Jams Music Store:
A Closer Look
July 13, 2007

Eldersburg is lucky to have one of the most unique businesses in the county: Jams Music Store. Jams Music Store is an original Eldersburg business that offers music lessons, a considerable selection of instruments to purchase, a small concert hall with stage and lights, and a safe place for musicians to go and hang out with other musicians. Jams Music Store has a relaxed atmosphere and staff, and it is the only music store Eldersburg has.

Pat Murray started Jams Music Store in the Carrolltown Mall in 2004. Brian Baernstein was hired as a teacher. Baernstein said that in the beginning, “We started out with basically zero [students] … then with three students on one day and it just picked up from there.” Then in 2005, when the Carrolltown Mall closed, Jams moved to its current location in the Eldersburg Plaza, just a few doors down from Tristar Martial Arts.

The store front holds instruments for sale and gives a relaxing atmosphere.

The stage for group practices and performances.

Two girls take a partner lesson in one of the five lesson rooms.

The New Store

The move proved to be very beneficial. Jams Music Store boasts five teaching studios, a spacious store front, and a band practice that includes a stage and room for an audience. Local bands such as Woodbine Hotline and Fourth Element have played shows at Jams, but the stage space is used for more than just that. Jams uses the stage for group classes, workshops, and recitals for parents, but mostly to teach musicians how to play on stage “instead of just a cubicle.” Baernstein explained that they want to bands to get the “whole learning to play on stage experience.”

The Music

In 2006, Murray and Baernstein started a co-ownership of the shop. Jams now gives 170 to 200 lessons a week, primarily in guitar and bass, but also in drums, keyboard, and vocals. Baernstein said that there used to be some lessons in horns and woodwinds, but they no longer have a teacher for that. “There’s no demand for school band instruments,” Baernstein said, “because that’s what they do in school.” In spite of this, Jams does offer school band instrument rentals so students can see if they like playing before committing to an instrument.

A Happy Place

Jams owners and employees are proud of their shop and happy with what they provide to the community. “It’s a nice safe place for kids to hang out,” said Baernstein, “The only way you can really hurt yourself is to spend too much money.” When asked about future plans for the store, Baernstein took a minute to stroke his chin before announcing plans to have a chain of Jams stores across the world. He laughed and waved his hand in jest. “We’re just trying to be the best music store we can be.”

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