McCabe's Guitar Shop552

Since becoming a major force on the LA music scene in the early '70s, McCabe's Guitar Shop is known as much for its folk and rock concerts as for its superb selection and service to the string-playing community. Now that many of the music fans and musicians that it has fostered have grown up, children's music has become a popular mainstay at the Santa Monica shop.

McCabe's specializes in acoustic and folk instruments: guitars, banjos, mandolins, dulcimers (both hammered and plucked), fiddles, psaltrys, ethnic strings and lots of ethnic percussion, electrics and amps, you get the idea. All significant brands are usually in stock. McCabe's also rents, fixes, and teaches, and has all the things that anyone would need to go with.

About twice a month, families pack into the intimate concert room in the back of McCabe's to see lively Sunday mid-morning shows from performers who know how to sing to, rather than down at, their audience. The casual setting encourages kid participation and squirming about - most folks sit on the floor near the stage.

Of particular note are the shows headlined by Peter Himmelman, whose impromptu songs using the names of children in the audience, witty comments aimed at adults, and superb musicianship draw big crowds.

Concert prices are $8-$10 for adults and free for everyone under two. The concert hotline number is 310.828.4403.

In addition, McCabe's has a fine reputation for teaching music to the young and older. Workshop classes cover such instruments as violin, guitar, and harmonica for $100 to $170 per six- to eight-week sessions. A "try before you buy" policy means that on six-week classes, students don't need to pay until the second week.

The Afterschool Guitar workshop for kids ages nine to 12 years is quite popular and affordable at $100 for eight one-hour sessions. Private instruction is also available for $30 to $35 per lesson.