Byron Matice in his home studio. (submitted photo/ Byron Matice)

By Ian Gustafson

Storied Career

Local guitar instructor retiring after 44 years

May 10, 2021 | 5:30 PM

After more than four decades teaching guitar, Prince Albert’s Byron Matice, owner of Byron’s Guitar Instruction is calling it a career.

Since the 1970s Matice has been instructing numerous aspiring players and his final day will be June 30.

“It’ll be absolutely surreal in that I wake up every morning getting my day ready to teach so it’s going to be so strange to not do that,” he told paNOW. “It will be bittersweet because I’ve loved this job. I can’t imagine doing any other job.”

He’s going to miss seeing his students and the progress they make week by week.

“Even as the years go on you see them grow up and graduate and leave school to go to college. So, to see that development in a student and see them become so proficient over the years is highly rewarding,” Matice said.

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He chose to retire now because his wife Janelle is also retiring and have always planned it this way to start their new adventures together. They plan to travel across Canada by motorhome to visit family and friends once it’s safe to do so amid the COVID situation. In the meantime, he’s part of two bands – Traitors Gate and Cold Shott – who hope to start playing together again soon.

Over the years he has taught within Canada in communities such as Saskatoon, Edmonton, Dundurn, Shellbrook, Christopher Lake and Birch Hills. During the COVID-19 pandemic he has been teaching virtually across Canada and in other countries. He explained moving virtually was a good thing because it opened doors.

He also taught soldiers in Belgium for six years at the NATO Air Base, which he calls a highlight of his career. He added he’s given instruction to people who’ve made it big on the world stage and has fond memories of students who have used their guitar lessons to overcome obstacles and personal problems in their lives.

He always taught his students by their musical preference. Whichever band or songs they wanted to learn that’s what he did with them.

“I always had this theory that if you were playing music that you loved you’d always be playing,” he said.

Over the years, the musical preference and the way he gave instruction changed as different genres became more popular and the way we listened to music changed.

“I used to teach by records so students used to bring their records to my home where I was teaching and I would learn the songs,” he explained.

His students used to play off sheet music, so he explained he used to have to mail away and sometimes have to wait three or more months for it to arrive in the post. Now anyone can immediately download any song or sheet music from the internet.

With under two months left on a long career, Matice wanted to leave his students with a final message of encouragement.

“I’m grateful for your courage and your strong work ethic and your passion for music,” he said. “[I’m] grateful for the respect you gave me and the confidence you placed in me and I’m so proud of you. I hope you never stop learning, always be aiming above your comfort level, always be struggling upwards, always learn music you love and learn the music [theory] you hate and always encourage others in music and build them up you become built up by building others up.”

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ian.gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @iangustafson12