Anonymous wrote:Saw this late. We had a very bad experience with Bach to Rock. They do not really teach how to read music. A lot of it seemed to be just fooling around. If you just want a fun experience and don't care if your kid is really learning "the right way," it would be fine. But we wanted our DC to learn to read music. This was not the place. Instead, Levine or Center for Music/Movement/Art with Cynthia Stoop or the music stores like Middle C are all much better choices.

They do teach the kids how to read music at Bach2Rock. It is not the first thing they learn. First they learn to play by using numbers, then they progress to learning how to read the notes the regular way. My dd is 8.5, and she has been going to Bach2Rock for 1.5 years. She has really enjoyed it. She doesn't practice as much as she should, and we took the summer off, but she enjoys it and has learned how to play simple songs on the keyboard.

Just for the opposite view, my DS 12 loves Bach to Rock. He's a good piano player, enjoys learning how to play with others, making music as a band and the instructors, while not classically trained artists, genuinely love music and inspire the kids. My DS learned to love the Beatles. Isn't music supposed to be fun? BTW, he can hold up against a lot of classically trained players he just prefers rock and that's fine with me.

neither pays their teachers very well in this market, IMO. though Levine does better than Bach 2 Rock. hard to be a motivated teacher with low pay. i ended up going with an independent teacher instead of signing up for all the hype after trying Levine for a semester and a trial at Bach 2 Rock. there seem to be independent teachers and small music studios all over dc/md/va.
i do agree with the previous post though...
Levine- more serious, sometimes too serious (think Classical)
B2R- more "fun" sometimes without enough seriousness to learn (think Rock Band)
both have their merits and strengths (and weaknesses)...find where you fit in

Saw this late. We had a very bad experience with Bach to Rock. They do not really teach how to read music. A lot of it seemed to be just fooling around. If you just want a fun experience and don't care if your kid is really learning "the right way," it would be fine. But we wanted our DC to learn to read music. This was not the place. Instead, Levine or Center for Music/Movement/Art with Cynthia Stoop or the music stores like Middle C are all much better choices.

No experience personally but I'm a piano teacher and Levine has a more serious reputation. Higher degreed instructors, very serious students, and very expensive. Levine has been around for awhile and bach2rock is fairly new to this area. They are a bit gimmicky and their students take lessons more for fun. One of my former students started there and started a "rock" band. Best to decide what atmosphere and style would be best for your child.
B2r = more mainstream, pop
Levine = more classically oriented, structured, serious.

Lessons. My DC is 4. I was thinking about starting him in a early childhood music class and then seeing where it goes.

For camp or for lessons? Any specific instrument? What age is your DC? Maybe then I can help.

Does anyone have experience with both? Strengths and weaknesses? Thanks!