Music lessons for Fall 2015!

Summer is coming to an and we are getting ready for another year at Monument Square Music School! We can’t wait to start this school year with our great teachers and students. Many new students have already signed up and it is always great to see so many people begin to learn a new instrument. Every single day we see the confidence learning an instrument and singing can give to a child. We witness over and over again the creative thinking and coordination skills people develop while learning an instrument. We truly see the joy and the sense of accomplishment children and adults gain when overcoming the challenges of learning the language of music! I believe that music is one of the most difficult skills that a person can learn and it does take a great commitment on the part of the student and the teacher; getting through the basics, learning the theory, developing the technique, training the ear, developing the musical memory.. All tough stuff and all of these aspects being tested and improved each week every song learned! With a little bit of practice every day and weekly lessons students progress to the point where the instrument (or voice) becomes a joy to play instead of a beast to conquer! Our teachers try to teach music gradually so nothing is overwhelming. It is always a goal of ours to make sure that the student has a great time and loves what they are doing.

If you are interested in signing up for fall session check out the bios of our truly amazing faculty at this link http://monumentsquaremusic.com/about/instructors/ and register here; http://monumentsquaremusic.com/register/register/! We are so very lucky to have such high quality musicians on our faculty. Getting great teachers has always been our priority since we started the school 3 years ago. We don’t sell instruments, cables, or guitar picks! We decided from the start to concentrate on music instruction and we think great teachers have helped our students blossom and see the results every year at our recital!

Stephanie works with one of her students Hannah at Monument Square Music School
Stephanie works with one of her students Hannah at Monument Square Music School

 

 

Winter/Spring Music lessons begin!

Great sounds at Monument Square in Leominster!

We are excited to be starting winter/spring music lessons and are currently taking new students for piano, voice, guitar, bass, drums, sax, violin, flute and cello lessons. The semester started on January 5th and runs through June 20th. It is so great to hear the students improving and gearing up for the spring recital.  Many great music sounds can be heard in the lobby of Monument Square Music School from students and teachers!

We are also happy to have two great new teachers on staff this year..

Michael James Rice joins our piano faculty. Michael is a great classical pianist and an amazing teacher for students of all ages. He has taught hundreds of piano students over the years and is the lead clinician for Piano Adventures music books in China, and we are very lucky to have his experience and talent at the school!

Our second newcomer is the great vocal talent, Lizzy Marquis. Lizzy is a fantastic singer and pianist who can be found in local music venues performing with her her band “The Lizzy Marquis Experience” and as a solo actWe are glad to have her on our team of voice teachers!

We are glad to be expanding our faculty roster. Check out our other music teachers at http://monumentsquaremusic.com/about/instructors/ Give us a call or email to enroll! http://monumentsquaremusic.com/about/contact/

Fall music lessons

Hi friends and music lovers! We hope you are all enjoying your summer. September is just around the corner and it’s the perfect time to get your Fall schedule in order and sign up for Fall music lessons! Whether it’s for private lessons for your favorite instrument, or the “Kiddie Music Time” group class for your young children.. Monument Square Music School is excited to start up the Fall semester! We currently offer drums, bass, guitar, piano, voice, flute, sax, mandolin, banjo, violin and cello lessons! We love being able to offer lessons on so many instruments with such a high caliber of teachers. Our location in downtown Leominster is a great spot and allows us to service Leominster, Sterling, Princeton, Westminster, Lunenburg, Fitchburg and other towns in Central MA. We always get talented students who are serious about becoming good at their instruments and studying with great teachers. Other than learning technique and how to perform music in different styles our students learn theory, harmony, ear-training, sight-reading, rhythm, improvisation, and perform in recitals every year! Check out our faculty biographies at FACULTY and contact us at CONTACT to make an appointment or find out more information.

Stephanie works with one of her students Hannah at Monument Square Music School
Stephanie works with one of her students Hannah at Monument Square Music School

Summer Session 2014- Music lessons have started!

We are getting back in the swing of things here at Monument Square Music and kids and parents are starting to trickle in after a 2 week break from music lessons. The last two weeks have been a good chance to unwind from an awesome year in music lessons ending with a recital at Unitarian Church in Leominster in June where the all the kids played SO WELL! The church is such a cool spot for a student recital and the students and families had a blast. Students also got a chance to play with some of the teachers and there were some great jams happening! There were drum, voice, piano, and violin students playing a in WIDE variety of genres from pop to classical to jazz to rock and everything in between. It is refreshing to watch and hear these kids as young as 4 and 5 years old get up on stage and really perform so well. It is also great to see the improvement of students as they progress through years and get older and develop into great players. We can’t wait until the next recital! I also wanted to point out some dates for students hoping to sign up for classes and current students.  Summer session runs until August 23rd and students can sign up at anytime. The Fall session starts on September 8.  For those interested in Kiddie Music Time signups, the weekly 11am Saturday classes start on September 27th and run through December 6.  Click here for Kiddie Music Time Registration. For private lessons please give us an e-mail at Monumentsquaremusic@gmail.com or a phone call at 617-823-1848 and we will get you all set up with one of our teachers. We are currently offering piano, drums, bass, guitar, banjo, sax, trumpet, flute, violin, cello, and voice lessons. We are looking forward to seeing all of our students this summer and meeting all the new ones!

