Private Music Lessons
Every student who comes to us starts the same way: a single lesson where we listen, talk, and work out what you actually need.
Not an audition. Not a sales meeting. A working session with the instructor who would teach you, at the end of which you will know what a realistic path looks like and whether we are the right people to walk it with you.
There is no commitment to book a second one.
Why we start with an evaluation
Because we cannot design a plan for someone we have not heard.
A student who has played for three years and a student who has never held the instrument need entirely different first months. So does a ten-year-old preparing for a school orchestra audition and an adult returning after thirty years away.
The evaluation lesson runs the full lesson length, usually 45 minutes, and covers four things.
What you want. Not "to get better" but specifically: a piece you have always wanted to play, an audition you are preparing for, a family tradition you want to join, or simply an hour a week that belongs to you.
Where you are. If you play, bring whatever you are working on. If you do not, bring nothing. Either is fine and neither is a test.
The fundamentals. Posture, hand position, tone, rhythm, reading, ear. These are the load-bearing skills, and knowing which are solid and which need work determines everything that follows.
A recommendation. By the end you will have one: continue privately, join a group, or work online. It is a recommendation rather than a decision, and it is yours to take or leave.
What a week actually looks like
The lesson is one hour. The other six days are where progress happens, and most students are never taught how to use them.
Every lesson ends with a written practice plan. Not "keep working on it" but what to practise, in what order, for how long, and how to know when a section is finished.
That plan is the difference between a student who improves steadily and one who plays the same passage badly for a month. It is also the thing parents most often tell us they had never seen before.
Between lessons, students use the free tools on this site. The chromatic tuner and metronome get used daily. Note identification and ear training build the reading and listening skills that lessons alone cannot drill enough. The music dictionary explains every technique in plain English, so a term from Tuesday's lesson can be looked up on Thursday.
None of it costs anything, and it is available whether or not you study with us.
What we work on
Private lessons are not a single skill repeated weekly. Each lesson balances several things according to what the student needs.
Technique. The mechanics: posture, hand position, bow or breath or strum, tone production, and the exercises that build them. Unglamorous and the foundation of everything.
Repertoire you chose. Classical, folk, jazz, pop, film scores, whatever brought you here. We map the path to playing it rather than deciding for you what you should want.
Theory and ear, integrated. Never a separate subject. Why that chord sounds the way it does, what is likely to come next, how to work something out by ear.
Sight reading, weekly. The most underrated skill in music and the easiest to build with consistent repetition. We use our free graded library.
Performance preparation where it is wanted: recitals, school and all-state auditions, graded examinations, college pre-screen recordings.
Improvisation and composition for students who are interested. Music as something you make, not only something you reproduce.
Three ways forward
Most students continue privately. Not all should, and the evaluation is where we work out which.
Continue privately. Suits serious students, audition and exam preparation, specific repertoire goals, adult learners with particular interests, and anyone who wants the pace set entirely around them. Weekly one-to-one, custom curriculum, direct feedback.
Join a group. Suits younger students who learn better alongside peers, families wanting a lower per-lesson cost, and beginners who want the social side of learning. If your level matches an active group, we place you at the next opening. If you are slightly behind its current material, we suggest a few weeks of private catch-up first, because mixing levels frustrates everyone in the room.
Work online. Suits students outside our service area, weeks where the commute will not fit, extended travel, and learners who simply focus better on video. Same instructor, same curriculum, same method.
Many long-term students use a mix, in-person some weeks and online others, depending on what the week looks like.
Where we teach
Soul Music Lessons is based in the Suwanee and Cumming area of North Metro Atlanta.
Students travel to us from across the region: Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell, Milton, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Sugar Hill, Buford, Lawrenceville, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Marietta, Woodstock, Berkeley Lake, Kennesaw, Smyrna, Decatur, Brookhaven, Tucker and Buckhead.
Some drive close to an hour each way. Online lessons exist partly so that distance stops being the deciding factor.
We teach violin, viola, piano, guitar, bass guitar, music theory and ensemble, private and group.
Book your evaluation
One lesson. We listen, we play, we talk, and you leave with a plan.
No commitment to continue.
Book your evaluation or call 470-789-2422.
Common questions
Do I need my own instrument for the first lesson?
No. We have studio instruments for the evaluation. Afterward your instructor will tell you exactly what to rent or buy for your level, and will not push you toward something more expensive than you need. For the violin family, renting from a local shop is the usual starting point, and we can point you to ones we trust.
How young can a child start?
We have taught students from age four. For ages four to six, lessons are usually 30 minutes and focus on rhythm, listening and getting comfortable with the instrument rather than long stretches of concentration. We ask a parent to sit in for the first few lessons so the home routine is understood by everyone.
I played as a child and stopped. Is it too late?
It is one of the most rewarding situations we work with. The physical memory is still in your hands and reading comes back faster than you expect. Most returning adults are playing at a level that surprises them within a few months. The hardest part is booking the first lesson.
My child does not practise. Is it worth continuing?
Often, and the answer is usually to find out why rather than to push harder. Boredom with the material, a clash with school workload, or an instrument that feels too difficult are all common and all fixable. Sometimes the answer is different repertoire. Sometimes it is a different frequency. Occasionally it is a different instrument, and we would rather say so early than watch frustration build.
How long until I am any good?
Depends what good means and how much you practise. A rough benchmark: six to twelve months of weekly lessons with consistent practice gets a beginner playing recognisable pieces with confidence. Two to three years gets most students to the point where people ask them to play. Audition standard is year four and beyond, and depends far more on the student's drive than on talent.
Am I locked into a contract?
No. Monthly billing, no annual commitment, and you can pause or stop with reasonable notice. We would rather earn the next lesson than hold you to a year.
Book your evaluation lesson
We listen, work out where you are, and tell you plainly what a realistic path looks like. There is no commitment to book a second lesson.
Book an evaluation lesson