Why Choose Us
Are we the right music and dance school for you? There are many reasons why you’ve come to the right place!
Welcome! With our wide array of programming, our professional skilled teachers, and our researched quality resources. Your child will succeed and their life will become enriched with the arts! Myriad’s Mission is three-fold! We want you to have lots of fun, discover your own unique voice, fostering musicians and dancers for a lifetime!
Our convenient location and full-service staff are built to serve your family with the highest standards in mind.
So why choose Myriad Music School and Dance Academy for your child’s arts education? In searching for music lessons or dance classes in the San Mateo – Burlingame – Foster City – Redwood Shores – Belmont or any of the surrounding areas, you have come to the right place. Here are the benefits to becoming a Myriad student, and what to consider when choosing the #1 School for Music and Dance on the Peninsula. 
Our Music School offers private music lessons in piano, guitar, ukulele, violin, viola, voice, trumpet, flute, preschool music classes, ukulele bands, and glee programs for singers. Our Dance Academy offers ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, modern and contemporary dance all in one location! We are the only music and dance school in the area to offer all of this in one location, making it possible for busy families to save commuting time between activities. Excellent teachers, outstanding curriculum and the convenience of having one child in music while the other child dances ~ These are a few of the many reasons parents choose our school.
For both Music & Dance students, Myriad provides informed, researched, healthy instruction. If you are a new music or dance student, before anything else, you need the right, smart foundations, not out-dated approaches. If you are a more advanced student, obviously you need informed, experienced music and dance teachers guiding you to the next level of skill. Undoing sloppy music or dance technique learned in the early years is time-consuming and frustrating and can actually cause long-term injuries. We’ll help you avoid that experience, as our teachers have additional training in these areas.
Families start here and stay here for many, many years. We offer every style of musical study, from classical to jazz and pop. Dance styles include ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop and contemporary. We have both students who want to play or dance just for fun, and also students who wish to audition for conservatories upon graduating.
15 BENEFITS when YOU become A MYRIAD MUSICIAN or DANCER
1. FREE FIRST LESSON
Contact our Team for your FREE first lesson or class. We want to learn more about you, your child, your goals, and match you to a day / time that works for your family. This is an important decision. Attending your first class, seeing the school and meeting a Myriad teacher is the best way to gain the information you need to make a great choice. Your decision on will impact a lifetime of joy and success in music and dance.
2. ALL AGES WELCOME! Preschoolers ~ Adults ~ Seniors
We believe it’s never too early or too late to take music lessons or dance classes! Our programs are not just for children. From our Preschool Music and Dance Programs, to our Adult Ukulele Jams, we want everyone to enjoy a sense of community and accomplishment through the arts. We love teaching adults who have always wanted to learn to play an instrument, or dance but never had the chance before, or just want to dust off some old skills with a little help. We welcome students of all ages and backgrounds who have a desire to learn and grow.
3. MYRIAD’S MISSION DELIVERS
Our Mission is three-fold. The first goal is to have fun, and lots of it! The second goal is to help each student discover their own unique voice / style as a musician or dancer. The third goal is to foster smart musicians and dancers for a lifetime! Many of our students go on to pursue other fields of study, with music and dance playing an important role in stress-reduction. Their craft continues to provide a joyful place to return to, helping this individual maintain a balanced lifestyle. Recent Myriad graduates have gone on to Berkeley, Boston University, Stanford, UCLA, Cornell, American University, NYU and other reputable schools. Some graduates have chosen to major or minor in music or dance degrees. We celebrate all of our students!
4. CELEBRATING YOUR SUCCESS
Your goals are emphasized and celebrated along your journey! Students in all programs receive recognition for milestones with medals, gold pins, certificates, and personal postcards and seniors’ awards for achieving skills in their progressive curriculum (similar to earning karate belts) These skills include completed method books, technique, rhythm skills, composing and improvising, and an emphasis in a style that the student chooses. Progress is measured by a checklist of skills a student should be able to demonstrate after that year of study to measure progress and keep parents informed. Current students confirm it is motivating. They love it! This acknowledges progress in repertoire / choreography, technique, music theory, composition, and personal-interest projects. We so enjoy celebrating our students’ dedication and growth.
