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Lessons at Avalon Music Academy are taught by professional
performing musicians, with special understanding and patience
for children and beginners. Our teachers possess the ability
to inspire and motivate all students to their own level of
achievement.
Classical instruction is based on the Royal Conservatory of
Music curriculum. Students are prepared for exams so they
enter feeling confident and comfortable. Students may also
choose to study popular music rather than, or in addition
to, Royal Conservatory.
For information on prices, and to see which instruments are
taught at which location, please refer to the Locations
page.
Click on an instrument to learn more:
Children can start learning the violin as early as age 5.
Beginning students will learn proper bow-hold and bowing technique.
From Classical violin to Celtic or country fiddling, the violin
is a very rewarding instrument to play.
Violin students are also invited to play in the String
Ensemble.
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Larger and deeper than a violin, but higher than a cello
(by one octave), the viola is a wonderful, rich-sounding member
of the string family. Taught from age 7 and up, though younger
students are invited to begin with violin and switch to viola
later on. This can be discussed with the teacher.
Viola students are also invited to play in the String
Ensemble.
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The Cello is perhaps the most versatile of the string instruments.
Quarter-size and half-size cellos are available for younger
children. Cello is taught from age 5 and up.
Cello students are also invited to play in the String
Ensemble.
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At Avalon, we teach ALL styles of guitar, including rock,
funk, punk, blues, jazz, classical and country, finger-style
and flat-picking. The student moves at his or her own pace,
learning to read notation, tablature or chord charts, as required
by the chosen style of music.
Guitar lessons generally begin at age 7, but younger students
are encouraged to begin with ukulele
and work up to guitar.
For classical students, we teach the Royal Conservatory of
Music's classical guitar curriculum and prepare students for
exams.
Guitar students are also invited to play in the Guitar
Ensemble.
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Bass guitar students will develop sight-reading and aural
skills, and the performance technique needed for all styles
of bass, including jazz (concert band), rock, pop, funk, folk,
and country.
Though there are half-size and three-quarter-size bass guitars
available, the instruments are fairly large, so the beginning
age for bass players is usually around 9 or 10 years.
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Mandolin lessons are offered for those wanting to learn
either bluegrass/country in the style of Sam Bush and Bill
Monroe, or Celtic mandolin to accompany or swap with fiddle
tunes. We also teach classical mandolin (Vivaldi wrote some
great mandolin concertos!) to beginner or intermediate players.
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While it is generally agreed that seven years of age is
a reasonable time to start learning the guitar, Avalon teaches
the ukulele to children as early as age 4. Due to the natural
progression from the four-string ukulele (usually adorned
with animal stickers on the fretboard) to the six-string guitar,
we have students at age five and six that are playing the
guitar quite fluently, due to having begun on the ukulele.
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Whether you wish to be the play with an orchestra like James
Galway or in a rock band like Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson,
we can certainly show the way. For younger students with slightly
less grandiose ambitions one can learn using a curved headjoint
starting at around age 7 or 8. The curved headjoint makes
the flute look like a candy cane, bringing the mouthpiece
closer in for flautists with small-ish arms.
All woodwind lessons offer (Classical) RCM preparation and/or
jazz studies, with focus on sound, fingering technique, repertoire,
musicality and theory. Younger wood-wind-wanna-be’s
are invited to begin with recorder lessons as young as age
four.
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Clarinets come in many different sizes and pitch ranges
- there are more out there than the Bb soprano and Bb bass
clarinets which you see in middle school bands. Clarinet lessons
start at age 8 or 9.
All woodwind lessons offer (Classical) RCM preparation and/or
jazz studies, with focus on sound, fingering technique, embouchure,
repertoire, musicality and theory. Younger wood-wind-wanna-be’s
are invited to begin with recorder lessons as young as age
four.
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Why study the saxophone? - just in case Michael Brecker
can’t make his sax gig in New York and he needs a sub...
We offer instruction for all four saxophones – baritone,
tenor, alto and soprano. Interestingly, the fingerings are
common throughout the four instruments, which makes it possible
to apply what is learned on one sax to the others. So children
who have yet to recognize Clarence Clemon’s coolness
factor can start on the alto sax and eventually work up to
the larger tenor. Sax lessons usually start at age 9 or 10.
All woodwind lessons offer (Classical) RCM preparation (even
sax) and/or jazz studies, with focus on sound, fingering technique,
embouchure, repertoire, musicality and theory. Younger wood-wind-wanna-be’s
are invited to begin with recorder lessons as young as age
four.
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For children not strong enough to cart around a saxophone,
or not focused enough to finger the keys on a flute, we offer
recorder lessons. Recorder is the most popular instrument
in public schools because it is an easy, inexpensive instrument
to learn (the starting price is about the same as a McDonald’s
happy-meal).
