Lone Star School of Music

I originally wrote this over at Yelp, and since it’s my review there I felt it only right I also post it here.

Plus, I can give an update.

When searching for a music school for my children, I chose Lone Star School of Music because of the flexible scheduling and diverse teaching staff. I have stayed with Lone Star because of the wonderful experience. The owners are great people, friendly, knowledgable, responsive. The teaching staff is fantastic.

What I love most about Lone Star is the emphasis on having fun. They understand that it’s more important to develop a love of music, than to play scales and drills all day. Sure, they still work on scales and fundamentals, and all those things, but if the kids don’t love playing then scales don’t matter; love playing and you understand scales are part of playing and you don’t mind so much. If there’s any testimony to the fun and enjoyment, one of my children always bummed out the lesson is over because he has so much fun and doesn’t want to stop! Never a chore to practice, never a battle to go to lesson time. Another of my children wants to do more of the school’s additional offerings, like the Rock Camp and Rock Band. The child actually just did Rock Camp and had a blast… Kurt (owner) makes a big effort to make it a lot of fun and ensure the kids have a wonderful experience that builds great memories.

Just great stuff.

Since I wrote that review, Kiddos are still going strong. All are still taking lessons, all are still enjoying it. There’s no chore, but there is a lot of exploration. Oldest has widened his musical tastes. Daughter bounces around on every instrument she can, working to learn songs by ear. Youngest is getting quite an ear for classical music. Like I originally wrote: the school and teachers work to foster a love of music. That’s most evident in the Rock Band class.

A couple months ago there were finally enough kids on the right instruments wanting to play in a band together, and so the Rock Band class has been going. This is a pretty neat deal where they work with a teacher (yes, a little adult supervision, direction, and input is good here… so it’s not just aimless banging around), they work up a library of songs, and the school will book them on gigs every month. They’re not quite ready for their first gig yet, but soon. It’s great listening to them work it out in practice. They work, but they also have a lot of fun. The biggest surprise is Oldest. We had no idea he’d want to do anything like that, but he jumped in on his own and while reluctant at first, I think he’s more excited about going to weekly practice than Daughter is!

I’m really happy with Lone Star School of Music.