CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

The Academy of Music in Burlington, Oakville, and Georgetown believes that group classes are great for young children, while private instruction is the best way for anyone older than 6 to learn how to play an instrument.  The one-on-one instruction means that students are given instruction that best suits how they, as individuals learn.  Private lessons also mean that they are able to learn the type of music they personally are most interested in.  Also with private lessons a teacher can focus 100% of their attention on that one student to ensure that things such as hand positioning, posture or understanding of a particular concept are correct.  If a student has a particular difficulty in one area, the teacher can work on it without hampering the progress of a class of students and alternatively if a student is excelling in one area, the teacher can move on. We offer 30 minute, and 1 hour lessons.  Our music teachers have university, college or RCM training in the instruments that they teach.  We teach students from beginners to advanced. With locations in Oakville,Burlington, and Georgetown Ontario

My First Piano Adventure

This preschool piano program is a fun, group class for children ages 4 and 5 designed to teach the basics of piano. All classes are limited to 4 students per class and are 1/2 hour once per week.

The classes cover:
•Elementary note recognition
•Rhythm
•Dynamics
•Melody
•Intervals

The course aims to teach the children a new concept every week and is designed to keep the student active and engaged for the entire lesson.

PIano Lessons

Our schools offer piano lessons for students of all ages and abilities from beginners to advanced students.  We offer every style of piano lessons from classical to jazz and pop.  We have students who want to play just for fun and students who excel with the Royal Conservatory of Music curriculum.  We start piano lessons from age 6 onwards.  Before age 6 we recommend our group preschool piano program. Our piano lessons are all private one-on-one instruction and lesson lengths are 30 minutes, or 1 hour.  While our piano lessons are all private, parents are more than welcome to sit in on their child’s lessons.  For our advanced piano students we can help prepare them for university entrance or to work towards their certification with the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Voice Lessos

We have many students who take voice or singing lessons at our schools.  Our voice lessons are all private on-one-one instruction.  Students sing all kinds of music from their favorite artists to classical arias.  Our voice teachers are university or RCM trained.  Our teachers all have performance backgrounds as well.   Just a sample of what a student will learn in singing lessons includes how to breathe properly, how to increase their range, proper pitch, how to project, and stage presence.  Our schools offer 4 optional performance opportunities each year with our Christmas recital, Bandfest, Funfest, and Summer recital.  Many of our students also perform at local events.

Guitar Lessons

Our private guitar lessons include acoustic, electric and bass guitar.  We have an excellent guitar teaching staff and teach guitar lessons in everything from rock to jazz, classical to pop. Many of our teachers actively perform in bands.  Our guitar teachers have a vast knowledge of the proper theory and technique no matter if a student is interested in metal or in classical.  Guitar lessons at our schools are enhanced by the opportunity of learning how to jam with other musicians in a rock band setting or how to perform solo in one of our recitals.  No matter what type of guitar lessons you are interested in, we have the teachers to help you. Typically a student would be 8 before starting guitar lessons, due to their hand size, but some younger students start with a junior sized guitar.

Violin Lessons

Our private violin lessons start as young as age 5. We offer the Royal Conservatory and Suzuki violin program. We also offer Celtic fiddle lessons.  We have students of all ages from adults to children.  For younger children we highly encourage a parent to sit in for the last five or ten minutes of the lesson to help the student at home with things such as posture and hand positioning.  We supplement our private violin lessons with fun ensembles or fiddling groups that play in our recitals.   Our violin teachers are university or RCM trained on their instrument and many perform regularly with local orchestras or bands.

Flute Lessons

Our private flute lessons generally start at age 7 and older..  We have both male and female flute instructors and as with all our instruments, the teachers have university or RCM training.  Our flute lessons are offered in 30 minute or 1 hour lengths. Our flute students perform in our Christmas and Summer recitals with many also performing in local music events   We offer a wide range of styles and many students choose to do their Royal Conservatory of Music flute exams.

Drum Lessons

We offer a wide variety of drum lessons or percussion lessons.  Most of our students learn on a drum kit.  We have both male and female students and typically do not start drum lessons before age 8 as students need to be able to reach both the pedal and the high hat.  We do have some younger students but suggest they come in for a trial drum lesson to see if they are big enough to get started.  Drum lessons are taught on a drum kit in our studios but students are able to get started practicing at home on practice pads before purchasing or renting a drum kit.  Our drums lessons stress proper technique and note reading so students become good drummers quickly.