Do you aspire to be a guitarist, a vocalist, or a pianist – or do you aspire to be a musician? Its an important distinction. Many music schools may teach you to be a guitarist, a vocalist, or a pianist as if it were a craft. We will teach you to be an artist – a technically skilled, intelligent, and educated musician no matter which instrument you choose. Artistry is not something only the most talented can achieve, you too can be a great musician – we’ll show you how in a professional, friendly, engaged and encouraging environment!
What we teach:
Other schools will show you what to do, sometimes without teaching proper technique; we will teach you what to do, how to do it, and how to learn it successfully. They might give you advice on what makes something sound well; we will demonstrate for you what sounds well, but more importantly will give you the skills and tools you need to develop your own interpretations. Its your voice that we want to hear. We already know what we sound like!
At Artisound’s Long Island City Music School you will learn the proper technique to play your instrument, the best methods for learning and memorizing music, the history and theory of music needed to develop meaningful and profound performances, as well as the listening skills needed to play music with others. We teach these all at once in an integrated fashion – the theory of music is not at all a separate course of study from performance or composition. We teach these subjects all together in a unified way to form you into a complete musician. Our curriculum will allow you to play music confidently and with ease in any situation, which is why our many students continue to study here for long periods of time.
Our Community:
Being a musician is not something that we do alone, its something that we do in public with and for other people. It is so much more fulfilling when there is real community involved. We have 600 square feet of performance space where we hold weekly workshops for all of our students, and monthly concerts for our students and teachers. We are building a real community of musicians in all levels of accomplishment here: come and join one of our concerts or our weekly musical workouts for a chance to hear your peers and meet new people.
Performances:
All of our students are encouraged to perform when they feel ready. Its this gift of sharing that makes music and art so special. While we have professional concerts here, we also provide a safe and encouraging environment for students of all levels to practice and hone their performance skills.
Talent and Standards:
There is a myth about musicians. Some people say the great musicians were genius, or that they were somehow more gifted than the rest of us. Its not talent that makes us great, but the dedication and work that we put into our art. J.S. Bach, perhaps the greatest among musicians, said “Anyone with a modicum (an average) amount of talent who works as hard as I do can have the same results.” Its true. Your dedication will make you great!
Because we believe that anyone can achieve the highest standards, we hold our to those highest standards. But don’t be intimidated at all, its much easier than you think. The only real difference between a pro and a beginner is the complexity and difficulty of the music: Beginners can and should play music with as much artistry and musicianship as the master. For the beginner, the music is of low difficulty, for the master the music is at a high level of difficulty. Its wonderful to hear our students perform beautifully from the very beginning.
