LaGRANGE- If you are interested in receiving not only piano lessons, but fun and enjoyable music lessons then LaGrange Piano Lessons at 1691 Vernon Road might just be the place for you.

After growing up in Southern California, LaGrange Piano Lessons instructor Noelle Reed moved to LaGrange, where she taught piano lessons to students in her living room for 10 years. Throughout those 10 years, more and more students started attending her lessons and Reed soon realized that she needed to find a way to make the lessons more accessible and find a good location to hold them.

“I was looking for a studio space for about a year and looked all over LaGrange,” said Reed. “In November (2016), I saw a “For Lease” sign up at this building and I called that day and I signed the lease in a couple of weeks – in early November. We had our first open house in December and we started lessons in January.”

Reed, a speech communication major who has been teaching piano lessons since she was 14 years old, says she enjoys working with children and feels like music can give them a way to express themselves in a free matter.

“I think music is for everybody,” said Reed. “I think it gives you confidence. It teaches you to be creative. It teaches you to be problem solvers. It lets you know if you work hard it gives you a sense of accomplishment. When you walk on a stage to do a piano recital in front of people, that’s something to be proud of.”

Private and group lessons are offered at least once a week (each 30 minutes long). The unique element about Reed’s piano business is that it’s not just limited to young children but also available to teenagers, as well as older adults who wish to learn how to play.

“I like that we have all ages coming together for lessons because the older kids get a chance to mentor the younger kids,” said Reed. “The youngest student we have is four years old and the oldest we have is 74, so we have of all ages participating. If you want to take lessons and you’re willing to learn, then we’ll find a way to teach you.”

Music lessons are $20 per half-hour.

Reed is accompanied by three other music teachers to help teach lessons: Becky Grabowski (piano and flute teacher), Allie Crawford (piano and beginning voice teacher) and Valerie Vaughan (advanced music teacher), who also happens to be Reed’s mother and the one person who educated her on everything she knows about playing the piano.

“If I need someone to fill in for my class, then I can always count on my mom,” said Reed.

Reed likes to focus on trying to help her students understand theory concepts, intervals and long and short sounds by introducing creative ideas and different ways like playing a piano game on an iPad that can tell you if you’re hitting the correct or wrong note, or using whiteboards and Play-Doh to keep them engaged.

During the summer, LaGrange Piano Lessons is planning to have a music camp in June and a drama camp in July to further bring more exposure and express how fulfilling it can be to get connected with a piano.

“This is a place where you can be creative, where you can gain confidence and where you can learn to cooperate with others,” said Reed. “We want to give kids confidence, creativity and teach cooperation and teamwork.”

 

Shirttail- Reach James Simpson II at 706-884-7311, ext. 2155, or by email at james.simpson@lagrangenews.com