Shout out from Macaroni Kids in 2016

In 2016 the popular family blog Macaroni Kids East ran a featured article on WillYouLearn.  They talked about our recital and got in a few words about our approach. Check it out by clicking "Read More"

WillYouLearn, NYC's At-Home Music School!
January 29, 2016
 
Invitations to a child's music recital might well evoke images of dreary auditoriums, yawning parents, and countless renditions of Fur Elise. 

Not so for students of WillYouLearn, a nomadic music school serving NYC's five boroughs.

Last spring, WillYouLearn's year-end recital took place at Cafe Vivaldi in the West Village. On a cool May evening, students performed their favorite songs at the iconic venue, accompanied by WillYouLearn faculty. As a special treat, the legendary Ron McClure - bassist for Thelonius Monk and Blood, Sweat and Tears - sat in with the students. His duet with an 8-year-old piano student on Somewhere Over the Rainbow left the audience - parents, relatives and appreciative customers - in tears.

A far cry from the typical recital. 

WillYouLearn offers semesterly in-home lessons in piano, guitar, bass, drums, vocals and woodwinds to students of all ages. The faculty is a carefully selected crew. All young professional musicians, all graduates of top music schools, all with years of teaching experience. They perform regularly at clubs from The Bitter End to The Blue Note. You can hear their voices, instruments, or compositions on countless recordings, even catch them on Fox 5’s Star of the Day or Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle.

“We want our students to be able to play music, not just their instrument, and have a great time doing it,” says Will Armstrong, founder of WillYouLearn. While a Masters student at NYU, Will began developing a unique approach to music education inspired by his own study with world-class musicians. His approach treats music like language. Musical phrases become sentences to tell stories and students learn to translate sounds from their ears to their instruments. 

He has filled the WillYouLearn faculty with like-minded peers who are dedicated to developing their students' instrumental skills while also encouraging listening, improvisation, and fun. WillYouLearn has taught four-year-olds their first lessons, prepped high school students for college auditions, and reacquainted octogenarians with the instruments of their youth. They’ve taught in grade schools, prep schools, boys and girls clubs, colleges, private homes and universities. 

At the end of last spring’s recital, Ron McClure was amazed. “These kids are all really playing music” he said. “I haven’t heard anything like it. They all have great time, they all can hear, they know how to listen and they’re having a blast.” 

So if you’re looking for music lessons for your kids, yourself, a loved one or a friend, you can do no better than WillYouLearn. They bring the best part of the New York City music scene to your door and share a passion that’s brought them to the world’s best stages. Whether you’re in the Upper East Side, Gramercy, Brooklyn or Queens, Will Armstrong will match you with one of his amazing faculty members. Who knows? Next recital, you too might share the stage.  

For more information or to register for WillYouLearn's Spring semester, visitwww.WillYouLearn.com, call (917) 836-1843, or send an email to [email protected].

DEAL ALERT! Sign up for the Spring semester by February 15th 
and get $100 off your first semester tuition with code "macaroni."