FAQs

Musika offers private one-on-one lessons either in your home or in one of our teachers’ studios to students of all ages and abilities. We will attempt to match you with one of our select instructors, who will create a unique lesson plan based on your needs and desires.

Musika was founded in New York City in April 2001.

Musika was founded by E. Scott Brady.

Musika’s corporate office is located in New York City.  Lessons are not provided in our corporate office.  Lessons are in student’s homes or our teacher’s personal studios.

Musika LLC is a Participant in the TRUSTe Privacy Seal Program. TRUSTe is an independent organization whose mission is to advance privacy and trust in the networked world. This Web site has agreed to have its privacy practices monitored for compliance by TRUSTe.

Musika uses VeriSign sealed SSL encryption to protect your information.

The first step is to browse our roster of teachers in your area. When you are ready to begin, the next step is to complete our Teacher Request Form.  With the info on that form, Musika will be able to match your student with the best available teacher. The teacher will then contact you to set up your introductory lesson.

Yes!  The majority of our students take lessons in their own home.

The location will vary, depending on the instructor. Musika does not have one central studio location. Many of our teachers have their own private studio space available either in their own home or a separate facility such as a classroom or a practice room.

We do not provide group lessons - every student has their own individual lesson time. Multiple students from the same household can receive separate lessons back-to-back with the same instructor.

Contact Us or call 877-687-4524 for lesson rates for your area.

The price is the same, regardless of where the lessons take place.

We offer lessons at the same price for all instruments, including voice.

We do not charge any other fees or dues - you are only paying for your lessons!

Musika always offers an introductory lesson to prospective students, regardless of age or previous experience with the instrument. We want to make sure that you feel good about the instructor we have assigned to you. The introductory lesson serves as an opportunity to meet the instructor and learn more their teaching styles and personality.

We are confident about the quality of our faculty and our unique matching process. However, if for any reason you decide not to register, the introductory lesson will not be charged. If you do register, the introductory lesson is considered your first official lesson and will be charged in full.

If for any reason you cannot register within 7 day deadline, please contact the accounting department as soon as you receive your first follow-up e-mail. Depending on the specifics of the situation, we would be happy to extend your deadline. Please note, however, that we cannot extend your deadline if it is already expired.

In the event you are not satisfied with your instructor, you will not be charged for the introductory lesson and we will assign you to a different instructor for another intro. That said, we do have a very high success rate of matching students with teachers.

That will vary, based on the instrument. We typically recommend starting piano and violin as young as 4, while voice training is not recommended for kids younger than 12. There are a number of factors to consider, such as the child’s physical compatibility with the instrument, their attention span and maturity, and the student’s willingness to practice.

Absolutely! Music is a lifelong pursuit for many musicians, regardless of age. You are never too old to begin learning an instrument!

Musika requires that a parent, adult, or legal guardian be present during the entire period of the lesson if the student is under age 18 and the lesson is at the student's home. It is not required for the parent to sit next to the student during the lesson or be directly involved with the lesson.

You will need to send an email containing your resume or along with a brief cover letter stating your interest in teaching to our hiring department: hiring@musikalessons.com.

All teachers working for Musika are independent contractors, which allows them the freedom to make custom lesson plans tailored to their students' individual needs.

Musika will do its best to match you with the best teacher first. We can only match you with one teacher at a time, so you are encouraged to try an introductory lesson with that teacher before being matched with another. Remember, if you are not satisfied, there is no charge for the intro lesson.

Musika conducts background checks on all of its teachers so you can feel safe and secure with the teacher that we send to you. All background checks are conducted by IntelliCorp Records, Inc.  Background checks include SSN verification, nationwide instant criminal searches, nationwide sex offender registries, recommended local county searches, and terrorist searches. Information from searches conducted on teachers is confidential and cannot be released under any circumstances.

Nearly all of our teachers have bachelor's degrees in Music, as well as a minimum of 3 to 5 years teaching experience. Many of our teachers are graduates of top conservatories and music programs.

Sometimes the nearest teacher is not the best match for a student, based on a number of variables, including their preferred age group to work with, their own schedule and roster of students, and specific requests you may have made on the Teacher Request Form.

Because we are a national company, it would be difficult for us to make specific and localized recommendations. Our teachers can certainly help you in your search.

No. Students are responsible for providing their own instruments. Many instruments are available to rent through local music stores (consult our above buyer’s guides for your instrument), while voice students are expected to provide a keyboard or piano for lessons.

Although they are much more portable than a proper piano, teachers will not be able to bring a keyboard for your lessons. Because you will need the instrument to practice on between lessons, students are encouraged to purchase their own keyboard.

The feature to look for is whether the keyboard has “weighted keys” or not.  A weighted-key keyboard will feel similar to a real piano, while a cheap keyboard without weighted keys will be more like a toy.  Most weighted keyboards start around $300-400 and have 88 keys, while non-weighted keyboards are around $150 and usually have only 61 keys.  We strongly recommend a keyboard with weighted keys.  A non-weighted keyboard may be suitable for a very young child in the early stages of their musical development, but it is worth the extra cost to purchase a keyboard that has weighted keys.

