Music Authority Family Newsletter - March 25, 2025

If you were at our Spring Show, you heard a story about a gentleman and his ukulele.  He had purchased a ukulele and tuner online and couldn't figure out how to tune the instrument. He brought it in and Andrew tuned it, determined the turner he'd purchased was broken, and talked the gentleman through how to play and showed him how to tune his instrument using a tuner we had in stock.

At the end of the interaction, then gentleman asked Andrew how much he owed him for tuning his uke. Andrew told him nothing, but asked if he would like to purchase the tuner.  The man replied, "Oh, no. I'll buy one online."

So let's recap. The gentleman used Andrew's knowledge. He learned from him, something that he couldn't do online. He benefited from Andrew's repair experience. And he used our tuner to get his instrument in tune. All for free.

In turn, he refused to purchase a $20 tuner.

Music Authority cannot survive on lessons alone.  Your lessons payment pays for your teacher and some of that money goes toward the administration (Natalie, Lynne, and Raima). The business has been built for retail to help support water bills, rent, insurance, electric bills, and the salaries of the sales staff.  

Take a light, for example.  Have you ever noticed a ceiling light not working at Music Authority?  It takes the sale of 14 tuners to replace that light.

We work our hardest to match prices online. Most of what we sell has pricing set by the manufacturer.  We can't control what a book costs, for example, the publisher sets the price. 

If you purchase all your strings, tuners, cables, and everything else online, Music Authority cannot survive. Or, at least, not as we are right now. We would be forced to scale down.  That means no Backroom. That means no sales staff to help you out when you can't figure out your amplifier or need someone to tune your guitar. That also means lessons prices would be forced to go up to cover the overhead our sales floor currently covers.

Amazon isn't providing you with a restroom to use when you're here. They're also not paying for the AC in the summer and the heat in the winter.

So, the next time you need a tuner, please just buy it.  Don't ask Jay T a bunch of questions and then order it on Amazon.  The last time I checked, Amazon doesn't pay Jay T's salary. They aren't supporting your community and they aren't providing opportunities for your student. We are. And we would appreciate your business.

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - February 25, 2025

Music Authority first opened its doors on July 4th weekend, 2002. The first sale was a microphone clip and the first dollar from that sale is still on the wall in Melissa's office. Originally only two bays (we're five now), we opened with six instructors, five studios, and about thirty students. A grand opening celebration was held in September with food, sales, and a radio station broadcasting live.

Business was busy from the start. Only a year after opening, Music Authority expanded into the drum room by adding a third bay to it's footprint. The next year, the original owners, the Martins, decided to step down from the store. Despite only being married for eighteen months, Melissa and Andrew Loggins purchased the business on December 1, 2004.

By the time the Loggins' took ownership of Music Authority, Rock Camp was already a summer fixture. The new owners recognized that the "Old Way" of doing lessons (simply asking a student each week what he wanted to learn) wasn't going to bring longevity to program and only facilitated making neat sounds on your instrument without understanding of how to play, a lengthy over hall of the educational program began.

By 2008, the educational program you recognize today was built. It is a program that not only teaches students to make fun sounds on their instrument, but to also understand the language of music. Guitarists, vocalists, pianists, and other instruments are able to communicate and work together in bands. The cost of change was high - half the instructors at Music Authority decided to leave rather than embrace the new system. It was a necessary change that has made Music Authority a school of excellence.

Also in 2008, the first Spring Show took place in the Cumming Playhouse, Decades of Change. It was a tribute show to the 60's and 70's. Within two years, the program had grown to both Spring and Fall Shows and moved to The Warehouse on Post Road.

In 2015, Music Authority received it's first "Top 100" Award from the National Association of Music Merchants, an award we would continue to receive for the next 10 years consecutively. The award, which recognizes the top 100 music stores worldwide, is an honor and something we are very proud of.

Subsequent years brought in new talent and new teachers with vision. Musical Theater Camp came along followed by Rock Camp, Jr., Songwriting Camp, Jazz Band, and Adult Rock Camp. The Rock Ensembles were born starting with the now retired "Rise" in the summer of 2016.

September 12,  2017 introduced the world to a new organization: The Music Authority Roadies. This parent group functions as Music Authority's PTO, bringing the community, our teachers, and our families closer together.

Throughout the next decade, we have continued to grow, innovate, and add talented staff members. Our newest addition, a band that plays Indian Pop Music, will debut at the Spring Show on March 21, 2025.

