About Recorder Lessons
Recorder lessons at the Altadena Academy of Music are offered to students as young as 4.5 years old as well as adult students, who make up close to one-third of the Academy's students. We specialize in record instruction instruction for students at all levels, including beginners, intermediate, and advanced students.
Recorder is a wonderful starter instrument for younger students, as not only is it fairly easy to pick up, but is also extremely fun! With varied repertoire available even to the most novice students, recorder is a popular option to help the child develop love and appreciation for music.
Of course, although your learning progress is the most important aspect of lessons, your overall experience and engagement during lessons is equally as important.
That is the primary reason why all of our instructors not only work on developing your technique and musicianship skills, but also keep your classes engaging and fun and tailored to the music that you enjoy.
Beginners and students aged 4.5 through 6 typically start with a 30-minute lesson once a week with one of our wonderful recorder teachers. As part of all recorder lessons, students will learn to read music, build an understanding of rhythm, as well as enjoy creative exploration through composition, improvisation, and performance opportunities.
New students enrolling in recorder lessons receive a welcome package as well as an Altadena Academy of Music Practice tote bag. For more information regarding recorder lessons at the Altadena Academy of Music, please contact our office by calling us at (626) 296-0799 or registering for lessons by clicking the button below. The Academy proudly offers recorder lessons to students in Altadena, Pasadena, La Cañada, Glendale, Burbank, Monrovia, San Gabriel, Alhambra, San Marino and surrounding areas.
Recorder Lessons Tuition
The prices listed here are for private recorder lessons taking place at the Academy once a week, as well as virtual and online piano lessons.
30 Minutes
$144
Per Month
45 Minutes
$225
Per Month
60 Minutes
$285
Per Month
Levels of Recorder Lessons
No matter the level at which you currently are - whether a complete beginner or an advanced student who has been taking recorder lessons for a few years - the Altadena Academy of Music is here to help you get the most out of recorder lessons. Since we specialize in private lessons which we have been delivering since 2003, we ensure that your experience with recorder lessons is tailored to your current level, the pace at which you are comfortable to work at, as well as your goals and ambitions within music.
Beginner
Our beginner recorder lessons are designed for students of all ages with little to no musical experience. If you are brand new to recorder lessons, you can expect a wonderful experience that covers all of the important fundamentals, including holding the instrument, finger patterns, basics of music theory and sight reading, musical notations, and other important foundational elements.
Intermediate
Intermediate recorder lessons are ideal for students who have been playing for over two and a half years and want to continue improving their skills, including technique, sight reading, and musicianship.
Advanced
Advanced lessons are generally the path for students who have been playing for a minimum of several years who wish to either hone their existing skills, learn a new piece, or prepare for a rigorous audition to professional-level competitions, exams, or auditions to music schools and conservatories.
Why Choose Our Academy for Recorder Lessons in Altadena, CA
Our Recorder Teachers
Our teachers are truly the core of our institution. As mentioned previously, we receive hundreds of teaching applications every year, and every piano teacher on our team is a proven professional with a great personality (and their educational, performance, and teaching background speaks for themselves too!).
Our Facility
We pride ourselves on teaching students on the finest upright and grand pianos, including a large array of Yamaha U-1s and U-3s, as well as Steinway & Sons Grand Pianos. We feature a comfortable lounge for parents with high-speed WiFi, an area for little kids to play and check out Lego magazines and coloring books, as well as plenty of free parking. The Academy, located on the border of Pasadena and Altadena, is central to grocery stores, even allowing you to make a quick grocery run while your child is in class.
Our Experience
We have been part of the Pasadena, Altadena, and La Cañada communities since 2003. Delivering recorder lessons to thousands of students (both children and adults) over the years has allowed us to foster the best possible environment for learning music.
Our Policies
We provide students with month-to-month lessons with no long-term commitments. Switching gears away from music? Simply give us a 30-day heads up and you are good to go! Need to change your lesson time? Let us know and we'll be glad to look at other options. And of course - need to miss a lesson? Let us know in advance and you can always receive a private make up credit, rather than lose your lesson or do a group make up.
Our Accolades
We genuinely hate to brag - but we have been chosen as the Best Music School by Expertise Magazine for several years in a row. We are also a Pasadena Weekly Reader Recommended Music School (every year since 2015). Lastly, we are a Steinway & Sons Teaching and Educational Partner, an extremely rare designation for private music schools, as well as members of the Music Teachers' Association of California. The list of the Academy's accolades, including students' competition wins, goes on, and we really hope it speaks for itself!
Meet Some of Our Recorder Teachers in Altadena
As Pasadena and Altadena's top-rated music school and academy for recorder lessons, we generally attract over fifty top recorder teachers' resumes for a single recorder teacher opening at our school located on the border of Altadena and Pasadena. As you can imagine, the selection process to teach recorder the Altadena Academy of Music is extremely rigorous and includes not only technical and behavioral interviews, but also sample lessons and feedback collection from students.
Due to this rigorous interview process for recorder teachers, we pride ourselves in having the most dedicated and prestigious faculty of any school in the Altadena and Pasadena area. Teachers on our team have received degrees from the world's best music programs, including the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, USC Thornton School of Music, Juilliard, Peabody Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Columbia University, and the Curtis Institute of Music.
All of our private recorder teachers possess not only excellent teaching ability, but also hands-on performance experience which allows them to share unparalleled real-world expertise during each and every music lesson.
Mr. Tyler
Ms. Valerie
Ms. Theresa
Our Student Gallery in Altadena and Pasadena
Frequently Asked Questions About Recorder Lessons
Generally, children ages 4 and up are old enough to begin recorder lessons. Students younger than 4 are able to enroll in General Music Private lessons, which will cover many of the fundamentals needed to successfully transition to private music lessons once a student is at the right age.
Starting early is encouraged as there are a multitude of benefits of taking music lessons as a child. These include better cognitive development, enhanced memory, as well as the social benefits of being in a music school setting. Additionally, taking music lessons has been proven to improve students' results in math, as well as shown improvement in mental health and self-esteem. Of course, aside from the scientific benefits, music lessons are fun and enjoyable, and give children a unique hobby to be passionate about.
As the old saying goes (pun intended), you are never too old to pursue a new hobby. Adults make up about one-third of the Academy's students, and adult recorder lessons, interestingly, are a very popular choice. Adults choosing to pick up music usually do so to engage in a new hobby, meet friends , and hone their musical abilities.
Additionally, students looking into improving their memory, as well as controlling certain conditions, such as Parkinson's tremors, are actually encouraged to begin music lessons, as playing music is scientifically proven to stimulate the brain and allow you to strengthen and improve your hand coordination.
All of our recorder lessons here at the Altadena Academy of Music include sight reading and music theory. Unlike many teachers and schools, we are against delivering music lessons that teach students how to play "by ear" and do not partake in this practice. Learning music and taking music lessons without learning how to sight read is akin to learning a foreign language without learning the alphabet. You may be able to recite a few phrases extremely well, but once faced with a phrase that may not be exactly what you have learned, you will not be able to make any progress. The same goes for music, hence the need for all students taking piano lessons to learn how to sight read, as well as understand basic music theory.