Meet Stu and Janna Zonder | Owners, String Along With Stu, Online Ukulele Instruction School

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stu and Janna Zonder and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stu and Janna, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My husband, Stu Zonder, and I have been creative and business partners for most of the time we’ve been married. We are both musicians, performers, and writers. Stu is also an amazing guitar and ukulele teacher. We’ve both worked in the corporate world, and neither of us felt like we were in the “right place.”

In 2010, after massive layoffs in our industry, we paused and asked ourselves “What do we really want to do?” I feel this is one of the most important life questions, and in particular, an important question for entrepreneurs. Life circumstances change, and it’s a question we can ask ourselves whenever we feel discontented in our lives.

Stu and I took a couple of months off and toured the country, doing musical comedy in living rooms across the U.S. When we came home, we knew something in music was the answer for us, and we opened a school for private guitar and ukulele students called, “String Along With Stu.”

That started as an in-person business, then we transitioned into live lessons online via Skype and later, Zoom, which was a lucky decision since we were prepared to work from home during the pandemic. We are now about to open our latest venture, an online ukulele school with a pre-recorded curriculum that will take students from absolute beginner to accomplished player. Stu has been honing his teaching skills for over 40 years, and we are putting all his expertise to work on this new venture!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When we were newlyweds, Stu and I created an act for children’s parties called “Quacky and Uncle Stu.” We came up with the idea mainly because I can talk like Donald Duck. So, with me in full clown make-up and him with his guitar, we performed a few gigs, and quickly knew that wasn’t the right direction. We both preferred entertaining adults.

That ability to shift our thinking and try new endeavors has been the single most important quality we needed to find the path that best uses our talents and experience, and most importantly, what we really want to do. We’ve had a lot of trial and error. We’ve taken jobs we didn’t love to support ourselves along the way. Anyone who tries to make a living doing any kind of art will have setbacks and struggles, but as long as you don’t quit, as long as you keep moving in the direction of your talent and interests, your work will evolve.

About ten years ago, Stu and I fell in love with playing the ukulele. We both had a negative opinion of the instrument because we had only seen players from years ago who treated it like a toy. Remember Tiny Tim? That is so far from the truth! You can play anything on the ukulele — from rock to blues to country to folk, classical, and of course, Hawaiian. It’s a versatile instrument that people of all ages enjoy. We have students from 8 to 80. For older people, especially, it’s a wonderful way to keep our minds and bodies functioning well, and to connect with the music of our youth.

So, we are thrilled to be opening our online ukulele school called String Along With Stu. Our grand opening event was on June 15th with a large turnout. The school is growing quickly! Stu’s teaching method enables students to play music they love within a very short period of time. They learn skills while they are building repertoire! Our program offers an affordable way for people to learn to play the ukulele without the expense and hassle of in-person lessons. Our curriculum is carefully crafted with each lesson designed to build on the previous one, and our website will be simple and easy to use. We will also have a forum for students to connect with each other, and we look forward to building community from all over the world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The King Center and the Carter Center are filled with amazing history lessons and are both inspirational places to visit. Most of our friends love being out in nature, so we like to take them to some of the Atlanta area’s most scenic spots. The Atlanta Botanical Gardens are lovely. Concerts and art fairs in Piedmont Park. Since we’ve mostly lived on the northwest side of Atlanta, we have hiked on some of the great trails on Red Top Mountain and Kennesaw Mountain, although they are a bit strenuous. For casual dining and strolling, we like Marietta Square with its small shops and restaurants. Tsunami is a good Asian-Pacific restaurant. We love their fish tacos and rice bowls.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our shoutout has to go to friends, family, and even strangers who attended our performances in numerous venues all over the country. Also, a shoutout to Stu’s many students over the years. Their feedback and support have given us the confidence and inspiration to continue doing what we love to do. Sometimes people are shy about expressing approval to a performer or a teacher, but we have always appreciated every kind and encouraging comment. If you’re considering showing a teacher or performer a gesture of support, I guarantee they will be grateful that you took the time to speak to them or drop them a note. For most artists and performers, that’s even more important than the paycheck.

Website: www.stringalongwithstu.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stringalongwithstu

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ukuleleschool622/featured