Category Archives: group classes

Dive deep into the musical world with Lab Lessons

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The school year is right around the corner and we here at MAMS are looking forward to a return to a somewhat normal school year. *fingers crossed*

With that, we are continuing to offer online lessons for all who are more comfortable with that option, but we are also happy to announce the return of our Lab lessons, which we, unfortunately, had to halt because of the pandemic.

Lab lessons are triple the fun of a regular private lesson at the exact same price.  Here’s how they work.

  1. Three students sign up for the same 60-minute spot.
  2. At Lab, students cycle through three workstations, which includes their lesson time.
  3. Students gain a deeper understanding of music and have a ton of fun in the process through hands-on activities and educational games.

From the teacher’s perspective, the lab lesson (formerly called 20/20/20 lessons) encapsulates everything we love most about one on one teaching.  In a regular private lesson, the teacher is able to tailor their teaching style to the student’s needs and interests.  The lab lesson goes a step further by incorporating hands-on activities that play into a child’s learning style.  Through written and listening activities, plus games and projects students can engage with on the iPad, we can improve their weaknesses, solidify their strengths, and explore their interests.  The world of music is vast and wide, and the Lab lesson gives us the opportunity to explore more of it.

From the parent’s perspective, the lab lesson simply gives you a better return on investment.  Studies have shown that students just learn better when they’re having fun.  Now, we work very hard to create a welcoming environment where we offer fun lessons here at Miss Anna’s Music School, but the Lab Lesson is one of the best ways to accomplish that.  Lab lessons also give students the opportunity to meet other children their age with the same interest in music that they have.  One of the things I didn’t like about lessons as a child was the way that practicing took me away from my neighborhood friends, none of whom played any kind of musical instrument.  But when I met kids in high school that were singers and piano players and guitarists, boy did my outlook change!  We may all love music, but years of experience have told me that it’s always more fun with friends, and more fun when you make friends through music.

Lab lessons also give you back a little something as the parent.  Thirty minutes is a great amount of time for a one on one lesson, but there’s not much you can get done while your child is enjoying their lesson.  In 60 minutes, however, you can grocery shop, do a Target run, or possibly even go back home and work there!  While we are always happy to see you hanging out at the studio while you wait  (the Keurig is just as much for you as it is for us teachers), we know that you are busy parents and may appreciate having the time to yourself to do what you need.

Music lessons work best when the child is interested and engaged in the content.  Whether that is through a traditional private lesson, through our Lab Lessons or through one of our group classes, our only goal is to ensure that your child is learning well and having fun doing it.  So…. what can we sign you up for today?

Red Hot Rockstar Classses!

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Rockstar 101 is a program we’ve been running since the beginning of the pandemic, and we’ve been having a lot of fun!  This group class is for students ages 8 and up, and students can have any amount of experience on any instrument – piano, guitar, voice or ukulele – or maybe they’re a total beginner and haven’t done a single lesson yet!  It doesn’t matter – we can almost guarantee your child will have fun making new friends and learning about music.

Each week we learn musicianship skills that will round them out as players – things like ear training, sight-reading, learning solfege, and a little bit of rhythm and theory review.  All of these are important skills that musicians learn along the way – having a class devoted just to this work will give these kids an edge and make them TRUE rockstars!  At the end of class, we always do a bit of singing.  Right now we’re working on a few classic summer bops and we have a ton of fun with them!  It’s basically a party where we are also, oh yeah, learning how to be amazing musicians!  Rockstar 101 meets on Wednesdays at 6:00, online, and the monthly tuition is $40.  You will need a Skype account to join the class.

Why do we call it Rockstar 101?  When you think of all the cool things that rockstars can do – write a song, improvise a cool solo, read down a sheet of music, or start playing along with a song on the radio, they’re relying on a lot of basic musicianship skills that we sometimes don’t get to in our regular lessons.  Your teachers didn’t even develop some of these skills until they went to college!  Joining this class will definitely give your child a cool musical edge, and make them the well rounded rockstar they’ve always wanted to be.

Red Hot Facebook Live Classes!

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Join us every Tuesday around lunch time for some musical fun!  Visit our Facebook Page to watch our free classes.

Sing-along at 11:00am – pre-k and kindergarten friendly songs that are a blast to sing. During this class, we sing a variety of super kid-friendly songs, from patriotic songs, songs that utilize hand-play and American Sign Language, and some fun pop songs like Three Little Birds and Yellow Submarine.  We’ve been doing this all pandemic and we’ve been having a blast.

Rock-along at 11:45am – This class features easy to play pop songs in keys like C Major or G Major.  Feel free to sing along or play along on your instrument.  Miss Anna plays the guitar as she sings along for class, and will give guitar playing pointers as necessary.  This is a fun class for students of all ages, whether you are currently taking lessons with us (or elsewhere, we won’t discriminate!) or maybe you are an adult who hasn’t had a lesson in more years than you’d like to admit.  This will be a fun way to get back into it.

Listen-along at 12:30pm – What’s a listen-a-long?  It’s a different set of songs each week for your enjoyment.  Sing along.. or don’t.  You don’t even have to pay attention to the video if you’d rather prop your phone or tablet somewhere and let Miss Anna play for you in the background as you enjoy your lunch or get some chores done around the house.  Miss Anna does try to honor requests when they come in, so don’t be afraid to make a suggestion.  Who doesn’t love a challenge??  (I’m still working on that KISS song, Markian! — Miss Anna)  Miss Anna plays a variety of music, so you never really know what she’ll play… until you tune in, of course.

