When Selina residents John and Iris Menellie opened their Texas amplifiers and shafts in downtown Prosper in 2015, the business consisted of a downstairs music store and five educational rooms on the second floor.
Over the next decade, the business expanded to take over the second wing of the building, and now boasts 20 educational rooms.
“We’ve already surpassed everything we were trying to do,” Iris Menellie said. “If we could get 75 or 100 students, I thought we would call it a victory. We now have almost 700 students. We’ve built this kind of community that knows my students, even when students aren’t taking lessons with us. We know who my kids are.”
The couple opened their second Texas amp and axis at Serena in 2024.
Meet the team
Their main responsibility is not to teach music, but Jon Meneley teaches several guitar and ukulele classes.
Texas amps and shafts employ 37 teachers, many of whom are current performers. Most people hold music degrees and have several holding master degrees.
“I love not only working with my wife, but the employees we chose,” John Menellie said. “They are all very knowledgeable, hardworking and very enjoyable. It’s a great community of musicians.”
What they offer
The music experience can begin as a young child, three years old, on a Texas amplifier and axis. Groups and individual lessons are available for beginners to advanced students. Some group lessons are multi-generational, while others may be for homeschool students.
what else?
In-store inventory includes acoustic and electric guitars, digital pianos, drums, amplifiers, and musical instrument accessories.
“We really want to be a place where people go to get their first instrument,” Iris Menellie said. “We love adjusting the experience, we try out the fit of the instrument and make sure it has a texture and feel they want it.”
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