The way we determine how we can best help your child is to invite you and your child to attend a one-time trial lesson with one of our teachers. This is an opportunity for you to meet with the teacher, get a sense of their teaching style and see how your child responses to their personality and teaching methods. This also gives the teacher a chance to evaluate the student's learning style (and their skills if they have had lessons before) and determine what the best course of action is for future lessons (or classes).

If you are attending a Choir Class or a Piano Team Class, you may observe the class as our guest.. For these ensemble classes, your child will not be required to participate immediately in the first visit. Just come and relax and watch the class in action. We know all children can succeed in these classesl, provided they can focus in a group setting and can adjust to the format of the class. Call 650 574 2844 to schedule your one-time trial lesson / class.

All of our teachers are excellent and they meet frequently as a teaching team to discuss motivational teaching techniques and the latest methods. Our students benefit from the knowledge of the whole staff here, as well as their own private teacher. If after your first trial lesson, you would like to meet another teacher, you may schedule another trial lesson with the front desk staff. Each trial lesson is a separate payment.

Yes, we offer a state-recognized program called Certificate of Merit. This is currently available to piano, flute and voice students. If you are interested in this program you can let your teacher know, and they will provide you with the details.

Yes, we have 2 annual concerts - one in January and one in May. We also have Workshop Week preceding these Concerts. These are small group performance classes for the students to play for each other, get coached by multiple teachers and learn how to handle performance anxiety in a positive way. Our younger elementary students attend low-pressure, fun Playing Parties and gain valuable performance confidence this way! Our pre-teen & teen students have the option to attend our low-key Teen Master Class.

We use weekly assignment sheets that outline the student's practice goals for the week. The teacher writes out clear and detailed instructions that the parent can refer to as well.

The Myriad Music School has been in San Mateo since 1996 and has been in its current, expanded location since 2005.

Lessons range in length from:
30 min. / $44 per lesson (Elementary Beginner)
45 min. / $64 per lesson (Late-Elementary -Advanced)
1 hour / $84 (Intermediate- Advanced)

We recommend that beginners practice about 10-15 minutes per day, 5 days a week. We believe in the 5 days a week format as it allows the student to make choices and they take ownership over their own practicing. Intermediate and Advanced students make that decision with their teacher. We help our students set practice goals that ensure progress each week and balance with the student's other weekly time commitments.

All private lessons are once a week.

All of our teachers have Degrees in Music from accredited Universities and have great interpersonal skills with children and adults alike. We only hire teachers who have these qualifications. The directors offer year-round supplementarly workshops for the teachers at Myriad Music School. Our teachers are always working on perfecting their craft.

Your lesson time isreserved exclusively for you. If you must miss a lesson, as a courtesy please call ahead and let us know you are not coming. We do offer many make-up opportunities, although there are no guaranteed make-ups.To schedule a Private Make up Lesson, call the office by 12:00 noon on the same day you are able to attend a make-up lesson. Let us know what time that day you are available and we will check to see if there are any openings on that same day, we will let you know. Make-ups are granted on a day-by-day, first-come, first-servebasis. To schedule a Make-up Session, check in with our office about our Make-up Session Schedule, and sign up for the dates that work for you. You must reserve a space in one of these fun classes.

No, we never ask a child to perform in a school concert if they are not comfortable performing in public. They will be encouraged to perform in the small group settings of Workshop Week. There are no parents at these events, just other students and their teachers. This still gives them a goal that they are working towards throughout the year. We also have the Playing Parties held twice a year as well. These are small classes on the weekends and it is just for kids, with parents attending the last 15 minutes only. Children play for each other in an informal, friendly atmosphere. These classes are for younger children and older students who do not wish to participate in the concerts. Our pre-teen & teen students have the option to attend our low-key Teen Master Class.

Private Lessons, Piano Team and Guitar Team are year-round enrollment. These are specializedinstruction classes. Summer lessons are included in your membership and tuition. Summer lessons are held for 6 weeks during the summer (end of June – beginning of August). We do close for 5 weeks during the summer.