Recorder is not solely a transitional instrument. There are
musicians who successfully pursue mediaeval recorder playing,
and even classical. Take J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concert
No. 4 for example (make sure it’s the recorder version...)
Recorder lessons start at age 4.
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Somewhere out there is a smoky jazz nightclub that will,
in the distant future, stage a jazz band with trumpeters currently
taking lessons at Avalon. The same goes for the symphony orchestra
chair that will eventually be occupied by a child taking lessons
here. And then there are the kids who like to play the trumpet
because it’s loud!
Trumpet lessons can start at around age 9 or 10.
All brass lessons offer (Classical) RCM preparation and/or
jazz studies, with focus on embouchure, sound, repertoire,
musicality and theory.
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Trombone students will learn to develop and enhance their
performance skills, interpretive ability, and knowledge of
repertoire. Ultimately, the goal will be for the students
to express their own musicality through performance and improvisation.
Trombone lessons can start at around age 10 or 11.
And it will only take 75 more trombone players for your child
to take part in a rousing rendition of the old classic, “Seventy-Six
trombones”...
All brass lessons offer (Classical) RCM preparation and/or
jazz studies, with focus on embouchure, sound, repertoire,
musicality and theory.
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The tuba is a much more exciting instrument than most people
realize. In an orchestra or concert band, everyone
hears the tuba. The lessons are geared to keeping players
excited about learning, improving and improvising. But don’t
worry, not all students will be obliged to play the A&W
Root Bear Tuba Solo in B-flat.
Tuba lessons can start at around age 10 or 11, though some
children may be best to begin with the tuba’s cousins,
euphonium or baritone.
All brass lessons offer (Classical) RCM preparation and/or
jazz (concert band) studies, with focus on embouchure, sound,
repertoire, musicality and theory.
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For children, producing a single note on the piano does
not require the dexterity demanded by the string instruments.
As a note can be played on the piano with just one finger,
a simple familiar melody can be learned after a few minutes
into the first lesson. This instant gratification factor makes
the piano a very popular instrument for young children.
Regardless of level, the piano is still a very demanding and
rewarding instrument to play; lessons are taught from beginners
straight through to Grade 10 Conservatory and ARCT.
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After the obvious similarities between piano and organ,
one has to consider that organists are frequently busier than
pianists, what with the foot pedals (yes, there is a whole
set of keys down below to be played with the feet).
Between the unequivocal repertoire given to us by J.S. Bach,
and the distinctive 1970’s Hammond B3 organs that contribute
to the classic rock sounds of Joe Cocker (and the like), the
organ can be an extremely rewarding instrument to pursue.
It is sometimes recommended that organists-to-be begin by
developing their skills on piano at the beginning. Give us
a call if you would like to discuss it. Organ lessons are
$20 per half-hour.
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Studying voice is one of the more difficult pursuits for
any musician (or musician-in-training). Voice students do
not get the quick gratification that pianists do (by pressing
a finger down on a key to produce a note). Rather, the lessons
address breathing techniques and muscle control. And - we
do singing as well! Rest assured that our voice instructors
possess the knack for making the lessons equally as fun as
electric guitar lessons.
Presently, we offer voice lessons in pop/rock style and musicals
(for when auditions open up again for “The Lion King”).
Voice lessons can generally begin at age 7.
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Drum and Percussion Lessons
Children age 7 and up can learn to redirect energy into
the drums. From basic beats to complicated poly-rhythms, students
will learn rudiments, technique and sight reading. Beginner,
intermediate and advanced students are welcome.
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The importance of music theory is often overlooked - possibly
because it is difficult to teach in a way that keeps the student
interested. Our music teachers meet this challenge head-on.
Although theory is applied to all instruments within the lessons,
advanced students may wish to study music theory in the general
sense, whether to gain acceptance in a post-secondary program,
or simply to develop a greater understanding of music and
musicianship.
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How is it that a musician can hear a string of notes or
chords and play them back without seeing music? This is the
result of ear training. Although perfect pitch (the ability
to produce or identify any given note by ear) is something
one is born with, the rest of us can be taught RELATIVE-pitch.
Relative pitch means that, when one note is provided, the
musician can produce or identify any other notes relative
to the given note. So what’s the point of all this?
A musician whose ears are well trained has a much easier time
hearing, identifying with, and anticipating music that is
being played.
The most spectacular example of a musician possessing the
gift of perfect pitch is in the case of Mozart who, while
still a child, attended a chamber music concert with his father.
That evening, the boy wrote out the entire musical score on
paper. It was so perfect that he was accused of stealing the
music until he was given a chance to demonstrate that he could
indeed hear any notes on any instrument and transcribe them
to paper, or play them back.
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