The Best Guitar Lessons in Delaware and Montgomery County.
Voted “Best Music and Dance Studio” by the
Main Line Times and the News of Delaware County.
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Main Line School of Music and Dance Unique Approach
If you are looking for fun, educational, and inspiring guitar or bass lessons from top-notch teachers, you don’t have to look any further. The Main Line School of Music and Dance started out in 1988 as a guitar school and since that time we have taught thousands of students of all ages and all levels how to play guitar and bass.
Testimonial
“We have decades of experience, in both the music and dance schools, at Main Line; 2 kids, 3 musical instruments. I am not sure there is a family at the school who has logged more hours at the Ardmore location. The instructors are of outstanding quality; certainly regional, and some with national and international credentials. What is nice is that most instructors have been teaching at Main Line for years; they ‘get it’; the kids have achieved success at Main Line that permeates their non-music/dance lives. The Main Line administration is accommodating and reasonable. Challenges always emerge, and we have been uniformly satisfied with mutually agreed upon results. Main Line has figured out the recipe to have music/dance education a natural fit into everyone’s lives. Main Line is as good as it gets.” (Parents of Andrew and Maeve)
Part of our recipe for students to achieve success on guitar or bass is that Main Line Music and Dance teaches fifteen different topics. This helps our students achieve THEIR musical goals (not the teacher’s musical goals). Whether you want to play Rock, Pop, Jazz or Classical repertoire on electric or acoustic guitar, we will match you up with the teacher that is perfect for you. The fifteen topics that we include in guitar and bass lessons range from the technical aspects of the instrument so you can solo like your favorite guitar player, learning chords so you play your favorite songs, studying rhythm so you can jam with a band or group of musicians, and reading music and tablature so you can play any style of music. For a full list of all the topics, click here. Our teachers combine a mixture of learning how to read notes and teaching the student how to incorporate their ear to be able to hear and recognize the notes and melodies. It is important for students to be able to read the notes, but if they are not able to hear a melody and reproduce it on the instrument they are not becoming well-rounded musicians. Our approach helps to create a fun, balanced musical experience for each student. Lessons are provided in our Ardmore/Havertown Location, our Springfield location, or in the convenience of your own home. You also have at least two optional performance opportunities each year at our showcases. Performances range from electric guitar, bass, piano, singing, woodwinds, drums and strings. Performers also range from beginner to advanced abilities.
Our Teachers, Approach and Philosophy
Our Ardmore, Springfield, Main Line and Delaware County guitar and bass lessons are all private one-on-one instruction and lesson lengths are thirty (30) minutes, forty-five (45) minutes or sixty (60) minutes. Our thirty instructors have earned music degrees from local and/or national universities, have performance experience and are very patient. Many of our instructors have a Master’s degree or a Ph.D. Most importantly, our instructors teach according to each student’s individual learning style. Our teachers are youthful and fun and engage the students with material that is both interesting and exciting while tempering it with the necessary amount of structure. Additionally, students get to select the repertoire that they will learn and will never get stuck playing songs they don’t enjoy!
Beginner Guitar/Bass Lessons
Many of our students start as beginner guitar or bass players. You will find that all of our teachers are familiar with current popular music, as well as classic rock, heavy metal, jazz and acoustic music. If you are not sure what styles of music you want to study, that is no problem. With the skills that you will learn at Main Line Music and Dance, you will be able to apply these to the style of music that you want to learn. With diligent, daily practice on your part, we guarantee that you will be able at play least one song within the first few months of lessons. However, many students do learn a lot more than one song. You will learn basic chords, scales and beginning lead guitar techniques to help you move to the intermediate and advanced levels.
Intermediate to Advanced Guitar/Bass Lessons
The Main Line School has some fabulous guitar and bass teachers that will help you achieve your musical goals. As an intermediate to advanced student, we will teach you soloing techniques, advanced chords, arpeggios and a host of other fun techniques. Most importantly, we will teach you the “how and why” of the inner workings of music. You will understand how songs are written by studying key signatures, how scales fit over chords, and the theory behind songwriting.
Playing In a Band
One of the most rewarding aspects of learning your instrument is that you will be capable of playing in a band. Again, our teachers will help you develop the skills that will facilitate your ability to play your favorite songs with other musicians. We will help you develop skills that will enable you to enjoy music for a lifetime.
The Main Line Advantage
Since 1988, we have helped thousands of students learn to play the guitar. We know what works and what does not work. We only hire teachers that are knowledgeable in all styles of music, technique, theory and repertoire. Our teachers can get you to the level you want to achieve a lot faster because of their expert instruction. We pride ourselves on the fact that we cater to each student’s needs, not only with top rate guitar instruction, but with excellent customer service. Our full time office staff takes care of all the scheduling, billing and other questions that you might have. This allows our teachers to concentrate 100% on teaching lessons. They do not have to use valuable lesson time to do scheduling and collect tuition.
15 Topics For The Guitar Curriculum
- Chords
- Rhythm
- Repertoire
- Technique
- Scales
- Arpeggios
- Soloing Techniques and Phrases
- Blues
- Theory
- Tablature
- Reading
- Fingerstyle
- Ear Training
- Progressions
- Jazz
Location of the Guitar and Bass Lessons
In-Home Lessons
These Delaware County and Chester County guitar and bass lessons are given in the convenience of your own home.
Ardmore Studio
690-692 Pont Reading Road Ardmore, PA 19003
(down the street from Chestnutwold Elementary School).
This location is located in Ardmore, but it is also convenient to Havertown, Wynnewood, Narberth (Penn Valley), Bryn Mawr, Merion, Broomall, Bala Cynwyd and Gladwyne.
Springfield Studio
353 Baltimore Pike (2nd floor)
Springfield, PA19064.