Our Foundations Classes (Kindermusik, Music for the Young Child, Kids' Uke Band, Chorus and Glee) have a separate Summer session registration. For these classes, we have special themes and arts camps. Summer registration form are available in March. You can get these online at our registration page in the spring.

We do not use any one method. We research the best methods out there and then match the material that works best with that students' learning style. We also use a variety of fun teaching aids during the lesson to help students understand the more challenging abstract musical concepts. Students really enjoy the variety in their lessons.

We started this music school with the goal of providing the most quality, supportive and caring music experience for our students. Private Lessons, Piano Teams & Guitar Teams offer the most specialized, focused instruction at Myriad Music School. A year-round curriculum will help our students learn and progress in the best way possible. This format optimizes the membership process, and maintains the schedule that works best for students and their families. No more repeated re-registrations year after year, summer after summer. At Myriad, we are providing a quality year-round program, offering consistency for everyone in our community ~ students & families, teachers and staff alike.

Private Lessons, Piano Team & Guitar Team Classes are 12-month, year-round programs. Summer classes for Private Lessons and Team Classes are included in your 12 month membership. Your reserved lesson times carry into our 6-week summer term.

No separate registration will be necessary.

Your lesson time will not change for the following school year, unless you wish to change it. Make-up opportunities carry over year to year for actively registered students.

Make-up opportunities do not expire for these students.

Foundations Classes (Larger Group) will be 10 month-programs, August -June. This includes Music for the Young Child, Chorus & Glee, Kids' Ukulele Band, Preschool & Toddler Music. As before, these classes will have special Summer Themes to choose from and will register separately for summer.

If you need a lesson time change, let our front desk staff know and we will put you on a priority wait list for a new lesson time.

For any reason, if you feel that this school is not right for you, you may withdraw. Request a Myriad Music Withdrawal Form. Using this form, provide us with 30 days written notice effective from the date we receive it.

Our enrollment is on-going, year round. Call our front desk staff anytime to get started and have your first trial lesson or class.

Parent/caregiver participation is required for the Toddler "Our Time" class (ages 16 month - 3 years old). For this age group, the most important thing you can do for your child is to be an active and patient role model.

Our Pre-school Music "ABC Music & Me " (Ages 3 - 4½ years old ) and school -aged "Music for the Young Child" (ages 4 ½ - 7) classes are what we call "independent child classes". All parents are invited to stay for the first class of each semester, and then we invite you to enjoy the class from the video monitor in the waiting area, to keep distractions to a minimum during class time for the remainder of the semester. Young children do best in class if they can focus on just their teacher and their classmates.

For all ages, it is not uncommon for a child to attend several classes before feeling comfortable in class. Don't be discouraged - what a child is absorbing in class is often evidenced in the comfort of the home environment rather than in a certain level of participation in class. Remember that all children learn at different paces. While it may seem as if your child is not "getting into the class" at first, you'd be surprised at what they are actually learning. Let your child have the time he/she needs to adjust, adapt, and absorb the class environment. The understanding and consistency of the parent or caregiver in class and at home are key to facilitating musical learning and growth.

 

For emerging toddlers just leaving babyhood, their emotional, intellectual, physical and social skills develop through safe, healthy, & creative play. Parents are amazed by the recognition and smiles on their children's faces when they hear a musical instrument or pattern in class for the second or third time. They learn to associate activities and songs from class with sounds, melodies, and their parents' and teachers' singing voices. Little ones are learning cause and effect with visual, aural and movement related stimulus. As the parent, you will learn how to stimulate your child's learning through vocal play, object exploration, and creative movement.

As your toddler's (16 months - 3 years old) confidence, curiosity, self-control, & communication begin to take shape, music will help regulate natural body rhythms, stimulate rhythmic movement, aid memory development, enhance auditory and emotional awareness, and induce relaxation and sleep. They are learning steady beat and patterns (the backbone to good musicianship later on) singing back simple echo melodies, and learning vocabulary through song. Toddlers are also gaining large and small muscle motor skills with age-appropriate instrument play.
Preschoolers (3 - 4½ years old) bring a marvelous sense of wonder and imagination to music, and music in turn speaks to and brings out their budding creativity and invention. Music enhances their vocal development as his/her expressive language begins to emerge. They are learning more complex rhythmic and melodic patterns on age-appropriate instruments that require more coordination. We start gradually and add on more skills as the semester progresses.

