Harmony Road Music School

Harmony Road Music School has been a wonderful part of my daughter’s childhood for the past 8 years. I have been actively involved in her musical journey from the inside, as parent participation is required at every age and stage of the program. (A grandparent or other caretaker may also accompany the student.)
I remember how much FUN the toddler music and movement classes were. We used bells, scarves, maracas, teddy bears, hoops, castanets, tambourines, puppets, and pianos as props. At this level, the children sit at the piano once or twice per lesson to learn some basics while tapping the keys with one or two fingers (making high-​pitched «mouse sounds» or low-​pitched «elephant sounds» for example). The perfectly paced activities made those 30 minutes fly!
The lessons at Harmony Road feature LIVE MUSIC (the teacher plays piano and sings), unlike so many early childhood music programs that rely on recorded music. What’s more, many ORIGINAL SONGS are included at every level along with the occasional popular children’s song, e.g. «the itsy bitsy spider.» I have some great memories of singing along to them in my car (a CD is available for each course.)
Another key element of the Harmony Road method is EAR TRAINING. Looking back, I can see how songs and activities were all designed to develop a strong sense of rhythm and pitch. Around age four or five, singing SOLFEGE («do re mi fa sol la ti do») was introduced as well as the concept of quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes. Yet I can’t remember ever being bored or overwhelmed by the growing complexity of the information because the format was always engaging (e.g. coloring activities, a keyboard puzzle, and guessing GAMES.)
As the curriculum gradually progressed towards «pure» piano instruction, my daughter continued to thrive. Group lessons are a low-​stress, NO-​PRESSURE way to build skills in a SOCIAL setting. My daughter and classmates always applauded each other’s achievements while at the same time, our teacher was always gentle in guiding their progress. I have seen many friendships develop within the group over the years. I have also seen a lot of talent emerge!
For me, Harmony Road Music School is the best thing about living in Bakersfield. Through our teacher’s affiliation with the Music Teacher’s Association of California (MTAC), students are given many PERFORMANCE opportunities. My daughter, now ten years old, has participated in various MTAC Festivals (themed recitals) including the Jazz Pop Festival, the Baroque Festival, the Romantic Festival, the Latin Festival, and the Sounds of Nature Festival.
It is no surprise that I am constantly recommending Harmony Road to everyone I know, even if they are just looking for one week of summer camp.

Our boys just finished up the week summer classes and they loved it! I really like how the parents are included in the classes and how organized they are as well. The classes start on time and there is no down time during the whole class. My older son is loving practicing whag he learned in class. My younger son did the toddler class and he really enjoyed the floor time songs and props. We will definately look at getting classes for the boys during the school year.

We have a few children in our church that had performed songs on the piano during worship one Sunday. We were extremely impressed with their skills and talent. We asked their parents who they were using for piano lessons and they said Harmony Road Music School. We immediately enrolled our son who was 5 years old at that time.
Our son has been attending lessons at Harmony Road with Miss Alix now for over 2 years. He enjoys it so much! We attend a weekly lesson and work on the homework assignments at least 5 days a week. I enjoy learning with my son so that I can help him practice and be prepared for the weekly lessons. Aside from how much he has learned and how well he is performing, It has also been a great bonding experience for the two of us. We love the atmosphere and watching the kids perform as a group as well as individually. It’s great for their confidence! We will continue to attend lessons at Harmony Road Music School and complete the program.

Awesome experience. My girls have been going here since they were 18 months old. Well worth the investment. Instructors are organized, fun to learn from, and total professionals. Hope to continue with them for many years to come!

What a waste of money. With over 6 weeks left in the quarter my 1^st grader is crying and doesn’t want to go back. I really thought this would be a positive experience for my son and at first, it was. But when my son plays a SINGLE note wrong and he is chastised in front of the class… No thank you. We’re just going to chalk this up as a loss. My son would go to his piano class so proud, he’d been practicing all week. But omg… he did not play the ti flat correctly. This experience has only discouraged my son from playing music, so we’re done. I found a great private piano teacher for a fraction of the price by the way!!! Shop around!

My son has been going to Harmony Road Music School for over 3 year and I have to say it is fantastic the way she teaches kids. They learn solfege, ear training and though they don’t quite know it yet, lol, transposing on top of the piano. I would definitely recommend this program as my son loves it!

A wonderful intro into music! As a grandparent I was always looking for cool things my grandkids and I could enjoy together. Harmony Road Music School was the perfect avenue! Singing, rhythmic dancing, keyboard playing — all in quick succession so that little ones never got bored. All of our 5 grandkids went through Harmony Road from toddler-​age on… all excelled in school, all are still today involved in some form of music and/​or art. I can only recommend Harmony Road as an opportunity to connect your child/​grandchild to the amazing opportunity of falling in love with music! It will last a life time!

I enrolled my 18-​month-​old in a three-​week music class thinking it would be super fun. I wasn’t expecting the school to turn the kid into Mozart or anything, but I was really disappointed. I kind of started to dread attending class each week.
I know Miss Alix means well, but I really found the program to be developmentally inappropriate for kids at my child’s age. The activities moved too fast. By the time my child was getting the hang of the activity, Ms. Alix moved us onto the next one! The other parents and I would look at each other with such surprise sometimes. All of us felt the same way.
I also felt like the music selections were strange. We sang naptime songs («Sleep, baby, sleep») which always ended up confusing my child since it wasn’t naptime! In fairness, my child did love the Elephant song and playing on the keyboard. Those were great choices!
I’m sure the school has great programs for older kids, but for 1.5 year olds, it was a little bizarre.

We love Harmony Road piano lessons! Great for toddlers, early elementary, and older elementary! The kids not only learn how to play the piano in a fun group setting, they learn ear training, transposing music, and composing! For the youngest musicians, every lesson is presented as a game and the kids have a wonderful time. Miss Alix is a gifted teacher who excels at her craft. Excellent program!