If you can’t find the answer to your question feel free to email our friendly team at music@theatrclwyd.com

General

How can I sign up for instrumental lessons?

You can find out about the lessons we offer on our website. Once you know what type of lessons you would like you can sign up directly here.

What instruments are available for tuition?

You can find the instruments we offer lessons here.

How much do lessons cost?

You can find prices for our In School lessons here and prices for our all-ages Musical Pathways lessons, which take place out of school here.

Do you offer instrumental lessons for adults?

Yes, we do! Our Musical Pathways lessons are for all ages – including adults!

Can I have lessons with Theatr Clwyd if I am from outside the Flintshire area?

Yes, we offer lessons to those from outside the Flintshire area via our Musical Pathways courses.

Can I learn more than one instrument?

Yes, you can learn as many instruments with us as you like. However, if you are starting off with your first ever musical instrument, we recommend focusing on that to begin with, before diving into the rest of the instrument cupboard!

Do you have any music groups that I can join?

Yes, we do! Our groups and ensembles have weekly rehearsals after-school during term time, leading up to a series of concerts at at Christmas, early May and end of year concerts in July. You can find more about our groups and ensembles here.

Who will be teaching me?

We have a brilliant team of 32 Music Associates who work for Theatr Clwyd Music.

After you register for lessons and have been assigned your own teacher, you will be contacted by them and will be able to chat to them directly.

Find out more about our talented tutors here!

How do I find out about my child’s progress?

Our online portal SpeedAdmin includes a really useful section called StudyPlan where our Music Associates send lesson plans, hints and tips to pupils before lessons, and remind them what they are working towards for the following week. You can log in to SpeedAdmin to see this here. We also host Parents’ Evening sessions each term.

Do you have Parents’ Evenings?

We host Parents’ Evening sessions on Zoom each term. You will hear from your teacher towards the end of each term, offering you a number of available times for a chat.

Do you offer Grade exams?

Exams can be a useful part of a students’ learning journey, and can be good milestones to aim for as well as giving a proud sense of achievement. However, we also encourage our tutors and students not to focus too much on these at the expense of all else. We prefer an holistic approach where we foster a sense of enjoyment and curiosity for music in our young musicians, regardless of certificates or achievements.

When and where appropriate, we do offer to put students forward for instrumental examinations, and do so with both the Associate Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and Trinity College London.

If you are interested or considering entering for an exam, you should discuss this with your Music Associate tutor – who will guide you on whether this is a good idea for you, what repertoire and other elements will be required, and when might be a good time in the year to enter.

In School Lessons

Where do lessons take place?

Our school lessons will be delivered face-to-face in schools throughout Flintshire, during the school day.

Can I have lessons outside of school time?

We strongly encourage school age students to take their music lessons in school as their lessons in school are subsidised and therefore cheaper for you!

However, our Musical Pathways courses are open to all ages to take music lessons outside of school if preferred.

Are lessons in groups or individual?

For our school lessons, we offer tuition both in groups of 2 or 3, as well as on an individual basis.

Is it better to have group lessons or individual lessons?

This is a matter of preference. With individual lessons there is room for a more tailored experience as lessons are one-to-one and the teacher can move at your child’s specific pace. However, group lessons are a cheaper option and it can be fun and motivating to play alongside someone else, whilst teaching valuable ensemble skills.

What happens if I sign up for a group lesson, but there aren’t enough other students also signed-up?

In the event that not enough students from your school have signed up for group lessons to fill the group of 2 or 3 as planned – we will contact you to chat through the options. This may include having a proportionally reduced lesson length until someone else signs up, switching to individual lessons, or moving to the waiting list until more people register. The music team will be happy to discuss this with you music@theatrclwyd.com.

When will my lessons start?

If you signed up for during the summer registration period, your lessons will start during the week beginning 12 September 2022.

If you have signed up since then, your lessons will start within 1-2 weeks of you completing the registration form. This is to allow us time to make suitable arrangements with our tutors and their timetables, as well as coordinating with schools where necessary. One of our Music Associate’s will be in contact to confirm the date and time with you.

The school year has already started. Can I still sign up?

Yes! You can sign up at any point in the year.

I’ve registered for lessons, but still not started. Am I on a waiting list?

In some instances, if you have chosen a particularly popular instrument, you may be temporarily placed on our waiting list as we find a teacher for you or teaching rooms in school become available.

If you are on the waiting list, we will try to start your lessons as soon as we have capacity – but if you’d prefer not to wait you could try something a different instrument instead. Get in touch with music@theatrclwyd.com to see what we have availability in.

My child receives free school meals. Can I get a discount?

If your child is in receipt of free school meals, the school will cover the cost of their music lessons.

In most cases 30 Minute Group of 3 lessons will be available as the default, however you can discuss with your school to see whether they would consider funding a different lesson-type e.g. individual lessons. This is on a case-by-case basis depending on the school.

