Real Questions from real parents about all kinds of musical lesson and musical theater related things - and our real answers

We get lots of questions from parents, and what better way to Summarize them and Learn from them then to provide them here as real questions about lessons from parents and our real answers, typically by email or text message and then we have put them here for your reference and and hopefully to be helpful. For more general FAQs - we have summarized them on another FAQ page here.

My child is starting 5th grade and he needs to pick an instrument for this grade. Do you have any recommendations for him to choose from and that will also compliment his piano skills ( easier to pick).. any suggestions would be appreciated. 

The beauty of what Dheeran (not real name) has already learned on the piano is that he can read both bass and treble clef and already understands the fundamentals of music. There is quite literally no instrument he could choose where he wouldn’t begin with a significant amount of knowledge! The fun part will be learning the idiosyncrasies of that particular instrument - how to produce the sound, hold it, and use its unique technique.

Violin would give him a very direct connection to treble-clef reading, while clarinet or alto saxophone would also be excellent choices if he is interested in band. Honestly, though, I would let him choose the instrument whose sound and personality excite him most, because his piano foundation will help him succeed with any of them. My suggested next step is simply to have him listen to or try those instruments at school and choose the one he feels most drawn to.

I would assume they have some kind of a discovery day or something like that so that he gets a little experience with the instruments at school before picking?

Hello, I just signed my six year old daughter, Stephanie (not actual name), up for her initial assessment on Monday next week. We are looking forward to that. In the meantime, I had a few questions about your programs. How old are the kids in musical theatre generally?

So we have multiple Theater programs, for the kids program that rehearses on Wednesdays from four to six the age there is 6 to 11, with most of the students being second to fourth graders. For the junior program the ages there are eight years to 14 with the majority of students being forced to sixth graders. And then for Triple Threat that typically is older is the minimum age we will accept in there is 10 years old. And so that's typically six to eighth graders.

Can you share more about that program if she were to be in it at age 6? Kids Theater (Jungle Book Kids) We are exploring things of interest to her currently. She spent the last five months playing violin. She has asked for voice lessons. Beyond that, she is super energetic, funny, vibrant, loves to sing and move, and we think something with Music Pillars could be right for her. We just aren't sure what yet... would love to learn more about all your programs both instruments, voice, and theatre.

Yes I am looking forward to meeting you and Stephanie next week and going over some of that in person - that will be fun! For a six-year-old who loves singing, moving, performing, and being expressive, Kids Musical Theatre may be an excellent starting point. However, the initial assessment also gives us an opportunity to learn about the child’s interests and abilities and discuss whether theatre, piano, another instrument, or a broader music program would be the best fit.