It started out simply enough under another name five years ago as a way for Dace Anderson to teach guitar lessons.

Now as Dace’s Rock ‘N’ More marks its fifth year in existence quite a lot has changed.

“The biggest difference between then and now is that we’re a non-profit,” Anderson said. “The sole reason for that is knowing how much it costs to pay a high quality professional music teacher. It really puts the price out of reach. The idea of being a non-profit would be so we could get donations and fundraisers so that we can offer lessons to anybody.”

Anderson said, half jokingly, the only reason someone wouldn’t take a class at his school would be “if you don’t want to. Any other reason we can work around.”

In 2005 there were two teachers and Arielle Young, Anderson said, and now there are five teachers as well as Young, Jerrud Glaze and other musicians like Michael Harding who stop by to help out.

And while the school has changed, grown, gone through a few name changes — just like any good band — ultimately it is about providing music education to anyone who wants one, regardless of age, skill level or amount of time available to dedicate.

“The mission is to provide an inclusive and positive music learning experience for all members of the community,” Anderson said. “I like that inclusive part. There are other schools that are somewhat like us in that they teach rock band classes like us, but there are none that are inclusive like we are that teach to all ages, all abilities and all levels of desire.”

This philosophy was truly tested last year when “we had a lot of students who lost their jobs or whose parents lost their jobs.”

When it comes to choices about what to pay for, Anderson said, there were students who realized they couldn’t afford to pay for lessons when they had to buy food, gas and pay bills.

“We ended up giving out a lot of free lessons last year, which really ate into the amount of money that we make here,” he said. “It would be nice to have some money to set aside in case that sort of thing happen again we can still pay the bills.”

This year, however, things have been going better as there has been an upswing in the number of students taking lessons with increases of 10 to 15 percent in December and January alone.

Anderson said he hopes to have 150 students taking lessons or in the Rockology class, where bands come together to learn how to play as a unit, come September.

Something that could help will be offering beginning guitar lessons at Renton Community Center this fall, Anderson said, but they also draw students from throughout South King County.

Hitting 150 students, Anderson said, would “allow us to have a budget that’s solid enough where we would feel like we’re in a really stable position.”

“When we established ourselves as a non-profit a couple of years ago it was right when the economy collapsed,” he said. “It was unfortunate timing for us but it seems like we’re on the upswing.”

But, Anderson is never one to stop at a single goal.

“I’ve got big, huge dreams for this,” he said. “I would like to get some grants to get all new equipment for this place. I would like to get a grant to help us open up a second school on the Eastside.”

With impending 501(c)3 non-profit tax status, getting grant money will be easier, Anderson explained.

Another goal for Anderson would be to get more gigs and recording time for the bands that form at the school.

“We have also wanted to take our bands to schools and show them, ‘You can do this,’” Young said. “Especially since music programs in schools are disappearing.”

Continued community support is necessary to achieve these goals, Anderson said, and they will happily accept donations of money or music equipment plus they’re always looking for sponsors for the quarterly Rockcital concerts.

“You can sponsor all the shows throughout the year so you can have your name out there showing how much you support music education,” Anderson said.

They will be celebrating the fifth anniversary with an epic party on Aug. 28 at a private residence on Lake Sawyer. There will be a silent auction to raise money for the school, bands performing on the water’s edge and acoustic performances on the law as well as a Rock ‘N’ More Hall of Fame induction for some of the school’s most successful bands.

“We also want to celebrate at the anniversary party all the families,” Young said. “Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

And it all began five years ago when Anderson needed a place to teach.

“I started out needing a place to do guitar lessons,” he said. “It’s become way less about me and more about being caretakers of a community resource.”