5. GENEROUS MAKE UP COURTESY SYSTEM
We provide an unlimited make-up courtesy system for all active, registered students. We know life is busy, and we do our best to encourage consistency, while offering flexibility.
6. ACCESS TO MYRIAD TV – Bonus Video Tutorials
Teachers additionally prepare weekly video tutorials highlighting an important activity from the lesson. All class students receive access to MYRIAD TV, our video library from the current School Year, as we roll merrily along. Perfect for absences and home practice between classes.
7. PRACTICE CLUBS – Staying Connected with Peers
Our Private Music Students have the option to stay connected with peers through monthly practice clubs and workshops, supporting each other and exploring best practices for success.
8. FESTIVE SEASONAL THEME WEEKS
Our little ones enjoy celebrating music and dance with a fresh twist during our festive seasonal theme weeks.
9. TOP-NOTCH CLEAN FACILITIES
Our music classrooms and dance studio are well-lit, equipped with the best technology, are full of multi-sensory resources, and are distraction-free with
sound-dampened walls to allow for maximum focus during lessons. Our music lesson rooms feature quality Yamaha, Baldwin and Kawaii pianos, tuned multiple times per year. Our dance studios are equipped with sprung floating Marley floors to ensure student safety, as well as large mirrors and state-of-the-art sound equipment.
10. BOOKS, MUSIC & MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED
Books, sheet-music and all learning materials are all in-house! We stock a full music library with the best, expert resources on the market. No need to go shopping for your own books or supplies.
11. PROFESSIONAL, NURTURING EDUCATORS
Myriad has a team of 30+ Teaching Artists. All are university-trained, friendly, warm, professional. 100% of our Teachers are fully vaccinated. Many have current or former performing careers. All serve as an inspiration to our students! Due to the number of teachers on staff, students have a choice between teachers. Our teachers are passionate about giving you the best foundations while also learning about your personal goals, helping each student reach greater heights as a musician or dancer. We celebrate together with our students at each lesson. You will learn how to master your skills with teachers who take a profound interest in the art of teaching. As a result, you will be inspired, motivated, and will revel in the results of your improved skills. Our dedicated professionals provide our music and dance students with organized practice plans. Moreover Myriad’s Owners, Directors and Teachers provide on-going support to each other, share resources, and coach students together during performance workshops. Our teachers benefit from professional development seminars. This is the school where you not only benefit from your own private music lesson teacher, but also from the support of the whole department with special events throughout the year. As a result, Myriad’s Team is invigorated with both tried and true, and new ideas each year, excited to share these with students of all ages ~ kids, teens and adults!
12. SMART OPTIONS ~ Choose between Classes or Private Lessons
Our school is unique in that it offers a wide array of classes or private lessons. Our youngest music students thrive in our smart Foundations Music Classes (Preschool Music, Mini Piano Plus, Superstar Musicians and Kids’ Ukulele Bands) These young musicians enjoy the collaboration and learning alongside their peers. These little ones are more attentive in these classes, and find more joy in making music with others, rather than being isolated in a private lesson too soon. Adults enjoy our Adult Ukulele Band, where making music together is a social activity as well. Similarly, dancers of all ages thrive in class settings, learning and creating choreography together, creating a motivating, social dance community. We’ll help match you to the right class or lesson for your child.
13. SMALL CLASS SIZES ALWAYS
From our youngest to our oldest students, our instructors take great care to know each student personally. With a maximum 10:1 student-teacher ratio, our instructors take great care to know each student personally. We have many types of music classes to choose from, especially for dancers and our younger musicians. Younger children enjoy the collaboration and learning alongside their peers. These little ones are more attentive in these classes, and find more joy in making music with others, rather than being isolated in a private lesson too soon. Dancers work together in small classes, as well as having the opportunity to work in our bonus STAR classes, where they receive more personal technique coaching.