(next to Chuck. E Cheese)
This location is located in Springfield, but it is also convenient to Drexel Hill, Media, Lansdowne, Broomall (Penn Valley), Secane and Swarthmore.
Features of Main Line School of Music and Dance
- Our teachers are entertaining, youthful and patient.
- Your lessons are individualized.
- We have teachers that specialize in all styles.
- You are invited to perform in two (2) showcases each year.
- We have customer service assistance available to you from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Benefits to You
- You will learn in a fun, low pressure environment.
- Your teacher will work with your particular learning style and chart a course and a timeline for your progress.
- You can choose to play classical, rock, pop, jazz or any style that you are interested in.
- Performing increases confidence and builds self-esteem.
- You can get assistance outside of your lesson so you do not lose valuable lesson time.
5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Music Lessons
Insist on Private Lessons When Learning a Specific Instrument or Voice
Group lessons work well for preschool music programs, choruses and theory lessons. However, when learning how to play an instrument, private lessons are far superior. In a private lesson, the student and the teacher are the only ones that are in the room. Consequently, each student can learn at his or her own pace. This means that the teacher does not have to teach a class at a middle of the road level, but has the time and focus to work on the individual students’ strengths and weaknesses. During that lesson period, the student is the only focus for the teacher. The teachers also enjoy this, as they do not have to divide their attention between 5-10 students at a time. With private lessons the teachers can help each of their students be the best that they can be.
Help Your Child to Set Goals
Goal setting is one of the most important skills to develop in order to be successful in music (and life in general). To be effective, make your goals specific, measurable, and attainable. An example of setting a musical goal for yourself would be to play a particular scale at a certain speed or to have a certain amount of pieces or songs memorized. Another goal might be to perform in a recital. Goals are always easier to achieve when you set a deadline for them. Try setting some goals of your own and watch your progress soar!
Make Practice Easier
As with anything else in life, improving in music takes practice. One of the main problems with music lessons is the drudgery of practicing and the fight between parents and students to practice every day. Here are some ways to make practicing easier:
- Time.
Set the same time aside every day to practice so that it becomes part of a routine or habit. This works particularly well for children. Generally speaking, the earlier in the day the practicing can occur, the less reminding is required by parents to get the child to practice.
- Repetition.
We use this method quite often when setting practice schedules for beginners. For a young child, twenty (20) or thirty (30) minutes seems like an eternity. Instead of setting a time frame, we use repetition. For example, practice this piece four times every day, and this scale five times a day. The child no longer pays attention to the amount of time they are practicing their instrument, but they do become aware that if they are on repetition three, they are almost finished.
- Rewards.
This works very well for both children and adult students. Some adults reward themselves with a cappuccino after a successful week of practicing. Parents can encourage children to practice by occasionally granting rewards for successful practicing. In our school we reward young children for a successful week of practicing with stars and stickers on their work. Praise still tends to be the most coveted reward. There is no substitute for a job well done. We also must realize that we are all human and sometimes have a bad practice week. In this case there is always next week.
How Young is Too Young. Starting at the Right Age.
Adults can start any instrument at any time. Their success is based on how willing they are committed to practicing. We teach many beginner students in their 60’s and their 70’s.
For children, starting at the right age is a key element to the success of the beginner child student. If a child is put into lessons too soon, they may feel overwhelmed and frustrated and want to stop lessons. The last thing that you want to do is to turn a child off to music because they had one unpleasant experience (which could have been prevented). Sometimes if the child waits a year to start lessons, the progress may be much faster. The following are some guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child can start taking music lessons.
Bassoon – age 10- Cello – age 10
- Clarinet – age 8
- Drums – age 6
- Flute – age 7
- French Horn – age 10
- Guitar – age 7
- Oboe – age 10
- Piano/Keyboard – age 5
- Saxophone – age 8
- Trombone – age 9
- Trumpet – age 8
- Tuba – teenage and older
- Violin – age 5
- Voice – age 5
Bassoon – age 10How much should I be reading the notes?
This is a very interesting topic to discuss. There are several different approaches to the study of music. Some involve pure reading of notes and rhythms while others utilize the ability of the ear. The bottom line is how well the student plays his/her instrument or utilizes their voice to sing. This may be achieved by reading, using the ear, or a mix of the two. If the teacher determines that the student is a visual learner, an approach based heavily on note and rhythm reading with some ear training mixed in would work well. If the teacher determines that the student is an aural (ear) learner, a program based heavily on ear playing tempered with some note and rhythm reading would be appropriate. The right frame of mind is crucial for optimal learning. Therefore, catering to the student’s learning strengths will ensure that he/she will get the most out of their music lessons.
Bonus – Have fun!
Music should be something that you enjoy for a lifetime. Try not to put unrealistic expectations on yourself or your children to learn too quickly. Everyone learns at a different pace. The key is to be able to enjoy the journey.
Music
- Class Descriptions
- Guitar Lessons
- Piano Lessons
- Bass Lessons
- Voice Lessons
- Drum Lessons
- Woodwind Lessons
- Brass Lessons
- String Lessons
- Tuition
- In Home Lessons
REGISTER NOW for classes!
Visit our 2 Locations
Ardmore Location
692 Pont Reading Rd
Ardmore, PA 19003
(next to John’s Sneakers)
610-658-5284
Springfield Location
353 Baltimore Pike
Springfield, PA 19064
(next to Chuck E. Cheese)
610-658-5284
View Media in a larger map
Media, PA is a part of Delaware County Pennsylvania. It happens to be the County Seat for Delaware County and officially became a town in 1850. Also, as of the 2000 Census Media has a population of 5,533 peoples. Call about Napoli’s Media guitar lessons.