Everyone's beginner-friendly here. Even the drums.

Piano · guitar · voice · drums · violin · ukulele 214 Corliss Ave, Maplewood First trial lesson free
What we teach

Six instruments, four rooms, one rule: patience.

Every teacher at Octave remembers being terrible. That's the qualification we hire for, right after the musicianship.

Piano

From age 5

The classic first instrument. Both hands working together by week three.

Guitar

From age 7

Fingertips toughen up in two weeks. The songs come fast after that.

Voice

From age 8

You already own the instrument. We teach you what it can actually do.

Drums

From age 6

Room 4 is soundproofed, the teacher is patient, and the grin is standard issue.

Violin

From age 5

The squeaky phase is shorter than its reputation. A month, usually.

Ukulele

From age 4

Four strings, three chords, one week to a real song.

How lessons work

Weekly. Same teacher, same time, your room.

30min

Where most beginners start. Short enough to stay fun, long enough for homework.

45min

The sweet spot after year one, when pieces outgrow the half hour.

60min

For teens and adults who mean it. Technique, repertoire, rabbit holes.

Fifteen minutes most days beats two hours on Sunday. We say it at the first lesson and we mean it.

Your teacher sends home one small assignment a week; it fits on an index card. Students who touch the instrument most days are the ones still playing in year three.

Meet the teachers

Real musicians who like beginners.

Only one of the three enjoys having a proper portrait taken. We think the lesson photos say more anyway.

Marisol Vega holding her violin

Marisol Vega

Violin

Conservatory trained, twelve years of students aged five to seventy-five.

Keeps a sticker jar for nailed shifts. Adults are not exempt.

Ruth guiding a young pianist through sheet music

Ruth Okafor

Piano & voice

Thirty years at the keys, church organist on Sundays.

Would rather show you her students' hands than her own face. Hence the photo.

Danny mid-lesson with a teenage guitar student

Danny Reyes

Guitar, ukulele & drums

Fifteen years of gigs before he ever wrote a lesson plan.

Bring him any song on Monday. He'll have it charted by your lesson.

Recitals

Twice a year, everyone plays. Everyone claps.

One piece each, chosen with your teacher, played for the friendliest room you will ever perform in. Grandparents film everything. Nobody has ever been booed at an Octave recital, and nobody ever will be.

Nervous is normal. Playing anyway is the lesson.

Next up

The Winter Recital

Saturday, December 12 · 2:00 pm

Grange Hall, 40 Willow Avenue, Maplewood

Free to attend, family and friends welcome. There are cookies afterward. There are always cookies.

Tuition

Plain numbers, no surprises.

Billed monthly, four lessons in most months. When a month has a fifth lesson, the fifth is on us.

  • 30 minutesweekly, all instruments$120 /month
  • 45 minutesweekly$170 /month
  • 60 minutesweekly$220 /month

Siblings: 10% off tuition for each additional musician in the family.

Your first trial lesson is free. No card, no commitment, no paperwork.

Instrument cases and recital posters in the Octave hallway
A young drummer mid-lesson in Room 4, sticks up

Four tuned rooms, one very soundproofed Room 4, and a parents' bench with decent coffee.

Questions we hear weekly

Ask us anything. These come up a lot.

What age should we start?

Ukulele and piano from four or five, violin from five, drums from six, guitar from seven, voice from eight. Honestly though, the best age is when the child asks. Book the free trial and we'll say if it's a year early.

Do you rent instruments?

Violins and ukuleles, yes, sized to the student, from $15 a month. For piano, a basic 88-key keyboard covers year one; we'll tell you which. Drummers practice on our kits and a pad at home.

What happens if we miss a lesson?

Tell us by the night before and we'll find a makeup the same month, up to two a term. Same-day misses we can't credit, but your teacher sends notes home so the week isn't lost.

Do adults actually come here?

Yes. A third of our students are over thirty, and the retired beginners out-practice everyone. The trial lesson is free for you too. And no, you're not too old. We checked.

Book a trial

The first lesson is free. The worst case is a fun half hour.

Call or write, tell us the instrument and the age, and we'll match you with the right teacher this week.

Call (555) 555-0147 hello@octave.example

Lessons Monday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm · 214 Corliss Ave, Maplewood · Open in Maps

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