Sedalia woman teaches classic sound

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Ruth Bockelman taught herself how to play the guitar as a teenager. She soon began teaching others how to play and has continued for more than 60 years.

While she was living in Indiana decades ago, she decided to take guitar lessons and eventually scored a job teaching at a studio.

She returned to Sedalia seven years later, and she has been giving music lessons ever since. Bockelman turned 88 last month, but her passion for music instruction has not faded.

She still loves country and western and bluegrass music, and she continues to teach guitar, banjo, mandolin, steel guitar and accordion.

"I haven't taught accordion in a while, so I'd probably be a little rusty," Bockelman said.

She teaches music primarily as a hobby now, but she still enjoys watching her students develop into fine musicians. She accepts only about 10 students at a time since she retired, but she said the number of students she has instructed over the past six decades is well into the hundreds.

"I don't know how many students I have had; hundreds and hundreds over the years I guess," Bockelman said.

On a quiet afternoon at her home, Bockelman strummed the chords while her student, Rachel Pace, practiced the melodies.

Pace, of Sedalia, has been a student of Bockelman's since December, and she lauded Bockelman's ability as an instructor.

"She definitely gives you a steal of a deal," Pace said.

Pace said Bockelman is a patient teacher who does not put pressure on her students. Bockelman may laugh at her mistakes, but Pace said she always has fun at her lessons.

"I have not been doing it long, but I feel like I've learned a lot," Pace said. "I am really happy with everything."

Bockelman's retirement has not slowed her involvement in music. Just last year, she was appointed to serve as president of the American Guild of Music. As president, she presides over meetings and music competitions across North America.

In April, she will attend the Great Lakes Regional competition in Detroit, and in July she will take part in the national competition in Columbus, Ohio.

Bockelman will also travel to Overland Park, Kan., for a contest in July as a member of the Mid America Music Association board of directors.

Bockelman's music has kept her busy for more than a half century, and she has no plans on giving up her favorite activity in the near future.

"I have always liked Nashville, country and western, and I like bluegrass, too," Bockelman said. "I started teaching in my 20s, and from then on, I've always been teaching."