a lot more students coming in, especially after Christmas. The biggest (Christmas present) is the guitar - everybody gets a guitar, especially with the (popularity) of Guitar Hero. They get that and then want to learn the real thing," said Mike Flood, store manager of White House of Music in West Bend.

Guitar is the instrument of choice among kids, said Marc Steinhauer, owner of the Music Academy.

"Guitar is usually the first choice for kids, but parents usually want them to start with the piano," he said.

While the piano does give a student a good foundation for music, the main thing is to get their motor skills going, he said.

"We try to get them playing as quickly as possible. With the guitar, we may skip ahead and show them three chords so they can play a number of different songs - students can get bored with guitar if they aren’t playing right away," Steinhauer said.

To meet the demand, the academy offers rock clinics where guitar students are hooked-up with other students, allowing them to practice together on a stage in the back.

In music, learning isn’t limited to grade-school-aged children, either.

"We have kids that start at 8 and students in their 50s. I’m 53, and I’ve played guitar in a band for 30 years. A lot of guys never got that opportunity and they’re doing it now," Flood said. "It’s kind of like buying a Harley, but a lot less expensive."

In younger students, music has been shown to increase their mathematical abilities and raise test scores. In older students and younger students, alike, it improves dexterity.

As to which age group does better with a new instrument, Flood said it’s a toss-up.

"For the younger kids, it seems easier, but the older students seem to practice more," he said.

The local music stores aren’t limited in their teaching abilities to just the basics, either.

"I’d say the craziest instrument we’ve taught was the didgeridoo (an Australian Aboriginal wind instrument). We had a guy come in who wanted to learn and we happened to have a teacher in the Waukesha store who taught it," Flood said.

Though once thought of as uncool, he said they’ve seen a resurgence in the banjo.

Steinhauer expects that interest to keep increasing.

"With the ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ remake that’s going to be made, I expect a lot more will be taking up the banjo," he said."Any instrument can be played by anyone. That’s the beauty of it," Flood said.

Why go with lessons?

While some can teach themselves how to play, those you teach say it isn’t the best way to go.

"Lessons give you direction and confirmation that what you’re doing is correct. Your teacher is like a coach or a mentor, and that half-hour you work with the person you really come to respect them," Steinhauer said.

After teaching the piano and organ for 37 years, Jan Snowden said lessons are important for more than just learning.

"You really need that one-on-one. You have questions you want to ask, and learning is more fun that way. It’s not only important for kids, it’s important for me - we’ve gotta have fun," she said.

With three kids taking lessons at the Music Academy, Karen Roll of West Bend said she believes in the importance of music.

"I believe music is very important, it’s really a foundation to learning the arts," she said.

"I’ve been taking piano lessons for two years. I like it because it’s fun," said 8-year-old Gina Roll. "The hardest part is that you have to go fast sometimes."

Her brother, Luke, 13, decided on the bass guitar and oldest brother, Austin, 15, plays the electric guitar.

"No one else in my family does it. I like it because it’s kinda different, I guess, and I think I’m getting pretty good at it," Luke said.

Karen Roll wishes she would have learned to play an instrument as a child.