RACELAND — Tom Stephens still doesn’t know how he is going to get 45 guitarists to share a stage, although he is determined to figure it out.

Stephens has witnessed demand for guitar instruction go through the roof during the last two years at Raceland-Worthington High School. From 17 last year, the school’s ranks now include 45 aspiring six-string slingers, and enough interest to justify scheduling a third class as part of next year’s daily schedule. After two decades of teaching elementary music education, Stephens said “it is a breath of fresh air.”

“The kids just kept coming last year,” he said, adding those who started learning to pick, pluck and strum last year are now “really taking off.” Rather than relying on conventional methods and songs, Stephens uses “more of a pop music approach,” for his beginner-level students, teaching them the chords to songs, including Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page,” Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” and Lynyrd Skynryd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” to provide more immediate gratification as they wrestle with the strings and frets.

“We want them to work on songs they are at least familiar with. We are not playing ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb,’ or ‘Hot Cross Buns,’” he said with a chuckle, explaining he asks each student to select a song he or she wants to learn, and teaches to play it for a grade at the end of the class.

Several of the students have already surprised Stephens with their skills and dedication to practice.

“Allison Adams started last year and did not know chord one. Now, she is playing barre chords and arpeggios. She is one that really took it and ran with it,” he said, just before pointing out Bronson Bush, who was working on jazz chords a few feet away, and expressing his pride the young musician, best known for his country music performances, has decided to go on to college and study jazz guitar.

“We’re getting him prepped,” Stevens said with a grin, acknowledging Bush regularly performs with seasoned professional musicians in Nashville.

Music teacher Anne Stephens, wife of Tom, said she gets a kick out of seeing so many students with guitar cases and bags, and is encouraged that many of this year’s guitar students are in their senior year.

“It will up their cool factor when they go to college,” she said with a hearty laugh. “And they are loving it.” Mrs. Stephens said she hopes to bring the entire guitar-student population together “for one big mass ‘Smoke on the Water’ at some point.”

Doug Abrams, 17, only started playing guitar a few weeks ago, but everyone around tends to agree his grandmother has offered some outstanding motivation for him to study the instrument. Abrams, who plays an Esteban guitar his grandfather bought him when he was in the eighth grade, said he didn’t realize his grandfather was also a guitar player. When he told his grandmother, Bonnie Abrams, he was taking a guitar class, she shared history he had no idea about. Explaining she still has the cherry-sunburst 1962 Gibson ES-125 his grandfather played, Abrams said his granny told him, “If I could play her a song I could have it.”

Wearing his jersey for Friday night’s football game, Abrams said he is working on “Turn the Page,” with no clear ideas about where he might like to take his musical journey.

“I’m honestly new to music. I’ve never aspired to be a musician before,” he said, soon assuring anyone with doubts  he plans to continue playing guitar so he can claim his grandfather’s old hollow-body Gibson, which he intends to keep for life.

 For Ukraine-born freshman Yana Gill, the guitar provides a platform for the “pop, kinda-like cute stuff” songs she has written and enjoys performing. Gil didn’t come into guitar class as a complete beginner, having learned enough of the instrument to accompany herself in a Ukraine national talent show at the age of 12. Looking foward to her upcoming 16th birthday, she is working on the song “Break Even” with advanced student Bush, who she says has been a big help to her musical advancement.

“I think I’m doing pretty good,” she said with a confident grin.

Carrying a bright pink acoustic guitar, senior Taylor Shaffer said she pursued guitar to help with her songwriting.

“I started about a month ago,” she said, explaining she received a guitar as a Christmas gift. “I sing and it helps me write songs.” Shaffer, who plans to major in vocal performance in college, described her own music as “coffeehouse, soft-rock stuff.”

Principal Mickey Dixon credits the efforts of both Stephenses for increasing the musical education options for students, noting they have created otherwise unavailable opportunities and supervised their programs in an administrator-friendly fashion.

“It’s a pleasant surprise and we are truly ecstatic,” Dixon said. “It is exciting to see students heading to the cultural arts center with their guitars.”

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.