Topics include sight reading, technique, and for the beginner, fundamental skills and practices for the instrument. The instructor will work with you to create a personalized lesson plan. As students progress with reading musical notation and physically playing their instruments, teachers can go in new directions to help you reach your goals.  

We recommend practicing every day, if possible.  With consistent practice, most beginners can see noticeable improvement right away, and be able to play simple repertoire in the first few weeks of study.  However, reaching full mastery of an instrument usually takes years.

Lessons are held once a week, with all scheduling to be coordinated directly with your instructor.

Biweekly lessons can be scheduled, provided the instructor is flexible with this schedule.

Yes, it is possible to focus on playing by ear and learning by rote.  However, neglecting this major area of study will not benefit you, nor will it allow you to skip ahead and get better faster. We strongly recommend keeping an open mind and learning all of the fundamentals, including reading music at a basic level.

Any style.  Classical, jazz, pop, rock, blues, gospel, r&b, country, folk, indie, opera, musical theater, punk, soul, reggae, bebop, chillwave, salsa, rhumba, noise, electroacoustic, alternative, surf, grunge, and a myriad of other styles.

Many string teachers use the Suzuki method, and a small percentage of piano teachers are familiar with it as well.  However, most teachers are not Suzuki certified and do not limit themselves only to the Suzuki method and instead incorporate traditional western classical methods to their practicum.

Students are encouraged to purchase their own copies of sheet music. Popular piano method books for beginners typically cost less than $10.  Teachers will discuss and advise what materials you will need prior to lessons. Instructors can also provide supplemental material for you at no charge.

Musika’s yearly recitals is typically held in May and June.  View our current recital location offerings.  For each recital, we typically rent a church space or performance hall and hire some of our finest teachers to host the event and provide piano accompaniment.  In each participating metro, we require approximately 10 interested students to hold a recital.

Musika’s recitals are free of charge.  The only requirement is to be a current student of Musika in the semester that recitals are offered.

Many teens and adult students have participated in our music lesson recitals.  Usually young children perform first and older or more experienced students perform toward the end.  We do get many young children playing piano, but we’ll have anything from opera arias to pop songs, as well as students who specialize in rock guitar, percussion, and jazz ensembles.

Musika accepts major debit or credit cards only.  We currently accept Visa, Mastercard, or American Express.

No.  Musika does not accept cash, check, or money order.   We can only accept payments by major credit/debit card.

We work to protect the security of any information you provide by using 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you input so you can be sure that your sensitive information is secure.  However, if you prefer, you can call us at (877) 687-4524 to submit your information.

Lessons are charged on a monthly basis after they are taken, on the 14th of the month. We do not charge you in advance, and you only pay for lessons that have taken place. Musika will email you a sales receipt describing monthly lesson dates and charges.

Adult lessons are purchased in packages of eight, and charged upfront along with the introductory lesson.  If you want to continue after completing your first package, simply continue taking your lessons and you will be charged automatically for another package.  If you do not wish to begin a new package, please be sure to contact Musika before your package expires.

Your instructor logs all lessons. To be sure all of the lesson entries are accurate before the 14th of the month, you can simply ask your teacher or contact our accounting department.

Call us toll-free at (877) 687-4524 to update your billing info.

Contact your teacher directly at least 24 hours prior to the schedule lesson.  Lessons cancelled in advance are not charged, but you can arrange makeup lessons with your instructor. No more than two cancellations/semester.

Any lesson which is cancelled without providing the teacher at least 24 hours notice is considered a same-day cancellation. Same-day cancellations by students will not be made up and may be charged in full.

Make ups are charged only when and if they are taken. Teacher cancellations and cancellations made more than 24 hours in advance by the student should be made up, but make ups are optional.

Arrangements for lessons on vacation days should be made directly with your Musika teacher. However, if you make arrangements to have a lesson on a holiday, same day cancellation rules will still apply.  Staying in touch with your teacher and giving advanced notice when missing a lesson for any reason is the best way to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Students who decide to discontinue lessons must notify Musika at least two lessons in advance of the final lesson. If notice is given the same day as a scheduled lesson that day's lesson would not count as one of the two final lessons. The final two lessons will be billed regardless of whether or not any lessons occur.

Musika sells gift certificates in packages of 4, 6, or 8 lessons in durations of 45 or 60 minute lessons.  Once you purchase the gift certificate we will send you a Musika Gift Certificate in .pdf format. You must purchase a gift certificate with one of our representatives over the phone, so please call the number below to set something up!

Call us and we will fill out a Teacher Request Form with you over the phone. It only takes five minutes, and within 2-5 business days we will get you matched with one of our instructors!

Although it is rare, sometimes we do not have a teacher available in the area. When that is the case, we will inform both the recipient and the payer of the gift certificate and process the refund to the payer’s credit or debit card.