SUMMER LESSONS 2026
GUITAR | PIANO | DRUMS
Rising Rockstars
Rising Rockstars is our introductory rock band experience recommended for young children ages 4 to 6! Meeting once a week for a fun-filled 30 minutes, this program is tailored to nurture your child's natural musicality through playful, informal guidance.
At this age, children are in a crucial stage of development called preparatory audiation. During this stage, young children absorb and respond to musical pitch and rhythm, begin to develop a sense of beat and tonal center, and discover and experiment with their singing voices. Before students can be expected to play an instrument with precision in a band, they must first build a listening vocabulary by being immersed in a rich musical environment filled with a wide variety of tonalities and meters. In Rising Rockstars, there are no expectations for correct musical responses. Instead, we allow their brains to form strong musical connections through pure exposure and playful exploration.
The curriculum focuses heavily on ear-first, body-first learning:
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Movement and Singing: Students will engage in continuous fluid movement and playful beat activities to help them feel the rhythm in their bodies without tension. They will also participate in vocal exploration to help them find their singing voices and internalize the tonal center.
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Modified Rock Band Instruments: We introduce specially sized instruments for rock bands. In keeping with the MLT philosophy of teaching sound before sight, we focus on the aural and physical experience of making music.
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Exploration and Creativity: Students will use these instruments to explore different sounds, play simple rhythm patterns, and engage in musical conversations with their peers.
Rising Rockstars provides a joyful, developmentally appropriate foundation, helping our youngest musicians seamlessly transition into formal audiation and be fully prepared for instrument instruction in the years to come!
Rock Band
Designed for musicians in groupings of ages 7 to 9 and ages 10 to 13, this weekly 30-minute class places students in small, highly collaborative groups of 3 to 4. Based on the principles of Music Learning Theory (MLT), the program's primary goal is to help students develop audiation—the ability to hear, think, and comprehend music internally. Just as children learn to speak a language before they learn to read and write, our students will build a strong, ear-first musical vocabulary before they are introduced to traditional notation.
The curriculum centers on the audiation, focusing on core tonal and rhythmic fundamentals. Students will learn to internalize macrobeats, microbeats, and basic harmonic functions through engaging singing, chanting, and movement activities. Then, students will transfer their musical thoughts directly to the guitar, piano, and drums, treating the physical instruments as extensions of the instruments in their heads.
By utilizing short, carefully selected songs, the class follows MLT's Whole-Part-Whole learning sequence. Students will first experience the whole groove or song, break it down to learn specific rhythm and tonal patterns (the parts), and then bring those patterns back to their instruments to perform together as a band. This approach seamlessly merges modern band performance with deep musicianship, empowering your child to play by ear, improvise, and become an independent musical thinker.
Music Moves for Piano
Music Moves for Piano applies the principles of Music Learning Theory (MLT) to piano instruction. We teach music much like children learn their native language. Students build a strong ear and learn to think musically first. Focusing on internalizing music before reading sheet music, students develop into independent, fluent musicians.
The curriculum focuses on building a rich musical vocabulary through a highly interactive, ear-first approach:
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Moving and Singing: Because rhythm is fundamentally grounded in body movement, students spend a portion of class time off the bench, moving, chanting, and singing short songs. This helps them internalize the beat and pitch in their bodies before bringing it to the instrument.
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Whole-Keyboard Exploration: When at the piano, students do not just sit in one position. They explore the entire keyboard from their very first lessons, utilizing both black and white keys in all registers.
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Healthy Technique: To promote playing with technical ease and freedom from muscular tension, students are taught to use large-motor forearm movements rather than isolated finger pushing motions.
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Improvisation and Creativity: Just as having a conversation is natural in spoken language, improvising is a core part of this class. Students use the familiar folk songs they learn by ear to create their own variations, arrange music, and play together.
By establishing this deep listening and performing foundation, students naturally develop into independent, fluent musicians who can play by ear, create their own music, and eventually read standard sheet music with true comprehension.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what ages do you recommend children start lessons?
The youngest age we start lessons is 4 years old. At this stage, children are in a preparatory audiation stage. If we compare learning music to learning a native language, children are at a babbling stage. They may imitate the melodies and rhythms without understanding, so it is important they are exposed to a variety of tonalities and rhythms. Around ages 5-6, children are ready for formal music instruction. Since our Music Moves for Piano program groups students in pairs, we start them as young as 5 years old. Our Rock Band program involves more hand and finger dexterity, so the youngest we start is 7 years old. Here’s a recap.
Rising Rockstars: Ages 4-6
Music Moves for Piano: Ages 5-10
Rock Band: Ages 7-13
What instruments do you teach?
We teach guitar, piano, and drums. We also incorporate singing and chanting in our instruction. Our Rock Band program incorporates all three instruments, while Music Moves for Piano is a piano-focused program. Students who want to play drums or guitar can learn in a fun, collaborative way through our Rock Band program.
Do you offer private lessons?
Yes, our private lessons are based on instructor availability. We recommend private lessons for students who have the musical framework built in our Rock Band and Music Moves for Piano programs.
How does the scheduling work?
In Rising Rockstars and Rock Band, students are grouped by ages 4-6, 7-9, and 10-13. We like to keep the same group together throughout the summer session to build cohesiveness in the band and let students make friends with their bandmates. We understand that summer is a busy time, so students can change to a different time slot when needed.
Our Music Moves for Piano program groups students into pairs. We work with families to find times that work for students who are a good fit to take lessons together.
Private lessons are scheduled based on the instructor's availability.
When are summer lessons?
Our Summer program goes from June 1, 2026, to August 20, 2026. Our school year session starts on August 31, 2026. We offer lessons Monday - Thursday. Since children are out of school for the summer, we offer morning and early afternoon lesson times. We also offer some evening lesson times for the summer.