New Non-Profit Swan Strings Brings Free Music Lessons to Dallas Kids

It is nearly 11 a.m. on a balmy Saturday morning when the students begin to trickle through the doors of Top Ten Records. Several shelves and crates line the storied record shop’s long blue-green walls. The space in between is not particularly large, though the kids do not seem to mind, quietly taking their places among experimental jazz cassette tapes and grunge-rock vinyls. Experience levels vary. While a couple of students have never touched a guitar in their life, others have a few, if not several, chords under their belt. And then there is the student in the back, casually playing the familiar opening melody to Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” (Rock on, kid.) The class instructor, Jess Garland, takes her seat before her students. Just over half of the normally 15-strong ensemble is present today, thanks to Memorial Day weekend festivities and summer vacation hype. Even so, Garland and her students prepare for yet another fun and educational “Swan Strings” practice.