• ABOUT US

    Our Mission

    To provide personalized music lessons through collaboration and student-focused care that develops skills while fostering a love for music.

    We all have unique ways of optimizing our potential, so at A&M we approach lessons with our students’ interests as the first priority. We have the training, expertise, and pedagogy, but none of that matters unless the student is invested. 

    Our Philosophy

    Like most times in life, the guitar is a great way to explain things. There are 3 major structural parts of a guitar that stand as good metaphors for the essential aspects of our philosophy:

    Graphic by Danielle Rieder

    The Body is where sound comes from. It’s where the beauty of music is shared. It sits on your lap or against your stomach and becomes your voice, your heart, your soul. It speaks of your desires, your improvements, your moments of pride. It’s what fosters a love for music.

    The Neck is really the brain of the guitar. It’s where all your knowledge and training are put to the test. The fretboard understanding, the music theory interpretation, the muscle memory and feel for finger movement, and the ability to spontaneously utilize the skills in real time, all serve a role. It’s where a student-focused approach is vital. Before approaching the brain of the guitar, you need to understand the brain of the student holding it. 

    The Headstock is where passion comes into play. From bridge to headstock, the guitar holds over 100 lbs of tension between the strings. The headstock works with that tension and pressure to hold everything intact. It keeps the instrument in tune and on the right path. With passion comes tension. To improve on an instrument, a student needs to navigate the tension that comes with passion. If the tension becomes too much for the headstock, a string snaps and what do you do from there? You restring the guitar, get it back in tune, then keep playing!

    Why take lessons at A&M?

    We are dedicated to the student’s interest in music and gear lessons to nourish that interest. We provide fundamental instrument skills and music theory, challenge our students to improve, and teach a commitment to a craft. Still, we never forget to have fun! It’s all for the love of music!