Our Story
Music defines the
pages of our lives.
When I was little, my parents drove me about 120 miles to Memphis to take music lessons, as there wasn’t any other studio in the area. It was my daddy’s dream to build a store in Lexington and his own house, but he couldn’t afford to build both. He ended up building a store with a basement for us to live in while he built and repaired pianos. My dad had extremely high standards for the store since there wasn’t another one for hundreds of miles away.
I began to travel the area, performing with multiple groups to bring music to those around me. When people in town heard that I played the piano, or overheard my practicing, they began to ask if I offered lessons. I started teaching the kids in my area when I was 13 through my dad’s store.
I divulged into my love of music when I went to college at Memphis State for music and music performance. I was devastated to learn during my college career that my parent’s store had burned down. From there on, I wanted to carry on my dad’s dream.
I always wanted a music studio of my own, but for the time that I couldn’t start one myself, I taught at a variety of other studios. It wasn’t until 1989 that I was able to start The Note Room as it is today.
Despite the prevalence of music in the area today, I wish to maintain the same quality my dad upheld when he had the only store around.
It’s wonderful to do something you know is going to give joy, peace and happiness to people. It makes life worth living.
— Shirley Hayes Rodriguez
Owner, teacher