14. OUTSTANDING PRIVATE LESSONS ~ All Musical Styles, A Fun Approach, Performance Events & much more
Private music lessons are a treasured time with a caring mentor each week. Myriad’s private lesson students range from ages 5 ~ 85 currently. You’ve done the first step, which is to chose the musical instrument that is most exciting to you. The next step is to find an informed, inspiring teacher who keeps the fun alive, helping our students make good progress each week with outstanding instruction and innovative methods.
Happy musical sounds emerge from each of our 13 classrooms 6 days per week. Our classrooms and music library are fully resourced with engaging, motivational materials. We excel at matching each student to excellent method books and supplementary music that teach music reading, technique, and musicality. Through these resources, our students are exposed to many musical styles, which is how they begin to find their own voice. We learn about our student’s musical taste and what style inspires them the most, will keep them coming back for more! We specialize in healthy posture and ergonomics in each instrument. Therefore, our students are learning how to play tension and injury-free from a young age, developing good habits from the beginning. Behind the scenes, our teachers enjoy professional development meetings, newly-researched resources, and the best, innovative pedagogy concepts. Each year, our teachers receive on-going training, new innovative tools, and our robust library, to use with their students. Our team meets by department frequently to exchange ideas and approaches that serve to inspire our students and help them shine at their instrument.
All of our students are invited to participate in performance events designed to give them a nurturing experience, instilling self esteem. Every private student receives performance coaching workshops, ensuring confident, prepared performances. At Myriad, we teach strategies to help minimize performance anxiety.Younger students and beginners perform on Myriad’s stage in our performance classroom. Early -Intermediate through advanced students perform at an off-site venue with a beautiful grand piano, stage, lighting, sound system, and a reception area. These experiences provide memories for a life-time for the whole family.
Myriad prepares students who wish to pursue state and national certification programs. We have a thorough training program to help our students prepare for these exams.
Families start here and stay here for many, many years. We offer every style of musical study, from classical to jazz and pop. We have both students who want to play just for fun, and also students who wish to audition for conservatories upon graduating.
15. AN INFORMED HEALTHY APPROACH ~ Avoid Wasted Time, Outdated Approaches, Injuries and Costly Frustration
If you are a new music or dance student, before anything else, you need the right, smart foundations, not out-dated approaches. For example, our young piano students think that our ‘froggy hops’ are just a fun game, but we know they are receiving crucial foundational ergonomic cues to protect their little wrists from repetitive stress injury. If you are a more advanced student, obviously you need informed, experienced music and dance teachers guiding you to the next level of skill. Piano, guitar and string instrument practice are all repetitive movements. Undoing sloppy music or dance technique learned in the early years is time-consuming and frustrating. Our teachers provide the tools and guidelines to help families avoid these unnecessary distractions. For elementary through advanced students, we root our teaching in the natural anatomy, alignment, and movement of the body, arms, fingers, wrists, all the way down to vocal cords for singers. We also employ many different methods to make reading music accessible and easier.
Myriad’s Owner is a specialist in integrated alignment when it comes to piano ergonomics, and all of our teachers receive this special training. We avoid outdated concepts of music lessons past and present. It’s important when seeking quality music lessons to know that many teachers are not enlightened with the importance of ergonomics. Outdated teaching models create tension and rigidity which limit speed and ease, and ultimately make it impossible to develop a virtuosic technique.
Our Music and Dance students develop a tension-free awareness of all movement when playing, singing and dancing! Many students following the guidelines prescribed by Myriad have found relief from discomfort and tension. The results include increased virtuosity, beautiful tone, flexibility and an ease when tackling more difficult repertoire or choreography. This applies whether you’re a 6 year old beginner or advanced, college-level / adult student!