Individual music lessons

The Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts is Manitoba’s premier house for advanced musical instruction. Our downtown Winnipeg music school offers individual music lessons for children to adults, from beginners to those seeking advanced musical instruction, for all disciplines. Learn a new instrument or dust off an instrument you haven’t played in a while with one-on-one lessons. Our highly-qualified faculty members teach a wide range of musical styles and instruments, from piano, violin, and guitar to voice lessons and more. Each of our highly-qualified instructors have a degree in music or the equivalent in performance experience. A majority hold Bachelor degrees, many possess Masters degrees and some have earned Doctorate degrees. Our instructors consider themselves musician/teachers — professional musicians who teach. Meet with our faculty before registering to find the right student/instructor combination and ensure the best learning experience possible.

Our student/instructor matching service

The student/instructor combination has an impact on a student’s learning, achieving and enjoyment of their musical experience, so it’s important to make the best match possible. That’s why our process includes an assessment of the students’ needs to match them with a faculty member for a free consultation.

If you have a specific music teacher in mind, please call our office at 204-988-7650 to find out more about available music lesson slots in their schedule.

Choosing your instrument

Individual instruction is available for virtually every genre and instrument, including piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, fiddling, voice, guitar, ukulele, drum kit, percussion, saxophone, flute, piccolo, clarinet, recorder, french horn, trumpet, harmonica, accordion and mandolin. If we don’t have an accredited instructor for the instrument you wish to study, we will seek to find one for you.

Students between the ages of four and six may wish to start out with 30-minute lessons in our Musical Foundations program. Our Musical Foundations program is aimed at students who are ready for private lessons, but they haven’t chosen an instrument yet. Your child will gain exposure to singing and percussion instruments while developing skills in an individual setting.

Fees

Music instructor rates vary depending on the academic credentials and teaching experience of each instructor. 30 minute music lessons range from $25–$35 per lesson, 45 minute music lessons from $37.50–$52.50 per lesson and 60 minute music lessons from $50–$70 per lesson.

All music lessons are weekly, unless otherwise specified. Tuition may be paid in one lump sum or installment payments. All tuition must be paid in full or secured with payment method 24 hours in advance of the first scheduled lesson day. Registrations are not confirmed and lessons will not begin until payment has been received/confirmed.

A non-refundable annual registration fee of $50 per student (or $100 per family) is applied to the first registration during the academic year. Students who choose to register for less than the full academic year must register for a block of a minimum of ten lessons to reserve a specific lesson time in your teacher’s schedule. If you choose to register for additional blocks of lessons over the same academic year, each registration will include a 10% administration fee.

Students facing financial barriers to enrolling in music lessons are invited to apply for one of our bursaries.

Overdue installments, installments that are declined, and installments returned as “NSF” will be subject to a $40 fee, and lessons will be suspended. It is solely your responsibility to ensure that installments are made. Please notify us of any changes to your plan by calling our office at 204-988-7650.

Academic year and lessons

The regular academic year starts in September and runs until June. Students may register for either a full year or 12-week seasonal sessions.

Beginning students seeking private instruction generally start with a half hour lesson once a week. Once a student’s skill level has moved up to an intermediate level, lesson times usually increase to 45 minutes once a week. Students with a high level of commitment who have progressed to advanced repertoire increase their lesson time to one hour per week.

We offer customized learning plans, developed by our highly qualified faculty, to help you progress faster and further.

Simultaneous lessons

Many families have two or more children playing different instruments at different levels at different times at different locations. If this is you, contact us as we will do everything we can to schedule all your students for music lessons at the same time.

Attendance/absences

No refunds will be issued or makeup lessons scheduled for classes missed by the student. You are reserving a specific class time with a faculty member that is held for your convenience each week. An exception will be made for medical reasons. The student must notify us of the illness or injury, and must supply a doctor’s note, within 14 days of notification. Out of courtesy to our faculty, we ask that you notify our office by e-mail at info@mcma.ca or telephone at 204-988-7650 if you will be absent.

Lessons missed by reason of teacher absence will be made up or credited. Every attempt will be made to reschedule this missed lesson to avoid an accumulation of lessons outstanding.

Withdrawals and refunds

Four lesson weeks’ written notice must be provided for withdrawal from individual lessons. Tuition is payable for the duration of the four-week period whether the student attends the classes or not. A form is available from our office for the student or parent to fill out as notice of withdrawal. Registration and installment fees are non-refundable.

Non-attendance does not constitute notice of withdrawal. Written notice MUST be submitted.

Two week trial

A two week trial period is offered when a new student begins individual lessons. During this trial period, the student can request to be transferred to another teacher, or withdraw from lessons without providing four weeks notice. Every attempt will be made to find the best student/teacher match.

Notice of transfer or withdrawal within this trial period must be given in writing at least 48 hours before the next scheduled lesson. This right can be exercised only once per registered individual in any academic year.

Practice studios

All students registered for individual lessons may practice in our studios free of charge during regular office hours. Simply call our office at 204-988-7650 or stop by to book a studio. Practice space is subject to availability, with most studios in use after 4 pm on weekdays and on Saturday mornings. Practice studios are available until 8 pm on weekdays and until 4 pm on Saturdays.

Recitals

Students are encouraged to attend and perform at our recitals which are hosted eight times per year.

Through our outreach program, Music Equals, students are invited to participate in paid performance opportunities with professional faculty members in the Inter-Generational concert series. These performance opportunities allow students to be mentored by the faculty, gain confidence through performance, and share music with communities who may experience barriers to taking part in musical performances.

Students may also be invited to other performance opportunities that come up throughout the year.