Children’s music class.. spring session starting on May 10th!

Hello Kiddie Music Time friends!  We hope that you are having a fun and happy Springtime! For those of you who don’t know, “Kiddie Music Time” is Monument Square Music’s group children’s music class for ages 1-5.  Classes are held at Monument Square Music School’s studios right in downtown Leominster.  The spring semester of Kiddie Music Time’s weekly Saturday classes start on May 10th at 11:00 am and run through June 14th.   That’s 6 weeks of music fun and learning!

We have a ton of new games and songs in store for this session to give kids a fun introduction to music.  We always concentrate on developing rhythm, melody, harmony, and dance along with encouraging a love and appreciation of music that will last a lifetime.  Kids learn music by jamming out, dancing and singing to a live pianist and the class is lead by Monument Square Music’s voice teacher, Stephanie Rogers.  Stephanie Rogers and the pianist Joe Mazzarella compose much of the music, making Kiddie Music Time a unique experience for parents and children alike.  What a great way to spend time with your kids!

Please contact us soon if you plan on signing up your children for the class and we can register you by phone.  You can also register by clicking on this link Kiddie Music Time Registration, and filling out the form.  We look forward to seeing you all soon, and can’t wait for the fun to begin!

Caylynn jamming
Kiddie Music Time students in action, jamming out the groove!

Music and Art in Monument Square

Monument Square Music is getting a make over!  We are lucky to have the talented artist Emily Ashman painting the music school, bringing lots of life and color to the place!  Our new look is almost complete and the students are very excited about the colorful rooms and cool, musical murals on the walls.  Emily is a multi-talented artist who also excels at photography and graphic design. You can check out her work at http://theillustratedroom.com/  She also holds paint parties at different venues in the area. Check out the dates for these fun events at http://www.wepaintsocial.com/social-calendar/  In the meantime we are very excited to watch this art in progress.  Looking good…. thanks Emily!

Emily Joy Painitin 2 Emily Joy Painting Emily Joy sax

Music lessons and Kiddie Music Time in Downtown Leominster MA!

Music lessons for Fall 2013

Hello friends! All of us here at Monument Square Music School hope that you’ve had a great summer with lots of fun in the sun..but don’t forget that Fall is just around the corner!  We are excited to kickoff our second year as the new semester is about to begin.  Last year our classrooms were filled with beautiful sounds from our students and teachers.  The students did a great job as always, and we love to have such committed teachers.  Our teachers are top rate and we are proud to be able to say that all of  them are such “high level” players, most with degrees from music schools. We specialize in lessons here at Monument Square Music and we do it well!  We don’t sell guitar strings or kazoos, but concentrate on private lessons and getting the best instructors possible.

Lat year we had 2 recitals (winter and spring) where the students gained experience performing in front of people, increased their confidence, and sometimes had the experience of performing with other students and pros. The “Kiddie Music Time” group class was also a success. On Saturday mornings the Kiddie room was filled with young children learning various original and traditional childrens songs, playing instruments, singing and dancing! This program specialized for children ages 1-5 years old, introduces kids to music at a young age..and it’s tons of fun! So it’s time to register. If you or your child love music and have an interest in learning how to play a certain instrument, now’s the time to call us! Monument Square Music School offers private lessons for many instruments such as: voice, piano, drums, sax, trumpet, violin, cello, flute,  guitar, and bass! We are happy to service the areas of Leominster, Fitchburg, Lunenburg and Sterling. Make music lessons an important part of your life and call us today. Looking forward to hearing for you!

Kiddie Music Time-Spring Session

Here at Monument Square Music, we are excited to start our Spring Session for Kiddie Music Time.  This is a class where toddlers and young children get their first taste of music through singing, dancing, playing instruments and musical games.  Stephanie Rogers and I have a ball playing a cool mix of rock, jazz, folk, and blues songs all adapted and set to children’s lyrics.  The kids love to play percussion instruments to the rhythm of the piano and sing along with Stephanie.  Weekly classes are held at 11am and run from April 27th-June 22nd.  There are 8 classes in all costing only $80 for the semester!  Give us a call for more info or register online http://monumentsquaremusic.com/register/kiddie-music-time-registration/

11 Steps to becoming a better musician and practicing the right way!

We are well into the new year at Monument Square Music School.  Music lessons are going great and students are practicing hard for recitals and other performances.  Whether you play drums, voice, guitar, violin, cello, sax, flute, trumpet or any of the other lessons that we offer at Monument Square Music School, practicing a musical instrument is tough business! These tips can make it easier and more fun…

1.) Practice slowly. If you can’t play a song perfectly you’re practicing it too fast.  You’re probably playing the same mistakes over and over again and your “muscle memory” is memorizing all those mistakes that you’re making.  You might even learn the song after a while, but it will take longer and you will probably make a lot of mistakes.  You can fix this by slowing it down dramatically!  Don’t speed up until you can play the song perfectly and effortlessly at a slow tempo.

