VIP TRAINING

Want the fastest progress?

Our most recommended package is this one, Tier 3, Group & Private lessons.

When a student only takes private lessons, they gain a lot of personalized insight paired with speedy progress, but they miss out on some key things that only group classes can deliver:

GROUP CLASSES

1. Developing a keen sense of timing, outside the metronome, in a realistic situation.
2. Adjusting your speed and musical feel and phrasing to match those around you.
3. Breaking you out of the habit of always wanting to stop when you mess up.
4. Learning to play your part while one or more other parts are going, and not getting distracted or thrown off.
5. Knowing you're not alone in the things you struggle with, comradery in learning this difficulty later in life.
6. The chance to perform as part of a group.
7. Hearing the beauty of the parts coming together throughout the entire piece. Even though you can try to approximate this with a recording, nothing beats the real thing.

If I had to choose one to recommend, I would choose group classes. But there are some irreplaceable things that private lessons, alongside group classes offer:

COMBINED WITH PRIVATE LESSONS

1. Strengthens what you covered in class, on a personalized level.
2. Laser focus on your exact problem areas, with the least time wasted, since you are already now familiar with the most of the music.
3. Let you work on more material, such as solo repertoire.
4. If you're the type that likes to push and challenge yourself, Beginners really appreciate this because you can prep up for an upcoming group class that may push you to your limits. Then you can practice the material at home and arrive to group class ready to be challenged with putting it all together.

The solution? If you have a little wiggle room in your budget and your schedule, it is far superior to PLAN FOR BOTH.

Should I play something fun, or should I "practice"?

The fact that you consider those two very separate things is the first thing we should address!

Itzak Perlman states that in a 3-hour practice day, he spends 1 hour on Scales & Arpeggios, 1 hour on Etudes and 1 hour on Repertoire. 

Let's break that down. Let's immediately assume that you don't have 3 hours a day to practice, (because none of my adult students do). Let's say you come to class on a Tuesday night. First, you warm up with the Technique class and then you play a cool new piece in the Play Classical Music Together class.

You go home and for the next several days, you work on honing the technique you learned on Tuesday night. Then your private lesson comes around. The weather is terrible so you decide to stay home and do the lesson online. You feel comfortable with the group class material and don't need any help with that right now, but you do want to work on your next solo: the Bach Partita No. 3 in E Major.

A few months later, the concert rolls around. You invite your closest family and friends to watch you wow the audience with your solo piece. You then get back up on stage with the Student Orchestra and perform several of the pieces we've been playing over the last several months. After the concert several people come up to you to congratulate you on your wonderful performance. You couldn't feel prouder. You wanted it, you worked for it, and you got it. What a great feeling.

So, play or practice? Why, both of course! 

IS THE GROUP & PRIVATE MEMBERSHIP RIGHT FOR YOU?

This membership is perfect if you:

• Want to make the fastest progress possible in the shortest amount of time.
• Want to get all your questions answered while still having fun playing with others.
• Can attend classes 2-3x/week, either online or in-person.
• Think you can afford $90-$140/week for these goals.

This membership is not a good fit if you:

• Are just looking for private lessons.
• Can only attend classes 1x/week.
• Do not enjoy playing with a group.