FAQs

28 Charron Avenue #1 Nashua, NH 03063

Yes. Please call us at 603.505.4282 or Order Here Online.

We offer private lessons. It’s been demonstrated that private lessons are better than group ones because they teach students at their individual pace and give them the one-on-one attention they need to develop their musical skills.

Please find our pricing details here.

We charge a one-time per ($25) student registration fee.

There’s no universal answer, but, with regular practice, a basic level of making music can be accomplished within a few weeks. Most of our students take lessons on a long-term basis because they desire to continuously improve and they find the lessons enjoyable.

Yes, depending on the instrument, we take children starting at the ages 5 to 8.

Yes

Beginners are absolutely welcome at North Main Music! In fact, most of our students were complete beginners when they started with us.

Yes, you can, although we encourage people to take one half-hour introductory lesson for $34.00 to see if they enjoy the format, as well as providing the student with an idea of what they can expect.

Yes. We are open all year round.

Yes – we charge a one-time per ($25) student registration fee.

No!

Yes, but we do not require it and we don’t teach it to beginner students. When a student first starts taking lessons we feel it is more important to get familiar with the mechanics of the instrument, which can be a challenge in and of itself. We prefer our students start making music rather than worrying about whether the note is C or C#. In this case, we will use TAB which is very easy to understand.

Bring your guitar and any other materials you have been studying. You don’t need to bring an amp or cable – we have them here.

The short answer is yes; you will need to work on the assignments given by your instructor with your guitar. A student can do an introductory lesson without a guitar.

There is a myth that acoustic guitar is easier to play; this is absolutely not true. An electric guitar has smaller/thinner strings that are easier to get sound out of and the string height is almost always lower, enabling easier fretting. Outside of that we suggest you simply learn and acquire a guitar for the music that you want to play. For example, if you are playing heavy metal, an electric guitar would be appropriate and if you are playing folk music, an acoustic guitar would be appropriate.

Yes, ages six and over.

We don’t, but the good news is guitar starter packs are relatively inexpensive and tend to retain their value. If you find that you don’t stick with guitar, you should be able to get most of your money back by selling it.

We like these guitar packs to get started:

Acoustic: 3/4 Size  Acoustic: Full Size

Electric: 3/4 Size  Electric: Full Size

Yes, 5 years of age and older.

We usually have people start with the Alfred series which is available here.

Yes, 6 years of age and older.

You brush your teeth every day, right? Really though, it only matters how good you wish to appear, not how much money you can get paid for it. If lessons make you sound good, and singing makes you feel great about yourself, then make it part of your life. Singing as a hobby can be plenty satisfying, and for many, it’s often more satisfying than the challenges and struggles of a career.

At North Main Music, you will learn to sing virtually any style of music that you want. This includes rock, R&B, gospel, pop, musical theatre, country, heavy metal, classical, and many more.

Fender’s “Squire” line and Ibanez are two companies that sell packs that are ideal for beginners. These will include everything you will need to get started: Straps, Pics and an amplifier. These packs are available from our lessons partner Guitar Center in the $200-300 range.

Bring your violin and any other materials you have been studying at home.

The short answer is yes; you will need to work on the assignments given by your instructor with your violin. A student can do an introductory lesson without a violin.

Yes, we teach violin to kids 5 and over. We also teach adults.

We don’t, but the good news is violin starter packs are relatively inexpensive and tend to retain their value. If you find that you don’t stick with violin, you should be able to get most of your money back by selling it.

We sell violin packs at North Main Music!

A unique feature of student violins is the huge variation in sizes. Buyers have the option of a full size, 3/4 size, 1/2 size all the way down to a 1/16 size violin. The correct size for each student depends on the arm length and overall size of the student. Generally speaking, by the time kids reach 6th or 7th grade, most will require a full size instrument. Before that age, students should really be measured by a music teacher to determine the correct instrument. It’s also important to know that the sizes of 1/2 or 3/4 are not meant to be literal measurements. A 1/2 size violin isn’t half the length of a full size instrument. These fractions are used as arbitrary labels for smaller instruments.

The Alto is generally the best size saxophone to start on for the beginner player. Even though the Soprano is a smaller instrument it requires a lot more control and is tricky to make quick progress on for the beginner saxophone player. The tenor is much heavier than the Alto, so is more suitable for an adult or tall teenager to start on. The great thing about saxophones is that the fingering (or way you play the notes) is the same on all of them so once you get the hang of an Alto, for example, it’s relatively easy to then switch to a tenor, soprano or baritone.

There are many fantastic saxophone players who have small hands – it really just comes down to getting used to the instrument. However, you may be better starting on the Alto first as the keys are closer together than on a Tenor.

Every saxophone will need a “tune up” from time to time. Saxophones have serviceable parts like pads and corks that, with regular use, will require adjustment and possible replacement. If your saxophone begins to be hard to play, or some notes won’t sound properly, then you will probably need to get it serviced. The good news is that getting your saxophone repaired is inexpensive and, if you take good care of your instrument, you may only need to do this once every year.

Most saxophones will come with all that you need to start playing, though, when starting out, you will need to buy more reeds as they are easy to break. Each reed may only last a week or so with regular playing. Size 1½ is good to start with. A music stand is always useful and makes it easier to have a good posture while practicing. There are also some excellent “Learn to play” books available from music stores that would complement the instructional videos on this site.

Two good options for beginners are the Lanikai LU-21 and the Kala KA-S.There are several models at Guitar Center that are great for beginners.