2.)  Practice effortlessly.   You should always be relaxed when you play or sing.  Unnecessary tension can make playing an instrument more difficult.  Certain things are impossible to play if a musician is too tense.  Relaxing will help rhythm, accuracy, and sound.   Jazz pianist Kenny Werner wrote book on effortless practicing and performing called Effortless Mastery.  This is a great book for older students.  Here’s a link for that book.. http://kennywerner.com/effortless-mastery.

3.)  Practice small sections or “chunks” of a song. Don’t just run the song from top to bottom every time.  This is especially useful for longer, more difficult songs.  If a song is hard enough, and you are making a lot of mistakes, break it up into small sections or chunks.  After you master a small chunk of the song move onto the next chunk.  When the second chunk is mastered combine the first and second chunk. Keep progressing through the song like this and you’ll have the song mastered in no time!

4.)  Start a practice journal.   Buy and a notebook and start keeping track of your practices.  Jot down the time you start and finish, and what you worked on during the practice session.  This will help keep you on track and motivate you to practice consistently.

5.)  Set long-term and short-term goals.   What do you want to accomplish with music lessons?  Do you want to play for friends and family? Join a rock band? Play in an orchestra or chorus?   No goal can be too big or small.  People take music lessons for many different reasons.  It’s just nice to have something to work towards.  Writing down your goals will help keep you focused.  Short term goals can be more along the lines of preparing for a recital next month, or learning your songs for the week.

6.)  Don’t be afraid to review old songs.  Make “review songs” part of your daily practice.  I don’t know why some students are hesitant to go back and play songs that they know and love!  It is definitely not a waste of time. Take 10 minutes a day to review and you will become a better player.

7.)  Space out practice sessions. Practicing through shorter and more regular time intervals improves concentration and reinforces new skills and material. Shorter periods also can be more convenient.  Everybody’s different and some people have no problem concentrating for long periods of time. However, many students are much more comfortable with 10 minute practice sessions 2 or 3 times a day.

8.)  Have a comfortable practice environment.  I know that sometimes it’s impossible to have the ideal practice space, but if you can improve your environment it can make practicing more enjoyable.  Put up a cool poster or inspiring picture. Make sure the room is neat and tidy (if that’s what you prefer). It’s also a good idea to find a space that is private and quiet!

9.)  Record yourself playing/singing.  You will probably find ways to improve by listening to yourself perform.  Simply buy a cheap recorder and keep it handy near your practice area.  Ipods/smartphones have recording apps installed in them.  A recorder is also a great tool for those of us that compose.  It helps to jot down your ideas quickly!

10.)   Listen to music for motivation.  Listening to a great CD or going to see an amazing concert can be motivation to hit the practice room!

11.)  Have fun!  Focus on the interesting sounds you are creating. Improvise freely. Learn your favorite tunes. Play along with recordings. Play with other musicians. Compose your own music. Your enthusiasm will reflect in your playing.

Happy New Year from Monument Square Music School!

Music Lessons for the New Year

The Monument Square Music School has kicked off the New Year and new semester in a great way – with many new students for private lessons to welcome to our school, new talented instructors joining our faculty, and of course we can’t forget to mention the adorable, new little faces in the Kiddie Music Time group class for ages 1-5! The first class was lots of fun and we are still accepting registrations for this semester…so it’s not too late to sign up the kiddies for a music education class full of song and dance!

It’s always refreshing to start a New Year.  It’s a time to make new beginnings and a fresh start.  Many of our new students are taking a risk and trying something new, something that they’ve always wanted to do.  Music lessons are  rewarding in many different ways.  Learning an instrument is difficult and not for everybody, but the accomplished feeling and the joy a student experiences when they master a concept, learn how to read music, learn a new song, have a great performance, or even compose a new song is priceless!  Music is difficult to master, but it is a skill that a great student will retain for life.  It could be compared to becoming fluent in another language, becoming a master in a martial art, or becoming an amazing dancer.   It takes time, and practice, and hard work, but nothing worth getting is easy!  The joy of progress is something that our teachers get to see over and over again, and probably why we love to teach in the first place.  We are grateful to have a chance to pass on our knowledge and talents to students, and love to musically serve the Leominster/Fitchburg/Sterling area!  From all of us at Monument Square Music… we would love to wish you Happy New Year!