by MATTHEW NASH

Sequim Gazette

Combining his passion for music and his desire to teach, John Mangiameli feels he has assembled what could be a hub for musicians and musical connoisseurs at Sequim’s Joyful Noise Music Center.

Mangiameli grew up playing music and while in school felt a desire to teach the art. Last year, he and his dad Joe bought The Good Book and he saw the space next door was vacant. He decided to pursue Joyful Noise and opened the doors Nov. 1, 2011.

The store hosts a grand opening, Saturday, May 5, with instrument and music lesson raffles, sales on most instruments and equipment, and refreshments.

Mangiameli said he avoided calling the business a shop because he wants it to be the center of Sequim’s music scene.

“We want to be a hub if something musical is going on,” Mangiameli said.

He and the other staff encourage people to stop in and jam with them.

“We can get bored, so come in and take 10 to 15 minutes and play a few songs,” he said.

Building basics

While Joyful Noise maintains a fun atmosphere, it’s also academic as a team of instructors leads a growing roster of more than 40 student musicians.

Mangiameli said students are the main support for the business and allow him not to charge full retail price on any instrument.

The lessons have grown so extensively that after-school hours are practically booked, but Fridays and Saturdays are open.

Lessons start at $20 each, and a student signs up with a friend, both get a discount.

Joyful Noise offers piano, guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, violin, cello, drums, and voice lessons. A curriculum is available for people of all skill sets.

Instructor Dillan Witherow said they can focus on all styles and can start from the beginning.

“We’re grounded in the basics,” he said. “Then you can play anything you want.”

Thomas Winfield, an eighth-grade aspiring jazz musician, said he has been taking lessons from Witherow for two months.

“I feel like I’m learning a lot,” Winfield said.

Witherow said they’ve gone through basic jazz skill sets and are working on blues rifts.

Play local

Several local musicians made connections with Mangiameli early on, such as Dean Moore, who handcrafts acoustic guitars and ukuleles in Sequim. Mangiameli said he is interested in speaking with any local instrument maker about selling their products. “There’s a lot of great talent in this area,” Mangiameli said.

The store boasts guitars, pianos, drums, other stringed instruments such as violins, brass instruments, and woodwinds, which he hopes to build up more.

“You can’t grow all at once,” he said.

To further his support of local musicians, Mangiameli said musicians who can show that they are performing artists will receive a discount.