So what does the future hold? A lot of work, passion, and excitement. We're lucky. We love our jobs, we love what we do at Music Authority, and we love the families we are able to serve. Along the way there have been struggles, tears, frustration, and triumph. We've seen students move on to huge success.

We're grateful for our place in the community and in your lives. Thank you for being part of our family, the Music Authority Family. Know that you are now part of a legacy that has touched the music industry and the Forsyth County community for almost 23 years. We have no plans to quit anytime soon. And we hope you'll continue to enjoy the ride with us!

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - January 28, 2025

I had an interesting interaction with a customer this week. His wife had ordered a piano book for her piano lessons. The book came in and on Saturday, while they were at Music Authority with their son for his piano lesson, the wife went to the front desk to pick up her book and pay for it.

Evin rang up the book and the woman was waiting with credit card in hand to pay for the book when the husband stopped her, asking her what she was doing. She explained she needed the book for her lessons and she was paying for it. He said, "No, we will buy it online."

Now, consider this. She is standing at the register, card in hand, book right in front of her. Evin didn't know what to do, so I stepped up and asked him why he wanted to buy it online when the book is right here and our price is the same you will pay online. He looked at me and asked, "How does it benefit me to buy it here and not online?"

I looked at him and replied, "If you purchase it here, you help me keep the doors open and your family will continue to have somewhere to take lessons."

You see, Music Authority needs its sales floor to help keep the doors open. Without sales, Evin, Gabe, and Landon won't have a paycheck, which means there's no one for you to come in and ask questions to. Without the sales floor, there is no Backroom to perform in or Drum Room for bands to practice in.

Is online convenient? Yes. I'll admit, Amazon stops too many times at Music Authority to drop off post it notes and pens.

But is it cheaper?  No. Most of the music industry is controlled by manufacturer pricing, something called MAP. If you have a new item with no blemishes or damage, you cannot sell it any lower than MAP. Everything at Music Authority that is subject to MAP pricing is at MAP. That means if you look at a Yamaha guitar at Music Authority, and then you look at the same guitar online, it should be the same price. If it isn't - you're not looking at the same guitar.

Books are subject to manufacturer pricing as well.  Look at the back of your book. The publisher has printed the price on the book and that's what we have to sell it for.

So, how does it benefit you to purchase from Music Authority? You get Evin and the rest of the crew to answer your questions and help you. You get free wi-fi while you wait for your student. You get a waiting area with comfortable chairs, a venue for your recitals, and programs like Rock Ensemble, Spring Show, and summer camp.

Please don't be that customer who comes in, talks to our sales staff (which costs us money because we're paying them to help you), looks at a guitar for three weeks, and then purchases that exact guitar online. Yes, it happens. (A local school teacher came in every week for four weeks and spent over an hour with Jay T looking at a particular Taylor guitar. Then he purchased the same, $3000 guitar online because he thought he was getting a deal. The guitar arrived with some issues that he then had to pay to have taken care of - which meant he ultimately spent more money by buying online.)

Let us serve you. Please consider making a purchase from us. When you do, you're helping us pay Evin and the rest of the guys, and you're helping to keep the opportunities at Music Authority affordable. We're able to keep prices down by keeping the sales floor alive.

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - December 31, 2024

It's been quite the year at Music Authority. From serious illness to lifechanging moves, we've seen staff members take extended leaves of absence this year or resign to start new life journeys. As the year wraps up, we get a little nostalgic, wishing all our staff members - both current and former - great things and happy times ahead.

We said goodbye to Mr. Mitchell who started a new life adventure in Savannah and to Mr. Antonio who moved to Connecticut. Other instructors, too, made life changing moves to new jobs, relationships, and to be with family. They all left their mark on Music Authority and will part of our story always. 

We also like to look back and celebrate. So many lives have been positively impacted by music this year. From Mr. Cody's celebrity status at Rock Camp to a Showcase Band trip to Auburn, we've had a truly blessed year watching our musicians young and old stretch their wings and start to fly.

Retail has been a struggle this year (it always is during election years), but you helped us pull through and remembered us at the holidays. We hope all of you are enjoying your guitars, banjos, effects pedals, and amplifiers. We're grateful to have the support of our customers. You keep the doors open and the teachers in studios. We can't do this without you and we appreciate it every time you choose to spend your dollars with us instead of a more flashy guitar store or online.

What we want to say most is this: thank you for being part of the Music Authority Family. Coming to lessons, telling your friends, helping us to continue to grow and be better, all of these things are so important. What we do is act with passion. All of us - the staff, the instructors, the owners - we are here because we love our jobs and we love building musical relationships with you.

