Woodwind
We have tutors for clarinet, flute, oboe, recorder and saxophone. When you can play a selection of notes with confidence you will be encouraged to join Musicale’s Junior Band. Your lessons will develop your technique and skills as well as your music theory, aural and sight-reading abilities. We would recommend starting your clarinet and flute playing at about 8 years old, and 10 years old for the oboe and saxophone and enjoying it forever!
Who will teach me?
You will be assigned a professional musician with certified teaching qualifications, an enhanced DBS and safeguarding training. All of our staff are working musicians, trained at accredited music colleges and many perform with internationally renowned orchestras and bands. Our tutors only teach the instruments that they are qualified to play. They will teach you, encourage your performing, advance your technical skills and, if appropriate, enter you for graded exams and performance opportunities.
What do I need?
Students need to bring their own instruments and music for lessons (with the exception of piano and drums that are provided) and to be able to practice at home. Our onsite Musicale shop has all the music, accessories and knowledge to support your studies.
You can hire or purchase an instrument here.
What age can I start?
We have created an interactive musical programme called Roundabouts for 4 – 7 year olds that gives children the opportunity to start playing percussion, string and woodwind instruments.
We recommend starting individual music lessons at 7 years old when children are ready to focus, absorb the information and have an understanding of practice at home and caring for their instrument.
How do I start lessons?
Click on the Sign Up To Lessons and fill in our new student form. We will then be in touch with available lesson times. Occasionally, there is a short waiting list for some instruments.
You will be sent a log in to Teachworks, our music school parent portal, to access times and dates of scheduled lessons and ensembles, lesson notes from the tutor and see your family profile.
There are ten 30 minute lessons a term costing £283.
Musicale provides the peripatetic music lessons for several local schools including St George’s School. Lessons for St George’s School students take place during school hours and are rotated weekly so that students don’t miss the same school subjects each week.
For information about learning in one of our school settings please head to our Schools page.
Little by little build up the habit of playing your instrument. Five minutes daily for beginners, then 10 minutes per grade daily is usually a good indication of a well-practiced student.
What if I miss a lesson?
If a student misses a lesson the tutor has no obligation to make it up and it is usually forfeited. However, we understand that sometimes students are ill or have extenuating circumstances and tutors try to be flexible. Please contact your tutor directly with at least 48 hours’ notice about a student’s future lesson absence and they will try to offer an alternative time, this may include an online option. Please note, whilst every effort is made to accommodate changes, rescheduled lessons are not guaranteed as tutors have tight schedules and external working commitments.
If a lesson is cancelled by the tutor or Musicale the student will be offered another lesson time (face to face or online). Where rescheduling has not been possible, the student will be offered a credit note on their account.
How do I pay?
Invoices are emailed out automatically before the start of each term or shortly after you have been sent confirmation of your lessons if you are a new starter. These will include details about the payment options and we recommend signing up to a direct debit.
If you wish to stop lessons you must give half a term’s notice in writing or pay half a term’s fees in lieu. For all invoice queries please contact accounts@musicale.co.uk
We are passionate about every child being given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and we have a fantastic relationship with both The James Marshall Foundation and the Harpenden Music Foundation. These incredible local charities provide grants to individual students living in Harpenden and the surrounding villages where financial commitment for music lessons is a barrier. For more information please email grants@jamesmarshallfoundation.co.uk or if you are an advanced student head to harpendenmusicfoundation.org/apply/
Did you know that the higher graded exams (Grades 6-8) earn significant points towards University and College Admissions Service (UCAS)? In order to get these higher grades, students usually need to start at primary school, although a dedicated student can work towards these grades even when starting at secondary school.