School of Rock and Other Rock Music Classes for Kids in New York City

As I stood in front of the stage at Crash Mansion on Bowery, I never imagined that it would be to see my daughter play the drums in her rock ‘n’ roll band. At the ripe old age of 6, Max looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said “Mommy, I would like to play the drums!” and so began my search for a music school.&nbspIf you have a budding little rockstar who is looking to get up on stage and perform, NYC is the place where kids can be rockers too. There are a few options where your children can explore the world or popular music. Here is the skinny:

The Paul Green School Of Rock– The philosophy behind the SOR is that children benefit from performing music as well as learning music. The children all have a private lesson once a week and then choose a “band” to be a part of. The band then practices and performs in real NYC venues like Crash Mansion. The kids can begin at SOR as young as 6 years old and the instrument choices include electric guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. The nice thing about SOR is it gives children the opportunity to be part of a performing group which grows their confidence and ability to play. 

THOR – Which stands for “ Tomato’s House Of Rock” is a smaller collection of children who practice weekly and are split into levels beginning with the Junior House Band at age 9 and working their way up. There is a collaborative effort here where the kids can pick their set lists and learn from one another in a relaxed environment. There are no private lessons here but instead children learn from one another during a rehearsal time which is held once a week for 3 hours.

The Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls Is a non-profit music and mentoring program that teaches girls how to rock out. The program only runs during the summer and is located in Brooklyn. These types of alternative schools are only the beginning of a budding trend with hip parents who are more satisfied with bass guitars than macaroni collages. My daughter is now 10 and playing drums like a little Phil Collins, only much much cuter.   

If you are curious about rock schools go check out the School of Rock’s upcoming performances  which are open to the public. And bring along your little rockstars.

Paul Green’s School Of Rock Music
630 9^th Ave 6^th Floor NYC     (917) 438-9141

THOR
584 8^th Ave Mezzanine Level NYC  tomato@tomatoshouseofrock.com.

Leni has a blog called QueensMamas.com  and a little girl named Max who rocks!