Thank you for helping us through 2024. It was a tough year. Now, let's all raise a glass and walk into 2025 with our heads and hopes high. Happy New Year!

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - November 26, 2024

Melissa and Andrew Loggins are the owners of Music Authority, which opened July 4th weekend of 2002. Starting out with just six lessons studios and about thirty students, Music Authority has come a long way under their leadership.  Last month, you got to know Melissa. This month, we're going to introduce you to Andrew.

Andrew was born and raised in Dawson County, Georgia. The son of entrepreneur parents, he learned early in life what work ethic looked like by watching his parents run their carpet cleaning business, Clene Start. 

School wasn't exactly Andrew's thing. He started skipping school very young, although that didn't work out well for him because his mom was friends with his homeroom teacher, so she always found out. He did graduate high school, after taking biology three times, and immediately went to work in a local music store.

Music was a focal point for Andrew throughout his life. His whole family played music in church (his mom plays piano, his dad plays guitar, his brother plays bass, and his sister is a professional violinist). Andrew's first instrument was drums, which he played for a number of years. He also played violin and trumpet growing up before he landed on guitar.

Eventually, hoping to find focus in life, Andrew started working at his dad's carpet cleaning company during the day while at night he attended The Atlanta Institute of Music (AIM) to get a degree in guitar. This experience did much to help him prepare for teaching and running Music Authority.

After AIM, Andrew played with a number of musical artists, including several summers on the road with Atlanta Musician Ty Reynolds. He was regularly travelling to cities like Auburn, Athens, Montgomery, Biloxi, and others to play. Life on the road can be exhausting and grueling, something that eventually caused Andrew to want to pursue more musical opportunities in the Atlanta area.

Today, Andrew prefers to focus on his personal songwriting and teaching his students. You can find his music on Spotify, search The Young Rockets. (You can also find him on Instagram.) When he's not playing music, he enjoys drawing and taking the dogs, Ralphie and Randy, to his parent's farm in Dawson County.

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - October 29, 2024

Melissa and Andrew Loggins are the owners of Music Authority, which opened July 4th weekend of 2002. Starting out with just six lessons studios and about thirty students, Music Authority has come a long way under their leadership.  This month, we're going to introduce you to Melissa.

Melissa was born in Northwest Ohio and grew up in the country outside of the small town of Gibsonburg. She lived a mile from her grandparent's farm where she spent much of her free time. She loved to watch her grandpa and uncles farm, garden with her grandma, find cats hidden in the hay loft, and fish for carp and minnows in the creek behind the farm. 

High school, with a graduating class of only 74, was in a town almost an hour away. She was a member of the choir, Future Teachers of America, the National Honor Society, and drama club. She also served for over 30 years in Girl Scouts of America. 

Melissa loved living in a small town surrounded by farmlands. She was particularly close to her Grandpa, a descendent of German immigrants. They would take Sunday afternoon drives to distant cemeteries and farms where he would tell her stories of growing up, the farms his parents came from, how his mother (Melissa's Great-Grandmother) graduated from college when most women never finished high school.

Her Grandma's family was from the hills of West Virginia, her Great-Grandmother (who Melissa knew well while growing up) part of the famous McCoy family. If you watch the movie staring Kevin Costner about the Hatfields and the McCoys, Melissa's ancestor is the McCoy wife who left to move away after her husband was killed in the Civil War. 

Melissa's Great-Grandfather was part of the Jividen family from West Virginia. He was descended from the family that the French town of Gevaudan is named for. Ironically, this is where the legend of the werewolf first began. (It is ironic Melissa writes vampire novels as Anne Schlea, but has never included a werewolf in her novels.)

In 1995, just before Melissa's Senior Year of High School, her dad got a job in Atlanta, Georgia.  Melissa moved in with her Grandparents to finish high school.  The next summer, she made the move to Georgia where she attended Berry College in Rome. The college was perfect for Melissa with a strong agricultural program, lots of open space, and a dorm complex that looked like a castle. 

Majoring in music education, she originally planned on getting her degree and returning to Ohio to teach high school music. Unfortunately, she figured out very quickly that working in a traditional school structure wouldn't work for her. However, she fell in love with the contemporary side of music.

