Outdoor music lessons are a great solution for those ready to get back to in-person lessons, but still very cautious about Covid19. All lessons can be done outdoors. We are offering $5 off the first lesson so you can see if it’s for you!
Learn more about outdoor COVID-19 transmission.
Read up on our Back to School Special here!
Nashville Music Academy gift certificates are the perfect way to give the gift that keeps on giving: music. NMA offers Skype lessons for long distance students, so those not located in Nashville are still able to receive lessons.
Our highly accomplished staff of instructors are among Nashville’s best. The staff consists of 17 skilled musicians, with lessons ranging from voice to strings, piano, drums, brass and more. With award winning drummers Phil Yochum and Ben Andrew, your student is guaranteed the best. Piano instructor Elliot McClain has a Master of Music degree, and is blind, with his lessons focusing on aural and improvisational skills. Shelly Blair, violin instructor, is a creative teacher who also works with our Valor after school music program. Our diverse staff will teach both music and life lessons.
Give the gift of music today with a Nashville Music Academy Gift Certificate.
Mentor Spotlight – By Tatia Rose (Director, Nashville Music Academy)
Hopefully, we all have that teacher, mentor or advisor who has shaped our lives for the better. For me, this was a fortunate collection of individuals who came in and out of my life over the years… my father who taught me to be curious about the truth, my mother who taught me to be kind (and was also my first piano teacher), and later in life business mentors who showed me the result of the audacity of believing in yourself. However, there was one person whose advice stood out above all others, and that was of my college advisor Dr. Crotti (WVU). He saw me struggling at a difficult crossroads in my life. I had just changed my major from Finance to Music, and mostly because I was lost in life in general. I was rebellious, and discipline was unfamiliar in my piano practice. At home, my father was in the final stages of Alzheimer’s and the man who was once my moral compass, was drifting away himself. Unlike some of my other instructors (who brushed me off as lacking the seriousness needed to succeed), Dr. Crotti pushed me hard to acknowledge the personal choices I was making and their impact on my life. For someone like him, a professor (Written Theory, my least favorite subject), to see something worth saving in me, turned the whole thing around. I think that’s one of the important roles of a mentor; to reflect your own potential. Today, I am the Director a nationally recognized academic institution. Dr. Crotti gave me the key to open these doors, and it’s such an honor to share this Mentor Spotlight about him today.
NMA is honored to serve our active duty and retired military. In appreciation of your tremendous sacrifice to our country, we are offering a 5% military discount on music lessons. This discount is good for piano, drum, guitar, voice, violin, woodwind and cello lessons. It is also applicable to any length of lesson (30, 45, or 60 minutes). This discount also extends to the spouses and children of active duty personnel and veterans.
Besides enjoyment, many military personnel are finding health benefits in music lessons and music therapy, particularly in the treatment of PTSD. A recent article from NPR highlights these benefits and the popularity of the program, Guitars for Vets. You can read about it HERE.
Those eligible for the military discount can call or email us at any time and use the code “Military” to receive the discount. Lessons are available 7 days a week from 10 am until 8 pm. and there is parking onsite. The lesson rooms are private and suited for individual lessons. Beginners or advanced students welcome.
Childhood development is the concern of every parent, and I am no exception. As a music teacher I am acutely aware of the advantages certain children are afforded when they are exposed to private tutoring, particularly music lessons. If are children are to, “Climb Every Mountain” as Julie Andrews sang, then we need to prepare them properly. Music lessons at an early age (as early as 2 -3 y/o) can give them cognitive and memory abilities that will give them an edge later in life.
There are several ways ways music lessons are a positive influence during childhood development. In an article on Bright Horizons, they list several of these:
“Music ignites all areas of child development: intellectual, social and emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. For children and adults, music helps strengthen memory skills.”
As a piano teacher, I have witnessed all of these benefits. The intuitive nature of musical intellect, the social relationship between the teacher and student, the emotional outlet and expression, practice and technique improving fine motor skills, expanded language through musical terms, and of course literacy (words and music have been partners forever). Most of my very youngest students are around the age of 3. Within 4 – 6 lessons, I’ve seen the aforementioned improvements in childhood development. Typically, it usually take 6 months before they are playing a song on their own, at age 3. So remember parents, if we are going to help them “Climb Every Mountain”, we have to start sooner than later.
