He sells guitars and teaches people how to play them. T Srinivasa Rao of Harmony Musicals recollects his love for the instrument and says that, despite the ways in which music has changed, his passion for it will remain.
“Back in the day, buying a guitar was a big deal. Most parents used to trust the teacher to pick their child’s first guitar. I used to bring guitars from Kolkata for my students,” he says. This gave him the idea of setting up his music store in 1993. At first the store sold Indian brands such as Remo, Givson and Reynolds but, over the years, more and more instruments became a part of its repertoire. Srinivasa also sourced particular brands on demand for his customers. Shasank Devulapalli from Against Evil — the city’s metal band, which was recognised as the ‘Best Emerging Band’ of 2016 by Rolling Stones Magazine — remembers visiting Harmony Musicals. “It’s been the go-to store since the 2000s,” he says. “Harmony Musicals has years of trust and goodwill behind it and that means a lot, especially in smaller cities such as Visakhapatnam.”
His first guitar
It was a guitar-strumming neighbour that triggered 11-year-old Srinivasa’s interest in guitars. “Little did I know that this infatuation would define my life,” says Srinivasa. For the next three years, he took lessons from the neighbour and borrowed his guitar whenever possible. “After learning the basics, I bought myself a Reynolds guitar for ₹120 in 1974,” he remembers fondly.
He went from strength to strength after that. As a college student, he played in college festivals, travelled across the State and in time became the rhythm guitarist in the Navayuga Orchestra. He says, “It was during these years I was able to polish my skills and understand the nuances of music.”
In 1977, he collaborated with his friend and participated in Sankranthi Sambaralu, an event conducted by All India Radio in Visakhapatnam. “During the recordings, someone on the sets complimented me and suggested I should start teaching,” says Srinivasa. That acknowledgement of his talent gave him the self-confidence to build a career in the music industry, he says.
Full time teacher
Srinivasa says, “There were only a handful of teachers who took guitar classes at home. I started taking classes and meeting aspiring musicians.” This was how his learning centre came to be established in 1991. Today his guitar teaching centre has 120 students.
Some of his more famous pupils are PA Deepak, winner of the ‘Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media’ in Slumdog Millionaire at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, and Shasank.
Regular customers
Srinivasa says his customers are not impulsive buyers; they are people who want to learn music seriously. Many musicians come to him too. “Other customers include first-time buyers and professional artistes.” His records show that the guitar is the most popular instrument followed by the keyboard and violin in the city. And his sales are most bullish during the Christmas and summer break.
Srinivasa feels grateful to be associated with music all his life. He says “I will always be grateful to my guitarist neighbour in my childhood. If I did not have access to his guitar and his lessons, I would never have become a musician.”
