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Proudly serving Shawnee and Overland Park, Kansas |
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Registrations are still being accepted. Convenient after school class times are still available. The Academy of the Arts studios believe that private instruction is the best way for anyone to learn how to play an instrument. The one-on-one instruction means that students are given instruction that best suits how they as an individual 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. Piano and Keyboard Lessons Our schools offer piano lessons for students of all ages and abilities from beginners to very advanced students. We offer every style of piano lessons from classical to jazz and pop. We start piano lessons from age 5 onwards. Before age 5 we recommend our group preschool music 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. Voice Lessons 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. 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 3 optional performance opportunities each year with our Christmas recital, Spring and Summer recital. We provide a professional accompanist who rehearses with the students and plays for them at the recitals. Guitar Lessons Our private guitar lessons include acoustic, electric and bass guitar. We teach guitar lessons in everything from rock to jazz, classical to pop, Spanish to chording. 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. 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. 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 so students become good drummers quickly. Preschool Music Program Our preschool music program is a fun, interactive group program for children ages 3 – 5. In this class they learn the fundamentals of music including rhythm, melody, notation and an introduction to orchestral instruments. The class is 30 minutes long, one time a week. In the rhythm component they learn by doing fun games with rhythm sticks, triangles, shakers, hand drums, etc. For the melody component they learn the concepts through lots of singing. They will learn high – low, loud – soft, pitch, major – minor, etc. For notation they learn how to recognize musical symbols such as tremble clef, bass clef, half note, whole note, etc. (Much the same as learning your alphabet before you learn how to read.) We also teach them how to recognize all the instruments of the orchestra both by sight and sound. For example, by the end of the program they can quickly tell you if the sound they hear is a trumpet or saxophone. The preschool music classes are taught by our instructors with university degrees in music who love working with young children. The preschool music program prepares students to go on into private instrument lessons when they are older. Children’s Choir Program Our choir program is a group class that offers several performance opportunities throughout the year as well. Students learn proper warm-up and breathing exercises, and an introduction to harmony. The choir works on a wide range of musical styles from contemporary songs, to Christmas classics and historical folk songs. The choir is recommended for ages 6 and up. |
