A 9-year-old musician from Monmouth County is so talented that he has already played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.

Marel Hidalgo first picked up a guitar when he was 4 years old.

“The first song I wanted to play was ‘Aqualung,’” says Hidalgo who also admits that he does not like children’s music.

“’Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ they wanted me to clap and I didn’t want to do that,” he says.

McKaela Jones, 16, who also began playing music at 4 years old, also joined Hidalgo on stage playing the bass.

“Seeing other young people and musicians, it really teaches me to keep the drive going…You can get better and better every day,” Jones says.

Hidalgo and Jones both have been training at the Big Beat Music School in Neptune City since they were 5 years old.

Hidalgo’s father says that the preschool days proved difficult.

“Most of the day they were singing and clapping and he did not want to do that,” says Mahonrry Hidalgo. “We took him here to the studio to see if they could fix him.”

The 9-year-old says that he hopes that his playing will influence other young kids to also learn an instrument.

"I really want to be a musician, and I like to play music because it makes other people happy,” he says.

Hidalgo played two full concerts at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week -- one with an adult band and the other with his student bandmates.