THE MUSIC STUDIO IS OPEN. All regularly scheduled lessons and classes are being held.
Our school is located at 1237 Central Avenue, Albany, New York, 12205 in the old Roessleville Elementary School, at the corner of Central Avenue and McNutt. We’re less than 1 mile east of Colonie mall and about 1/10 of a mile east of Bryant and Stratton. Our entrance and parking lot are in the rear of the school building. View a map and get directions on our Contact Us page.
For students aged 2- 8 years of age, please see the sections titled Music for the Young andMusic Fundamentals For older individuals, adults and college students, please see the section on Recreational Piano. You can find a description of each of the programs, class schedules, registration forms, and tuition information in these sections as well. We regret that at present we have no openings in The Piano Program except for continuing students of The Music Studio.
In each section, Music for the Young, Music Fundamentals, and Recreational Piano, in the area marked "Registration Forms" you can click on the class you're interested. A PDF of the form will come up. If you prefer, you can call us at (518) 459-7799 and we can mail a form to you.
You can enroll now! We finalize the fall schedule later in the summer and will be in touch with you with the class times.
Sure. Let us know what you need at Contact Us!
We teach the basics of guitar, drum and voice in our Music Fundamentals and Creative Keyboard classes, but we don’t teach any instrument specifically other than piano in private lessons. The Albany Symphony Orchestra at (518) 465-4755 and the Empire State Youth Orchestra at (518) 382-7581 can recommend excellent teachers of specific instruments.
Music for the Young, Music Fundamentals, Creative Keyboard, and Recreational Piano classes are limited to 8 students per class and are sometimes smaller. The number of students in Piano Class may be somewhat higher.
That's a question that can only be answered by meeting with you and your son. We can gauge his progress by talking to the two of you and listening to him play. Please call us to set up a meeting with the Director.
No, they will need to be in separate classes. Our classes are made up of students of like ages, as young children develop so quickly, their attention spans, learning styles, interests, and mental capacities are amazingly different. Even though your 4-year-old and 6-year-old will learn the same thing, they won't learn it at the same pace or in the same way. Our instruction, class structure, and activities are different for different ages.
She'd be perfect in Music for the Very Young, which is part of our Music for the Young curriculum. This is a new offering for us: we held off untill we developed a program that was more than just fun. We wanted to provide a sound musical beginning for 2-year-olds and young 3-year-olds. This course evolved after looking at both clinical and theoretical research and then doing hands-on research of our own.
Of course, but just know that she can’t be part of the class itself. Bring some quiet toys for her to play with or let her play with the basket of quiet toys we have in the corner of each classroom to keep busy.
Yes, we offer 2 types of discounts. There is a multiple child discount for Music Fundamentals and Creative Keyboard tuition, available to families who have more than 1 student enrolled in group lessons. We also offer a 5% discount for families who wish to pay for the semester or the entire year in advance. However, a family is eligible for only 1 discount: either the multiple child or the advance pay discount, not both. Additionally, because of the significant differences between private and group lessons, the multiple child discount is not available for private lessons.
We think that’s a great idea. There are 2 ways to do that. To just visit a class, call our office at (518) 459-7799 to reserve a spot in a class involving children at an age similar to that of your child.
You can also bring your child to an Open House, where we conduct "mini-classes" where children and parents actually get to participate. It’s not exactly the same (our normal classes are limited to just 8 students) but it will give you and your child a taste of what a class is like. We hold Open Houses in late summer and late spring. If you’d like us to contact you with a date, please click here.
Both can be equally good, but at different times in a student’s life, one makes more sense than the other. But just wait. In a few years, the other type of lesson will be a better fit. For instance, younger children are fascinated by other children and, compared to older students, have shorter attention spans. Group music lessons, where students can interact with other children, learn from watching them, move around frequently, regroup with their parent, and change activities more often, make good sense at younger ages. Older children, however, are more able and more prepared to handle individual challenges. Improvements in their ability to read and to focus allow them to take on more ambitious musical pieces and make more sustained effort.
However, older students can also benefit from occasional group lessons, if only to counter the solitude that is sometimes part of piano study. There’s more, though. By meeting with their peers, students also learn that everyone faces a variation on the problem they're facing. Just as getting together with their friends at lunch can help a teen or ’tween get through a school day that seems harder than usual, getting together regularly for Piano Class can help that same student get through the inevitable rough patch in music lessons.
For Recreational Piano students, the decision between group and private lessons usually comes down to a complex calculus of learning style, affordability, scheduling availability, mastery of the basics, and bravery. For most of our students, we’ve found that being in a classroom with others facing the same challenges is a joy and a source of encouragement. Once they’ve mastered the basics, some wish to continue with private lessons and some with group lessons. We tend to have very few openings for private lessons, but we are always glad to find new and creative ways for our students to get the lessons they need.
You are in the class because you know your child. Plus, you’re the link to making good music part of your child’s life the rest of the week – and as the weeks add up, the rest of their lives. You can sing songs with your child in the car or when making dinner. You can play musical games from class while waiting in line at the store. You can listen to piano or simple instrumental music on the radio instead of just popular music (and we can help with suggestions).
As a parent, your role will change. For the youngest students, parents are the comfort zone, audience, and cheering section. But even teenagers sometimes need parents in those roles. When your child is practicing, occasionally just stop what you’re doing and listen. It will make a difference. (You’re a parent: making a difference is what you do.)