Red Hot Virtual Summer!

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We made it to the summer! You and your kids are probably psyched to not have to be in front of a screen for hours a day doing school work. It’s time to relax and enjoy the lazy days of summer – we’ve all earned it!

Miss Anna’s Music School is open for one on one lessons if you are comfortable coming in person for them. To help us maintain social distances, we have altered our schedule so that only one of our teachers is working at a time. While this does bring us some limitations when it comes to scheduling, it does also bring us some peace of mind as well. Now all of our teachers can take advantage of the spacious studio 1 and really spread out. We even have a see-through barrier as an extra level of protection for our voice students, and for the occasional buddy lesson or group activity. All of our teachers are available for in-person piano, guitar, voice, and ukulele lessons. So if you’re ready to sign up – visit our new student sign up page.

Maybe you’re not quite ready to come back to in-person activities yet, for whatever reason.  That’s fine.  WE’VE TOTALLY GOT YOU COVERED!

Our teachers are also available for online lessons throughout the week as well.  Many of our students really persevered and excelled with our online lessons, so we are eager to move forward with continued online education for anyone who is interested.  You don’t even have to live in New Jersey!

Whether you are a current student of ours or not, we have a number of online group programs to give you something fun to do over the summer.  We have programs for kids of all ages – even the adults out there in the crowd.  Read on…

Rockstar 101 is a program we’ve been running since the beginning of the pandemic, and we’ve been having a lot of fun!  This group class is for students ages 8 and up, and students can have any amount of experience on any instrument – piano, guitar, voice or ukulele – or maybe they’re a total beginner and haven’t done a single lesson yet!  It doesn’t matter – we can almost guarantee your child will have fun making new friends and learning about music.

Each week we learn musicianship skills that will round them out as players – things like ear training, sight-reading, learning solfege, and a little bit of rhythm and theory review.  All of these are important skills that musicians learn along the way – having a class devoted just to this work will give these kids an edge and make them TRUE rockstars!  At the end of class, we always do a bit of singing.  Right now we’re working on a few classic summer bops and we have a ton of fun with them!  It’s basically a party where we are also, oh yeah, learning how to be amazing musicians!  Rockstar 101 meets on Wednesdays at 6:00, online, and the monthly tuition is $40.  You will need a Skype account to join the class.

Our next group offering is for adults only!  Ukulele Sip ‘n’ Strum is strictly for the over 21 set.  Bring your ukulele and your favorite adult beverage while you kick back in a comfortable spot somewhere in your house.  To be perfectly honest, Miss Anna might be teaching the class from her own backyard!  This class meets once a month and will focus on learning one set of easy chords for a well-known song.  Students should have their own ukuleles already, but no previous experience is necessary!  Everything you will need to know to play the song will be covered in the class, and any materials you may need will be emailed to you a few days before.

Ok, you don’t have to be over 21 to attend this class in your own home.  You don’t even have to pour yourself an alcoholic beverage. But this is definitely a class we are gearing towards adults only, so please be over 18.  If you are a teen or still in high school and interested in a class like this, have your parent drop us a line!

Our first Sip ‘n’ Strum will be on Wednesday, July 29 at 7pm.  Class will last about an hour.   Tuition for this one-off class will be just $10.  To register, email us directly at missannasmusicschool@gmail.com to set up payment and to get the link to the Zoom meeting. If you need help purchasing a ukulele, there are many affordable options on Amazon.  We can point you in the right direction.

Finally, we have a trio of free Facebook Live classes you are welcome to join every Tuesday morning.  Each class is geared towards a different group of music lovers, but all are welcome to join in on any class you wish!  All classes are totally free to attend and last about 30 minutes.

First – Sing-a-long at 11am.  This is for our youngest set of students.  Think pre-k and kindergarten students.  First and second graders.  During this class, we sing a variety of super kid-friendly songs, from patriotic songs, songs that utilize hand-play and American Sign Language, and some fun pop songs like Three Little Birds and Yellow Submarine.  We’ve been doing this all pandemic and we’ve been having a blast.

Next at 11:45, a Rock-a-long.  This class features easy to play pop songs in keys like C Major or G Major.  Feel free to sing along or play along on your instrument.  Miss Anna plays the guitar as she sings along for class, and will give guitar playing pointers as necessary.  This is a fun class for students of all ages, whether you are currently taking lessons with us (or elsewhere, we won’t discriminate!) or maybe you are an adult who hasn’t had a lesson in more years than you’d like to admit.  This will be a fun way to get back into it.

Finally, at 12:30, a listen-a-long with Miss Anna.  What’s a listen-a-long?  It’s a different set of songs each week for your enjoyment.  Sing along.. or don’t.  You don’t even have to pay attention to the video if you’d rather prop your phone or tablet somewhere and let Miss Anna play for you in the background as you enjoy your lunch or get some chores done around the house.  Miss Anna does try to honor requests when they come in, so don’t be afraid to make a suggestion.  Who doesn’t love a challenge??  (I’m still working on that KISS song, Markian! — Miss Anna)  Miss Anna plays a variety of music, so you never really know what she’ll play… until you tune in, of course.

Whatever you’re interested in this summer, whether it’s one on one instruction, or some fun group experiences, we hope you’ll join us at MAMS!  See you soon!