Welcome!

Learning to play an instrument is a fantastic adventure, where you will develop new skills and explore new musical opportunities. At Coda Music and Arts Trust, we have a wide variety of experienced Music Tutors ready to guide and teach you on your journey.

Learning a musical Instrument is no easy task though and requires commitment, dedication and time. We all learn at different paces and in different ways so it is really important to develop a good dialogue with your teacher and feel able to ask questions. The more communication between pupils and tutor the better the understanding, so always ask if you are unsure of a task or area of learning. We try to accommodate all methods and paces of teaching at Coda in order for our pupils to progress but practice is the key to all instrumental learning.

Your tutor can give you advice on how and when to practice and we also have Practice Tips and practice trackers available for you to use too if you wish.

Investing in a Practice Diary or Notebook can be a good idea to remind you of tasks set in lessons to work on or to make notes for the next lesson. The Musicians Union and the ABRSM both publish useful practice Notebooks to use:

ABRSM Practice Notebook: https://shop.abrsm.org/shop/prod/ABRSM-The-ABRSM-Practice-Notebook/2005026

Musicians Union Practice Diary: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/education-and-teaching/career-development-as-a-teacher-en/practice-diaries-and-workbooks

Depending on the what instrument and how you are learning, you may wish to explore the possibility to undertake examinations within your chosen instrument.

Your tutor can advise you on this route, the practical requirements and time schedules of examinations and when you might be ready to undertake examinations if you choose to do so.

There are many different examination boards that you can choose, depending on the genre, style and instrument that you are learning. Once again talk to your tutor if this is something you would like to know more about. Examinations are a useful way for tutors to mark progress but are not the only way to do so.

We also like to provide opportunities for all our musical learners to have the opportunity to perform if they wish by providing informal performance platforms and social events for our musicians to demonstrate their new skills. Once again, please talk to tutors and Coda staff about what these are and when they are on.

One of the lovely aspects of learning an instrument is the opportunity to play and make music with other people. At Coda Music and Arts Trust, we also offer group music making opportunities throughout the year and during the holidays. See our website, newsletters or ask staff about these.

We do hope you enjoy your learning experience with us here at Coda Music and Arts Trust. However, should you have any questions, concerns or complaints about our staff or facilities, please do not hesitate to contact our Centre Manager in Reception for a confidential conversation. We pride ourselves in offering high quality, personal teaching, whether you are learning as an individual or as part of a group and we look forward to sharing your musical journey.