Over time, through music, you will forge a new and different bond with your child. You are sharing the gift of music, with each other. Plus, you will know which end of the piano to play.
Eventually, yes. But in Music Fundamentals, students need just a keyboard, although having an instrument at home to play is intriguing, even for Music for the Young students. Having a keyboard or piano helps music become part of your child’s everyday life and allows unfettered exploration of the instrument, (which can be difficult to do in class as the activities are very structured). Your child will enjoy simply playing the keyboard or piano and, eventually, he or she will need to practice, too. If you decide to begin with an electronic keyboard, just get a keyboard that has as many keys as you can afford, and, importantly, having keys the same size as regular piano keys.
Choose an instrument with as close to 88 keys as possible and avoid any instrument that has fewer than 61 keys or keys that don’t work or are missing. The instrument your child uses doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t need to have any percussion or synthesizer extras. Check with friends, in the classifieds, or on Craig’s list (http://www.craigslist.com) for good buys. Keyboards frequently go on sale, so look in the sale pages in August and just before the holidays as well.
So you can plan, by the time your child begins private lessons, an acoustic piano will be necessary. The touch, action, and tone are so different between acoustic pianos and even the more expensive digital instruments that we require our students practice on an acoustic piano.
No, we do not. We know there are many wonderful pianos and fine piano dealers in our area. That's why we don't recommend just one nor do we partner with any store, nor do we ever accept any fee or payment for a referral or recommendation.
To accept a fee for referring the family of one of our students seems inappropriate to us.
However, as musicians and administrators, we've all participated in the acquisition of a number of instruments from various manufacturers and dealers. We'll be glad to share how we made our decisions and answer any questions. Plus, we have several copies in the office of Larry Fine's excellent The Piano Book that we are willing to lend. We're also happy, when people call us with information about a piano they’re selling, to post their information on our Bulletin Board. Finally, we're not afraid to suggest that you check the web site http://www.pianoworld.com It can get rather technical, rather quickly, but you can usually get answers to most questions.
If you missed or will miss a class because of a family conflict or illness, we ask that you come to a class that meets at a different time, but covers the same or very similar material. Just call our office at (518) 459-7799. We can let you know when similar classes are scheduled and we’ll hold your child’s spot in that alternate class. (Note: you cannot simply show up in the other class without a reservation.) If, however, your child’s class was cancelled because of a weather emergency or teacher illness, we’ll be in touch with you to work out the details.
This approach solves 99.9% of all make-ups. However, sometimes an extended illness or absence occurs that requires more a more extensive response. Like you, we don’t want your child to fall behind and become frustrated. If there is an extended absence of 3 or more lessons, please contact your child’s teacher or the Director to explore different alternatives. We want to make sure that your child’s music lessons are the least of your worries.
Orff instruments include rhythmic, pitched percussion instruments, such as xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, and various drums, as well as non-pitched percussion instruments including tambourines, woodblocks, claves, and temple blocks, among others. For the most part, these instruments are based on highly developed African and Indonesian versions, but Orff models are simpler, easier to learn and their sounds work well together in ensemble. Carl Orff, the composer and innovator, chose these types of instruments because he wanted to give each child an opportunity to participate at his or her own level, as a member of the ensemble, and as a soloist.
In evaluations, students perform three pieces for trained adjudicators or judges. Each of the judges then provides written feedback for student, teacher, and parent review. At The Music Studio, our students participate in evaluations through the New York State Music Teachers Association and on-site. We do both because we think evaluations are important. Students get unbiased feedback. Parents get third-party insight on their child's progress. Teachers get a fresh look at their technique and sometimes, a little bit of anxiety as well. (We think that's good.) At the same time, students are learning multiple pieces, gaining versatility, fighting musical boredom, working to multiple goals, and improving their technique and repertoire. With this much benefit, we have to support evaluations.
We don't require any practicing for our youngest students, but we always encourage students to play songs at home. Take-home assignments begin in Creative Keyboard and involve less than 30 minute practice requirements. Indeed, at that age, we ask students and their parents to focus on the number of times a piece is correctly practiced and the regularity and frequency of practice sessions, rather than the amount of time a practice session lasts.
Practice requirements increase gradually, with more advanced students in The Piano Program routinely practicing an hour or more each day.
Loads of things!
Plus, know that at the beginning you’ll actually need to help. Practice involves counting, note recognition, rhythm, fingering, listening, and that’s the easy stuff. Because beginning students – children and adults – don’t remember everything they have to do, they get frustrated. Help your child focus by having them play several measures well first rather than the whole piece; make practice a game; occasionally use small rewards (jelly bean practice, perhaps); and above all, if your child just cannot sit still, reward progress by letting him or her run up and down the stairs or do jumping jacks at the end of playing a measure or song well.
Finally, know that your not liking to practice placed you in legendary company. Almost everyone, at some point, has balked at practicing. The renowned pianist Arthur Rubenstein credited his mother with getting him through horrendously rough practicing patches and most piano teachers have a few outrageous stories from their own childhoods. Our own alumni tell us that that it was what their parents said and did that kept them going. So yes, there is much you can do. The above will get you started and if you need more ideas, let us know. We have many ideas.