Music for the Young Child (in 4 Levels for ages 4 ½ - 7) is for children in the early years of elementary school. They are reading music, and playing authentic pre-piano, pre-guitar, pre-wind instruments. They are also continuing to develop the singing voice. Our curriculum exposed the children to various types of multicultural music. These children learn to identify all of the instruments in the orchestra.

Enrollment is ongoing, so you can join anytime! You may still register even if the start date has passed. Tuition will be pro-rated.

Kindermusik and the Myriad Music School firmly believe that children learn best when presented with learning objectives that are designed with the age of the child in mind. This is the best way for a child to gain confidence and self-esteem. Too much information presented too soon just causes confusion and frustration. We want this experience to be positive and to foster musical confidence in each child. Each curriculum level is designed to best suit the stages and goals of the age range they address. The child at the bottom of the age bracket will be ready to flourish in the environment, and will be looking to the older children to provide them with a model of new ways to move, create, and explore concepts. The child in the upper end of the bracket benefits from the ability to fully involve themselves with the imaginative aspects of the lesson, the ability to take a leadership role in developing the ideas presented, and the chance to have true mastery before moving on to a new challenge. It is a true strength of the program that we are privileged to see many stages of concept development going on simultaneously, rather than requiring only one "acceptable" outcome. A well-matched age grouping can understand the strategies needed to play and create together at their level, have a natural spontaneity while still maintaining the structure of the activities, and is stimulated by the varied abilities and perspectives of its members. What can happen in such a group is enriching musically, socially, and developmentally.

Children are primarily kinesthetic learners and learn best through movement. A toddler loves to exercise his newfound freedom in self-propelled movement, and we encourage this. These classes are not about just sitting and listening. Children learn peripherally, meaning that they are absorbing information like sponges through all 5 senses even if it appears to us that they are not actively engaged. Parents often tell us that their child repeated a song or activity at home, although they appeared distracted during class. They are learning their own way, and we respect each child's needs and differences. By using the At-Home Materials, you can be sure that your child is learning in class, and at home. Be patient, and know that your child is learning at the pace that is right for her. We expose her to the activities and songs with suggested learning objectives, and they take it from there, often surpassing our expectations!

Come visit a one-time trial class anytime! To reserve a space please call (650) 574-2844 or email lessons@myriadmusic.net. It usually takes 2-3 classes for children to find their comfort zone in a new class. By participating in the lesson and watching the enrolled children who are more familiar with the activities, you will be able to get an idea as to how the children's skills develop throughout the semester.

Each Kindermusik class includes several important components. At all times, the developmental stage of each individual child is respected and encouraged within the wider scope of the activity.

Singing and rhymes are used to develop language skills, encourage expressive vocal use, nurture the development of pitch, and increase awareness of the sounds and rhythms in speech. Pattern recognition in speech is a key element of good musicianship later on.

Instrumental play nurtures awareness of sound quality or timbre, allows individual exploration of ways sound is produced and how that sound can be modified, develops steady beat, and is the beginning of ensemble play (how people make music together).

Children are primarily kinesthetic learners, which means that they learn best and more quickly through movement-related activities. Movement, including free dance, patterned movement, and musical movement-stories, provides the physical experience which children need to explore and understand abstract concepts, allows expression of emotion in self and in the music, builds coordination, and assists in growing social skills.

Early literacy is developed through active involvement in storytelling, both from books and storyboards.

Tuition is received monthly (on, or the nearest weekday following,the 24th of every month) and is prorated equally throughout the school year, August - June.

Here is an example of a tuition breakdown:

 

TUITION CALCULATION PIANO TEAM

Total Lessons Remaining: 29 Start Date: 12/11/2012
x Tuition $44
Total Due: $1,276

Number of Payments Left: 8
Monthly Prorated Tuition: $157.67 Next Billing: 12/15/2012
Subtotal: $1,261.36

Single Payment Due Today: $14.64 plus Membership Fee: $94.64