About
South Carolina's largest music school with over 1,300 students in our Columbia, Irmo & Lexington locations. Winner of more awards than any other music school in the Midlands (Free Times, The State, Lexington Life, Irmo / Chapin Life, Lake Murray Magazine).
Students drive from as far away as Charleston and the Upstate of South Carolina to take lessons here. We offer lessons for ages 4 to adult.
When you are searching for a music school, please consider the benefits of becoming an Academy student and find out why we are South Carolina’s number one choice for music lessons.
14 benefits of becoming an Academy student:
1. Piano, Guitar, Drums, Voice, Singing, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Ukulele, and LED Monitors for your favorite mobile device in each room in ONE location!
We are the only school in Columbia, South Carolina that offers all of these popular instruments: All acoustic Pianos, Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Drum set, Voice,Singing, Bass, Mandolin, Banjo and Ukulele in one location. We are also the only school in the Midlands that has installed $10,000 worth of LED monitors in each teaching room so that you can bring your iPhone, iPad, or any mobile device to give you the BEST music lesson experience in Columbia that no one else can offer.
2. The largest and most qualified teaching faculty in Columbia.
We have 70 music teachers, all with either college training or professional performance experience. Our music teachers are dedicated to learning about your personal musical goals and helping you to achieve them. With at least three music teachers for every instrument, we are confident that we have the right teacher to meet your music lesson needs. In addition to their teaching credentials, our teachers have warm personalities, are extremely friendly and dedicated to teaching you the style of music that you want to learn in your music lesson.
3. The widest range of music lesson times available seven days a week!
We are the only music school in Columbia that offers music lessons seven days a week from early in the morning to late at night to accommodate your busy schedule.
9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Monday - Friday.
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. on Sundays
4. A proven track record of excellence since 2003.
Visit our testimonial page to see what our students are saying. Every year, aspiring music teachers start their own studio, and a year or two later it’s closed. The Academy has a proven track record of offering quality music, piano, guitar, voice, singing and drum lessons in Columbia, South Carolina year round. Our full time mission is teaching music lessons trusted by over 1,700 families for over fifteen years.
5. A comfortable parent's lounge for our clients.
With over 3,000 square feet we have the most spacious and parent friendly waiting area in Columbia.
Instead of waiting in a music retail store showroom, our clients enjoy a spacious, professional parent's lounge with comfortable chairs, kids toys, Wi-Fi, magazines and bottled water service. We also provide large observation windows on every door so that you can watch your child's lesson while you wait. Or if you prefer you can sit in on their lesson anytime you like.
6. The most technologically advanced and fully stocked music lesson rooms in Columbia!
Our rooms are stocked with everything you need for music lessons, including amps, stereos, full drum kits with pads, keyboards, pianos and more. All you need to bring is your instrument. We have spent thousands of dollars on our studio to offer soundproofing and large observation windows.
Technology is also a big part of lessons at the Columbia Arts Academy and we have installed LED monitors in every classroom at both schools. The monitors have cables that can attach to iPods, iPads, or laptops. This allows students to have a modern and engaging lesson using music teaching apps, music software, Skype, and more. Feel free to "Bring Your Own Device" to your lesson in addition to your instrument! No other school in Columbia offers this technology.
One of the things that has really set up apart is our focus on providing lessons that are fresh, new, and engaging. There are so many great teaching apps out there now that we felt we had to update our teaching rooms with LED monitors. By doing so, our students have never run the risk of being bored by their lessons. It's a challenge to engage children or adults, but by integrating technology such as teaching apps from the iTunes store, GarageBand, ProTools, you name it, we're providing a cutting edge lesson experience in the Columbia area.
7. Free music recitals in world class music halls and our annual student showcases with NO participation fees!
We are one of the only music schools in Columbia that offers free recitals with a grand Steinway piano in a first class professional recital hall and student recitals.
Every parent just wants to know how their child is doing and if they are really progressing. The best way for a parent to understand if their investment in lessons is really worth it, is to have their child participate in a recital.
In May and December many of our students choose to perform in our biannual recitals. We hold these at prestigious auditoriums such as Columbia College as they have a grand Steinway piano and world class acoustics. We even provide a red carpet and step and repeat banner to make it fun!
For our students these recitals are free and unlike many schools in Columbia we do not charge recital participation or admission fees.
We also host a student showcase once a year, which gives your child the opportunity to perform at the Rosewood Crawfish Festival or the Jam Room Music Festival!
We have a long history of our students playing on Columbia's biggest stages. Since 2005, our high profile program has been featured in the Free Times, WIS TV, WLTX TV, WOLO TV and in a documentary for SC Educational Television. Your child will love the opportunity to play on the big stage. We even provide a red carpet! You are encouraged to bring your family and friends to the show for free to share in the fun!