In the golden era of Atlanta's music scene, she saw hundred of shows (many in the now fabled Buckhead music district) and was lucky enough to meet many well known artists in small venues.  After a concert at Atlanta Motor Speedway known as Rockfest, she changed majors to music business. She found her passion - concert production - but also spent time producing radio commercials, writing music, managing bands, and performing herself. Her biggest two performance highlights? Carnegie Hall, New York City. Such a beautiful stage and the most incredible acoustics you'll ever hear.  Number two is directing a Girl Scout Choir doing the National Anthem at the first of Chipper Jones' final three games with the Braves. That story also lines up with one of her most embarrassing musical moments, but you'll have to ask her about that.

"I'd rather be a Kingmaker than a King" became Melissa's moto when she realized she got more fulfillment from helping other succeed than being on stage herself. She changed from focusing on her own performance career and instead decided to dedicate her life to helping others achieve their musical dreams. 

Out of all of this, Music Authority was born. It was a dream from the beginning of helping others.  Helping them find the perfect guitar, making their guitar play a little better in our repair shop, and encouraging students of all ages to step on stage and live their dreams. She is passionate about all of her students - the ones she teaches and the ones taught by other teachers. She'll go the extra mile to help any of them and will drive all the way to Nashville to hear you play if you ask her and she's able. 

Melissa still loves a trip back to Ohio where she can walk through the wheat fields and run her hands along the barn built over a century ago by her Great-Great-Grandfather. Time slows down there, where there are no concert venues, music stores, or gigs waiting. Melissa herself learned to sing from a woman down the street who taught in her living room. But after a few days, the need make music takes over. She hops on a plane and heads back to Atlanta where she feeds the need for energy, performance, and stage lights. Where she watches the next generation of musicians hone their talents, getting ready to take over the musical world.

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - April 29, 2024

Music Authority's Showcase Bands had the opportunity over the weekend to visit Highlands, North Carolina, and play a gig at the Highlands Dive. Despite the long drive, the bands played a great gig and had time to take a hike to a waterfall before heading back home to Cumming. The parents, who also participated in the hike, took pictures, talked, and got to know each other better.

After the Spring Show, a seventh grade drummer was asked to come to dinner by some of the Showcase band kids. Already excited from the show, the musicians ate and talked about drums while their parents sat together at another table and enjoyed each other's company.

At the mid season Rock Ensemble concert, a parent had to miss her son's performance because of work. Recognizing the absence, a half dozen other moms stepped in to take pictures, send texts, and tell the young man how good of a job he had done. 

Even I get to learn new things through my Music Authority Family experiences. Last night, I learned about the traditions and meaning of Passover from a Jewish singer in Perfect Blend while we ate dinner together.

These kinds of adventures aren't just for a few, they're the kind of things anyone at Music Authority can experience if you're willing to step out of your comfort zone.

People ask me all the time what is Music Authority Family. This is it. A group of like minded families who support each other's kids as they make music. It's friendships that might never have happened without Rock Ensemble or the Spring Show. It's having dinner after a concert with people you may never have had met if it weren't for Music Authority.

Music Authority Family is unexpected relationships.

My nieces are in softball. I know what it's like to have parents say mean things about other kids, hoping to get their own kids more playing time. It's something I hope I don't see often at Music Authority. If it happens, I hope my staff are confident enough to gently remind the parent that Music Authority believes in supporting each other, not tearing each other down. Music is not a zero sum game - just because I win, it doesn't mean you lose. There aren't a limited number of musicians in the world. We can all be successful.

You, and your children, are building memories and friendships while you're here at Music Authority. These experiences and relationships can shape the future. Give it a try: get to know another parent at your next recital. Tell the student with a lesson before yours how amazing they sounded. Come to dinner after the big show. Be a part of summer camp. Come to Parking Lot Rock on May 11, support the Rock Ensembles and build friendships. Help us make Music Authority Family even stronger!

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - March 26, 2024

Martha Berry, founder of Berry College in Rome, Georgia, started her career as an educator teaching poor mountain children. These children were academically able, but finances prevented them from attending school. Her school proved to be successful and soon, she was unable to support the school financially by herself. So she went to her father's friends, and their friends, and their friends, steadily building a financial support system of donors.

One day, she was given the opportunity to talk to Henry Ford, the car manufacturer from Michigan. He listened to her story about her school and her children, and gave her the only money he had on him at the time - a single dime.

Miss Berry invested that dime in peanut seeds that her students would turn into a crop. Once harvested, the crop earned enough money to buy a grand piano. Mr. Ford was so impressed with Miss Berry's resourcefulness that he would become a donor to the school, ultimately building the Ford Complex, at a cost of over a million dollars, an impressive price tag for the mid 1920's.

So what does that have to do with Music Authority?

