The Blogs

As an adult student a Music And Rock School, Diana B. is taking full advantage of performance opportunities and special programs we offer here in conjunction with her guitar lessons. She also offers an interesting take on picking up a new hobby later on in life. “I played recreational guitar when I was a teenager, but it wasn’t until I got divorced that I realized something was missing,” Diana (who requested to remain ageless!) said. “I wanted to try something new. And the guitar was portable!”

I had a group of 12 and 13 year-olds in the Music & Rock School recording studio this weekend helping them record the latest song they wrote together as a band.  We had just started tracking guitars when the guitar player said something like, “can I just do the verse once then use that for all of the verses?”  These kids are pretty smart, but I was shocked that their impression of recording music seemed like a cut-and-paste project where the engineer/editor, with a toolbox full of plug-ins, plays a larger roll in creating the song than the musicians themselves.

Guitar student Grayson S. holds the honor of being Music & Rock School’s longest-running student. Grayson, 12, began taking lessons in May of 2009 right after MaRS was first established, so when we say he has participated in all of our concerts and events, we really do mean all of them!

We are huge fans of performance-based learning here at Music & Rock School.  That is why, in addition to private lessons on guitar, bass, drums, keyboard/piano and voice, we offer rock band programs, like our All-Access program, and a number of similar band programs.  The objective is applying the knowledge a student gains in lessons into a practical setting.  Programs like All-Access also provide interaction with other musicians, a goal-oriented setting, and live performances.  The result is students tend to learn more, and at a more rapid pace, in these settings co

If you happened to attend the 2^nd Annual Apex Jazz Festival last weekend, September 15, in Downtown Apex, then you were among the thousands of people from the triangle and beyond enjoying some great live jazz and blues performances throughout the day.  Music & Rock School was well represented at the festival this year.

14-year-old Cameron U. is one of MaRS’ promising up-and-coming bassists. Though his introduction to music came through playing trombone for a couple years in the school band, his decision to start playing the bass was inspired by one of the most iconic bassists in recent history – Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“I watched him play.” Cameron said. “That was all it took. My stepdad showed me a video of him and I just thought ‘this guy is absolutely ridiculous.’”

Eleven-year-old Matt D. plays drums, like a lot of kids his age.  But Matt also plays drums in a band that has a weekly rehearsal schedule, regular gigs, writes songs, and shoots videos!  At seven years old Matt began drum lessons at another area school, and credits his previous instructor, Jimmy, as his biggest influence.  As Matt progressed, Jimmy encouraged him to pursue playing with other musicians in a band setting.

16-year-old Turner C. came to MaRS for lessons in a rather roundabout way. “Some friends and I would jam together occasionally and we decided we wanted to start a real band. We had a guitarist, a drummer and somebody who played the banjo, which left me with the bass.” Figuring that he’d progress much faster with an experienced teacher as opposed to teaching himself, Turner started lessons with Music & Rock School instructor, Jacob, last July.

14-year-old Chris came to us about 9 months ago as a self-taught guitar player and an aspiring singer-songwriter. Under the tutelage of Jacob, he’s come to be one of Music & Rock School’s most engaging and enthusiastic performers.

“I started writing a long time ago, when I first started playing guitar,” Chris says. “I did the same thing everybody does when they pick up a guitar and they’re like ‘Yeah I’m gonna write songs!’ and then you start and you’re like ‘Oh… I’m not writing songs yet.’”

We are offering a lesson special for new students to get you Rocking into Spring!  We do have a limited number of openings available, so the offer will expire if all of those openings are filled.

Register for 2 months of weekly 30 minute lessons for just $150.  That's 25% off normal tuition and a savings of $50!  Call us today at 919-924-0425 to register, or send us an e-mail here.

At only 11 years old, Casey D. is Music & Rock School’s longest-running voice lesson veteran. Her two years of lessons under instructor Johanna has helped foster a strong love of performing, leading to Casey singing at eight different MaRS events and even searching out other performance opportunities outside the school – on a slightly larger scale. Last year, Casey was chosen to sing the National Anthem at the Durham Bulls Ballpark before the game!