Mark Murphy Music School in South Orange archived

My children have had good experiences there. Once they have the necessary skill level, the Mark Murphy band program is really fun for the kids. My son's current teacher is phenomenal. As he plays bass, I can't recommend a particular piano teacher, but Mark goes above and beyond to find talented teachers.

Katie.

I can think of no better music school than Mark Murphy's. Their approach to nurturing the students (versus the "you must learn this or else") is awesome. Mark is one of the nicest people you can ever meet, and Katie taught our 6 yr old piano this past year and he had so much fun. What started off as the typical "I don't want to practice" routine quickly turned into him practicing on his own 2 to 3 times per day. I attribute this to his love for music, but also it is most probably due to Katie being a tremendous teacher.

Have nothing but kudos for them

DP

If you tell them what your child is like, or what you are looking for in a teacher, they'll match you up with someone who meets your child's needs. If, after a few sessions, you feel it's not a good fit, you can switch. We have been very happy with David, but my impression is that all the teachers are excellent.

At what age would folks recommend starting lessons? Thanks!

Can your kid actually take piano lessons there if you don't own a piano?

davepressel said:

I can think of no better music school than Mark Murphy's. Their approach to nurturing the students (versus the "you must learn this or else") is awesome. Mark is one of the nicest people you can ever meet, and Katie taught our 6 yr old piano this past year and he had so much fun. What started off as the typical "I don't want to practice" routine quickly turned into him practicing on his own 2 to 3 times per day. I attribute this to his love for music, but also it is most probably due to Katie being a tremendous teacher.

Have nothing but kudos for them

DP

And DP humbly possesses as high a level of credibility on this subject as anyone I know.

One nice thing about this school vs. private teacher is that it is quite easy to switch teachers for any reason - not working out, get a new perspective, whatever. Mark even encouraged it for our drummer when he was stalling. But our pianist:

Train_of_Thought said:

Katie.

Our daughter was taking private lessons there. While it is generally good, we had two issues:
1) The teachers kept changing because their teachers would leave
2) They are flexible - but not too flexible about rescheduling lessons.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't use them - but keep this mind

What do lessons typically cost there?

I think last year it was $36.50 per half hour. You could chek out their website just google "Mark Murphy Music".