To take advantage of this, be sure to check with your school what amount of tuition the school covers, before completing your registration. Then, make sure to tick the relevant box as part of your registration so that we can arrange payment with your school.

I am studying GCSE / AS / A-Level Music, do I have to pay for my lessons?

In some schools within Flintshire, the cost of your instrumental lessons will be paid for by your school if you are studying GCSE or AS / A-Level Music.

To take advantage of this, be sure to check with your school what amount of tuition the school covers, before completing your registration. Then, make sure to tick the relevant box as part of your registration so that we can arrange payment with your school.

Can I keep the same teacher if I change schools, like from primary to secondary school?

We will try to ensure as much continuity as possible however it may be that you are assigned a different teacher from our talented and experienced Music Associate team if you change school, depending on availability.

You can always get in touch with the music team on music@theatrclwyd.com to discuss if you have any particular queries or requests.

Will I have the same teacher next year?

We will try to ensure as much continuity as possible from one school year to another. However, it may be that you are assigned a different teacher from our talented and experienced Music Associate team at the beginning of a new school year, depending on availability.

You can always get in touch with the music team on music@theatrclwyd.com to discuss if you have any particular queries or requests.

When will lessons take place?

We usually try to schedule lessons between 9:00AM and 3:00PM – but depending on the flexibility of the school and the student / parent, they can occasionally start a little earlier or finish a little later than this if required to fit in the full timetable of students.

Wherever possible, we endeavour to operate a rota policy for lessons, to ensure students do not miss the same class subject at the same time every week.

You will receive information about lesson times ahead of your first lesson, directly from your Music Associate tutor via SpeedAdmin, and you can log in to your SpeedAdmin account at any time to check the times of your upcoming lessons.

Musical Pathways (Out of School Lessons)

What are Musical Pathways lessons?

Musical Pathways is the name for the lessons that we offer outside of schools. These are available for all ages including young people and adults - it’s never too late to give a musical instrument a go!

Where do Musical Pathways lessons take place?

You can choose to have lessons online or in-person at our centre in Mold. Please choose In Person or Online when booking your Musical Pathways Lessons

Can I have Musical Pathways lessons in a group?

Our Musical Pathways lessons are offered on a one-to-one basis. If you’d like to play music with others check out what music groups you can join here.

When will lessons take place?

The timing of these lessons will be agreed between you and your tutor. We will endeavour to be flexible to suit you, however please note some of our staff work part-time as well as in schools during the day – so it is possible your first preference may not always be possible.

You can log in to your SpeedAdmin account at any time to view timings and further details about your upcoming lessons.

When will my lessons start?

If you signed up for during the summer registration period, your lessons will start in September, during the week beginning 12 September.

If you have signed up since then, your lessons will start within 1-2 weeks of you completing the registration form. This is to allow us time to make suitable arrangements with our tutors and their timetables. One of our Music Associate’s will be in contact to confirm the date and time with you.

I’ve registered for lessons, but still not started. Am I on a waiting list?

If you have chosen a particularly popular instrument, you may be temporarily placed on our waiting list as we find a teacher for you. We will try to start your lessons as soon as we have capacity – but if you’d prefer not to wait you could try a different instrument instead. Get in touch with music@theatrclwyd.com to see what instruments we have availability in.

Payment

How do I pay for lessons?

Lessons are paid for via direct debit. As part of the registration process you will create an account with GoCardless, through which monthly payments will be made.

How are monthly payments calculated?

Our Direct Debits are calculated based on the total cost of 34 lessons delivered in a school year, spread out over 10 months of payments from September-July.

For example, the fee for 30 Minute Lessons In School is normally £16.76 per lesson. Over the academic year, a total of 34 lessons at this price costs £570. Spread equally over 10 months, from September-July, this costs £57 per month.

Will I get a refund if my teacher cancels a lesson?

If our Music Associates cannot make a lesson (e.g. due to illness) they will try and reschedule this for another week towards the end of the academic year in one of our designated ‘catch-up weeks’. If this isn’t possible, you will be refunded the cost of the lesson at the end of the school year, in July.

Instruments

What instruments are available for tuition?

You can find the instruments we offer lessons here.

I do not own an instrument. Can I hire one?

We have temporarily paused our instrument rental service to new students whilst we give the instruments some TLC but instruments will be available to rent in the near future. We will let you know as soon as this is possible!

Sign up here to receive an alert when instruments are ready for hire.

Can I buy an instrument through Theatr Clwyd Music, and is it at a discount?

If you are ready to buy your own instrument, be sure to discuss this with your teacher who can give guidance and advice about what type / size is appropriate for you.

Unfortunately, we are no longer able to purchase instruments for students through the service directly at a discount – as was previously the case.

Students looking to purchase instruments and take advantage of the educational discount should discuss this with their school, and ask for information about the HMRC Assisted Instrument Purchase Scheme