About the author: Tatia Rose is the Director/Classical Piano Instructor at Nashville Music Academy.
Providing the highest echelon of music education is the goal at Nashville Music Academy. We strive to meet this goal because we know how important music lessons are in the lives of all our students, especially those from disadvantaged homes and others who must daily overcome physical and cognitive disabilities. As teachers, we have seen first-hand the benefits of music education in the form of self-confidence, reading and math ability, and social skills. The latter benefits are the cornerstones of every successful individual.
Northwestern University conducted a study where researchers “looked at the impact of music education on at-risk children’s nervous systems and found that music lessons could help them develop language and reading skills.” It was the first of it’s kind to document the positive influence of “after-school music education on the brains of disadvantaged children, as opposed to affluent children receiving private lessons.”
This is something that music educators have known for a long time. We see the growth of our students take place over a span of years; sometimes from Kindergarten to College. In the aforementioned study, “researchers from the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern spent two summers with children in Los Angeles who were receiving music lessons through Harmony Project, a non-profit organization providing free music education to low-income students.” The first thing that the researchers discovered was that children’s brain activity only started to respond to music education after two years of lessons. (We have personally seen results sooner, often as soon as 8 months to a year). Once responses became able to be documented, the proof was clear. Music lessons increased children’s reading and math ability, and activated parts of the brain that could only be stimulated during the process of playing or reading music.
So what do we take away from all of this? The world is competitive. Our children need every advantage to seize upon opportunity. Music builds a foundation for success by accelerated the processes of reading and calculation, and also builds an intuitive nature necessary to becoming a beneficial member of society. We would love to help your child start this journey. Call us to make an appointment for any instrument and every age.
Piano lessons are the most popular choice for students when it comes time to choose an instrument to study. Perhaps it’s because of the familiarity, or the absolute joy that comes from sitting at the piano. Either way, the piano teachers are often the busiest at Nashville Music Academy.
When George came to the studio, he was looking for voice and piano lessons. He had heard about our work through the great folks at ARC (an adult resource for individuals with special needs that met at Vanderbilt). George had played the pipe organ his whole life, but wanted to improve his technique and perhaps find an advocate who could help him find work as a church organist again. He was assigned Tatia Rose for piano lessons and Janine Le Clair for voice lessons. Both teachers immediately fell in love with George, who was a funny and bright (and highly talented) individual with Autism.
As time went by, George eventually shared a secret with his piano teacher. He had been working on a complete Symphonic work for organ and had been using the theory he was learning at piano, to complete the score. He asked Ms. Rose if she would help him find a place to perform his work. In August of 2015, George did just that at Vine Street Baptist Church. This also led to George securing a job as an organist at a church in East Nashville.
All of this good news came from George’s choice to better himself with music lessons. The dedicated staff at Nashville Music Academy recognized his potential and gave him the encouragement and support he needed to achieve his goals. Here’s to the power of piano lessons, and of course… a great student.
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Billy Joel on Music Healing
“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from everyone loves music.”
Today’s research agrees with Billy Joel. The healing powers of music help us cope with pain, but also benefit our physical and mental health. Fortunately, music is a common thread in every human society.
Physically speaking, music has been shown to descrease pain, motivate athletic performance and endurance, improve sleep quality, decrease over-eating habits, and enhance blood vessel function.
In terms of mental improvement, music has been proven to reduce stress, enhance the meditative state, decrease the severity and frequency of the symptoms of depression, sharpen cognitive skills, and increase successful performance in stressful environments. The benefits of music are also seen in easing patient stress related to surgery and cancer therapy.
The healing power of music is a universal medicine, one which the whole world can partake. You can begin the path to a sounder mind and body today at Nashville Music Academy. We take appointments 6 days a week from 10 am til 8 pm (see weekend hours). It’s time to start taking your music vitamins Nashville!
References/fact-check found at http://greatist.com.
