We teach children age 5 and above.

TERM DATES

Please click here for our Term Dates for both 2013 and 2014.  

Why The Music School?

The Music School in Wanstead takes the headache out of finding a good music teacher for your child.  How can you be sure of finding a good music teacher for your son or daughter? How will you know that they will do a great job and provide ongoing inspiration?  It’s not easy. For us, the most important part of running the school is finding great staff.  We have perfected our own methods of finding ‘X factor’ staff over the years, and our teaching staff continue to go from strength to strength. There’s no great secret to our methods – it’s mainly common sense and hard work – but we end up with teachers who are highly qualified (i.e. music graduates with qualifications from the best colleges and universities), who are great with children and great motivators. We also have references and CRB checks for all our teachers. 

Exams

In order to give students a sense of progression in their studies, we regularly organise exams.  

The examining boards we use are ABRSM (piano and violin), Trinity (keyboard) and Rockschool (guitar).

Exams are all held off site, and generally take place at the end of each term.  It is not compulsory for students to take exams.

Music and the brain

There are lots of studies about how music help stimulate the brain, some more accessible than others! We believe that music positively
stimulates the brain in people of all ages, and that knowledge of music can be a major benefit to children’s development and learning.  Has a piece of music ever made you cry, or tap your foot, or dance?  Have
you ever listened a favourite piece of music to calm yourself, or for inspiration?  We all have – it’s part of being human, and it shows how
effective and beneficial music can be to our lives, even in a passive, non-participating way.  There is no simple way of fully explaining what happens to the brain when we hear or play music, but here are a few of the more interesting (and accessible!) reads/views we have found on the subject –

1. Music and happiness (discovery health)
2. Music and singing for sufferers of Alzheimer’s (bbc)
3. The music In our minds – Norman Weinberger (pdf)
4. Neuroscientist Nina Krauss – Singing in the brain (youtube)