8. Professional office staff seven days a week to serve you.
We are the only music school in Columbia that offers full time professional customer service for their students seven days a week.
Many music studio desks are staffed by the teacher/owner or more commonly an answering machine. We have three office team members who are available at the front desk to assist our clients quickly and professionally.
9. Trophies, certificates and award wristbands to celebrate achievement.
We are the only music schools in Columbia and Lexington that gives their students the opportunity to earn special color wristband bracelets (kids and teens love them!), trophies AND certificates for passing musical tests. Do other schools offer trophies and certificates? A few. But none of them inspire their students with smiling faces (see pictures to the right) by giving them full color, really cool “Musical Ladder®” wristbands that they can show off to their friends. The Musical Ladder® is our unique method of music education that you can only get here.
More importantly when our students have a test coming up, they practice more, their parents are proud, their teachers are proud, and everybody wins. You can only get the Musical Ladder® here. We also specialize in music lessons for adults.
10. Student Discount Cards.
We are the only music school in Columbia that offers student discount cards for their students which saves them money all throughout the year.
The Academy also sells music books, instruments and accessories. All of our current students receive a student discount card that saves them money on all of their music supply needs. The student discount card can also be used at other local business including the Jam Room recording studio. At the Jam Room our music students can save money but still make a professional quality demo or recording project.
11. Early morning and lunch time lessons for home schoolers, retirees, college students and working professionals.
Since we are the largest school in the state of South Carolina, we are able to be a 'full service' music school. This allows us to offer lessons as early as 9 a.m. and we see many students between the hours of 11 a.m.-2 p.m. If you are a home school parent, retiree, college student or working professional who has a flexible schedule, take advantage of our early morning and lunch time lesson spots.
12. Located on Rosewood in the heart of Shandon.
Due to its central location, our school is convenient to all areas of Columbia. Close to our school, you will find great shopping, dining and the quaint neighborhood village of Shandon. Our location is convenient to and we have many students from Northeast Columbia, Irmo, Lexington and Chapin.
13. Picture Day
We are the only music school in Columbia that offers a picture day for their students.
Every Spring and Fall we host a free picture day with professional photographer Rob & Jon studio. This is a service that our student's parents love as they all want quality photos of their children (example pictured right). Adults are welcome too! Students can bring their instruments to the photo shoot and wear whatever they like.
14. Month to Month lessons.
The Academy does not require semester minimums for lessons. Every student here is on a month-to-month basis.
If you are ready to start, you have nothing to lose as we only want students who truly want to be here and we will not commit you to a long term contract.
Take the next step and contact us today!
We LOVE seeing our students accomplish their goals!
We've had everything from students being able to perform at Columbia's largest stages: St Patty's Day in 5 Points, to the Township auditorium. Many of our students have gone on to become music majors, or just play for fun! We're just here to help YOU achieve your musical goals.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Our teachers make it a priority to get to know you on a personal level and to become familiar with your personal musical needs and goals.
We do not treat every student the same in terms of what and how we teach.
A seven year old having their first guitar lesson will have very different needs than a fifty seven year old taking up piano for the 2nd time after having had lessons as a child.
The main reason to choose the Academy as your music lesson provider, is that we are sensitive to the fact that every student is an individual.
If you enroll here for lessons, we will work with you to make a plan that will fit your needs and musical preferences. At the first lesson your teacher will ask you about your favorite type of music, and set goals to help accomplish whatever musical aspirations you have for yourself or your child.
We teach all styles from rock, pop, jazz, country, blues and classical.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Our teachers have received their education from prestigious institutions such as New York University, Indiana University, Berklee College of Music, Oxford University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, University of North Texas, South Carolina Governors School for the Arts, the Atlanta Guitar Institute, Columbia College and the University of South Carolina. Many of our instructors have gone on performance tours of the US and Europe and have over 25 years of professional performance and teaching experience. In addition to their teaching credentials, our teachers have warm personalities, are extremely friendly and strive to get to know each student and their parent on a personal level.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
$32.50 for a 30 minute lesson held once a week.
What types of students have you worked with?
All levels, all ages. Beginners are welcome!
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
We LOVE seeing our students perform in our May and December recitals! Sign up now so you can perform in the next one. There are no participation fees and no addmission fees. We hold these at the best recital halls and even had a red carpet / step and repeat banner for fun photos to commerate the event!
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Come by and see us for a tour! We are here 7 days a week and always have professional office staff on site to assist our students.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Before their first lesson, all students fill out a 'new student' questionairre which is given to their teacher. This ENSURES that you get personal attention and so that your lessons are specifically tailored to what you want to achieve. It's one of the main reasons why we're South Carolina's number one choice for music lessons!