“Guitar is like writing – you have to read as much as you can and let it guide you to pick up the patterns and techniques organically,” MVHS senior Mehran Greenwood, the founder of the Guitar Culture Club, said.
Although in its infancy, the club has great plans for the future, Greenwood said. Guitar Culture Club has held several meetings, bringing together students with a shared passion for music. Greenwood, a self-taught guitarist, began playing guitar the summer of freshman year. Prior to guitar, Greenwood played piano for six years but said he didn’t enjoy it.
“I realized that all the music I connected with was based in guitar, so I picked it up as my instrument and started learning on my own,” Greenwood said.
Since then, Greenwood said guitar has played a significant role in his life, a passion he hopes to share through his club.
“For the first year and a half, guitar was mostly a way for me to express myself and connect with music,” Greenwood said. “More recently, with the club, it’s become a way to connect with other people. It’s been really rewarding to see how my interest in guitar helps others connect with each other.”
The club, which meets Fridays at lunch in adviser David Cmaylo’s classroom, room 121, is open to all students, whether they play guitar or not.
“The reason that Guitar Culture Club is not called Guitar Club is because we want to make it more inclusive,” Greenwood said. “We want to have both beginners and more advanced players… so that people are talking to each other, and people are teaching other people, spontaneously.”
Greenwood said that he hopes to include both beginner and advanced guitar players. He hopes to bring more students with an interest in music – both guitarists and non-guitarists – together to form a strong community.
“Regardless of where you’re at, there’s somebody either more advanced or less advanced that you can work with,” Greenwood said. “The activities are approachable, so you don’t need to be a super skilled guitarist to be able to engage in them.”
Despite the name of the club, Greenwood said that students who play other instruments, and even students who don’t play an instrument and just enjoy music are also welcomed.
“Music is universal,” Greenwood said.
Having taught most of the club’s board members and being a guitarist himself, Cmaylo said he was happy to lend his support.
“They’re very organized, and it’s a brand new club so they’re still trying to figure things out,” Cmaylo said. “It seems to be drawing in a lot of people … it seems like a good, comfortable place for students to get together in a casual atmosphere.”
In the future, the Guitar Culture Club hopes to take on more performance opportunities. The club plans to perform at the school’s Spartans Pause event on Dec. 13, which will be held in the Main Quad during lunch. Through performances, Greenwood hopes to bring the school together – musician or not, one step at a time.
