Lessons
Private lessons are the heart of the week. Shared hours suit siblings. Groups are four to six, on a set repertoire, and only where the room can hold them.
Keys
The school pianos are a little honest. They tell you when a note is late.
A first term. Five-finger tunes that survive a living room, a pulse you can walk to, and one piece short enough to finish.
Lessons are on the studio piano. Come a few minutes early if you want the room quiet.
Strings
Open strings that ring, then a bow that does not squeak the entire time.
A first term. A folk tune by week eight, and a way to practice ten minutes without a parent becoming the metronome.
School violins, quarter-size through full, if you want one at home.
Strings
A large instrument and a small assignment. We fit the cello to the player.
A first term. A sound that starts cleanly, and the first page of something you can play with a violinist.
Cellos from quarter-size up. They live in soft cases and come home if you hire one.
Strings
Classical position first, then the songs you actually came in for.
A first term. A simple accompaniment, and one piece played with the nails so the sound stays warm.
Nylon-string school guitars. Steel-string players are welcome; we still start seated, with a footstool.
Voice
Breath that lasts to the end of the phrase. Songs chosen with you, not for you.
A first term. Two songs. One that shows you off, one that teaches you something. Both memorized.
Nothing to carry. Group voice is a small ensemble, four to six, not a choir of thirty.
Winds
The first month is mostly the start of the note. It is worth it.
A first term. A scale that does not split, and a tune you can play while looking up.
Student flutes, cleaned between terms. The trial uses a school instrument.
Winds
Alto, to begin. A centered sound before anyone mentions jazz.
A first term. Mouthpiece work, three notes that match, and a melody from a real song.
Alto saxophones only for hire. Tenor can wait until the embouchure is settled.
Rhythm
The loud room. The first lesson is mostly about stopping, and about playing with someone else.
A first term. A groove you can hold while the music changes, and a fill you may use once.
Kits stay at the school. Nothing to hire and nothing to carry on the bus.