It's all about the seeds. Our teachers plant seeds every day. Seeds of music, courage, self-esteem, and teamwork. Your students take those seeds, care for them, water them, and harvest them. The fruit of their crop they take with them when they leave Music Authority to go out into the world - to become surgeons, attorneys, teachers, and musicians.  They change the world with the seeds we plant.

And you? You're Henry Ford. Every time you buy a guitar from us, or a drum set, or a piano, you're investing in Music Authority and in your children. You are the ones who allow us plant seeds, to build better programs, to offer activities like recitals and Spring Shows. I know we aren't the flashiest or most exciting music store around. But when you trust us with  your purchase, you know where your investment is going - to a family operated business with owners who have dedicated their lives to supporting our students and our community.

So, before you make that next purchase, I want to encourage you to consider - what are you investing in?

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - February 27, 2024

Being part of a band is being part of a team. The band members are going be working together for a common purpose, making music. They will struggle together, support each other, laugh together, cry together, and ultimately succeed together.

Just like in baseball, you can't play alone. You'll never be the best pitcher in baseball if you don't play a game with other players. Even great concert pianists eventually will play with an orchestra. 

Sometimes, another musician on your team will struggle. I've seen more advanced musicians throw their hands in the air and say, I'm too good for this. Better musicians will realize that there will always be challenges in a band and do their best to help the musician who is struggling.

When band mates feel like they're being supported instead of criticized, they will work harder to overcome. The band will feel closer together, which will make their music tighter and more cohesive. Then, when they go out there and play that big show, the whole band will share the feelings of accomplishment.

I can't express enough the importance of being part of the team. Be honest, but kind, with your band. If you're struggling, ask for help. If you see someone do something outstanding, compliment them. If your guitar player is having trouble getting the timing down, maybe spend some time together outside of rehearsal to help them.

I had the experience this week of the team getting a win that I'd like to share. 

One of our Showcase bands needed to come up with a set list for an upcoming gig. While we worked on the list, I realized it was mostly coming from one member and that no one else seemed to have an opinion. As an experienced musician, I realized this might be a problem later. Just as I suspected, there was some strife after rehearsal in a group text over the list.

Here is a piece of advice for bands. Don't discuss important things through text. Benign comments can feel accusatory. Tone matters. You should wait until you're together again and discuss the issue in person.

The important learning came at our next rehearsal. We sat down and discussed the situation. No one had spoke up the first week because they didn't want to hurt the feelings of the member who had put together the first list, but overall, they felt the list didn't represent the whole band. I pointed out that if you're not willing to speak up, you can't expect the rest of your band to read your mind, and that there is a kind way to express your opinion. They agreed and decided as a team to remake the list with everyone's opinions.

Was everyone perfectly happy with the final list? Not exactly. All the members of the band had to give a little. It ended up a compromise of five opinions comprised into a two hour setlist. I was proud of them. No one yelled. No one got mad and walked away. They listened to each other and came to a solution with minimal adult interjections. It was a good day to be part of that team and they'll be stronger for it.

Part of Music Authority's philosophy is to help your kids learn how to be part of that team, because even if they aren't in a band later in life, they'll be part of some team. A team at work. A recreational team at Parks and Rec. The team of being in a family. 

There's a saying at Rock Camp, you succeed as a team and you fail as a team. We laugh about the failure part because no one really fails in music. It's not a zero sum endgame with a finite number of points and a winner and a loser. We can all win in music. Why not help each other along the way?

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily

Music Authority Family Newsletter - January 30, 2024

When we start a new year, many of us set resolutions. I'm going to eat healthier. I'm going to try something new. I'm going to exercise more. I'm going to clean out that closet in the guest room.

I would like to challenge you to be more consistent in your practice time. 

You don't need to practice for a long time. Usually your age in minutes twice a day is good. I like my fifteen year old students to sing for fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes in the afternoon. I know. That doesn't seem like a lot when most of us have been told thirty minutes at a time.

But it works. Why? Because they're touching their instrument more frequently. 

Our bodies are amazing machines. Our muscles remember how to do tasks so our conscious mind doesn't need to think about it. We don't need to concentrate to breathe. Or write with a pen. Or walk. Our muscles remember.

The same is true for your instrument. By repeating the musical exercise more frequently, you are giving your muscles more opportunities to memorize the movement - whether it be singing, playing guitar, piano, or anything else.

I suggest you give it a try. For the next week, try practicing more frequently for shorter periods of time. See what your instructor says at your next lesson. I bet they'll see a difference!

Melissa A. Loggins, Owner

#MusicAuthorityFamily