Fun, encouraging piano lessons – right in your child’s school
Drum With Alex provides piano lessons in schools across West Berkshire and Hampshire, giving children the opportunity to learn during the school day.
Lessons are suitable for children from Year 1 upwards, including complete beginners, and are adapted to each child’s age, ability and pace of learning.
Our aim is simple: make music enjoyable, build confidence and help children discover what they’re capable of.
Find Your School & Sign UpLEARNING PIANO AT SCHOOL
Piano lessons are a great way for children to develop their musical understanding while learning to play songs and pieces they can enjoy.
Children don’t need any previous musical experience to get started.
Our tutors meet each child where they are and help them move forward from there, introducing new skills gradually and giving them something positive to work towards.
For some children, that might mean learning their first few notes. For others, it might mean playing a complete piece, reading music more confidently or preparing for a performance.
Progress looks different for every child.
WHAT WILL MY CHILD LEARN?
Lessons are tailored to the individual student, but may include:
★ Keyboard technique and coordination
★ Songs and pieces
★ Rhythm and timing
★ Reading music
★ Musical theory and understanding
★ Listening skills
★ Creativity and improvisation
★ Playing with backing tracks or a metronome where appropriate
★ Performance skills
★ Grade preparation where appropriate
The exact content will vary depending on the child’s age, ability, interests and progress.
THE DWA WAY
We want children to enjoy learning while making steady, meaningful progress.
Our tutors follow a simple teaching approach:
Build them up.
Show more. Talk less.
Put it to music.
Fun + progress.
Progress, not perfection.
Mistakes are part of learning, and children should feel comfortable having a go, getting something wrong and trying again.
Our aim is to build them up, not knock them down.
LESSONS THAT FIT INTO THE SCHOOL DAY
Piano lessons take place during the school day at participating schools.
Depending on the school and availability, lesson formats may include:
20-minute individual lessons
30-minute group lessons
30-minute individual lessons at selected locations
Lessons usually take place weekly during term time and are scheduled within the school day.
DWA manages registrations, payments, parent communication and progress reporting, helping make the programme straightforward for both families and schools.
SCHOOL piano LESSON OPTIONS & PRICES
30-MINUTE GROUP LESSON
Small-group tuition where children can learn together, take turns, watch one another and develop confidence playing alongside other young musicians.
£14 per lesson
£38.50 per month including VAT
20-MINUTE INDIVIDUAL LESSON
Focused one-to-one tuition allowing the tutor to work closely with your child at their own pace.
£20 per lesson
£55 per month including VAT
30-MINUTE INDIVIDUAL LESSON
Available at selected DWA teaching locations.
£29 per lesson
£79.75 per month including VAT
DISCOUNTS
Sibling Discount – 10%
Available for siblings learning with DWA.
Multi-Lesson Discount – 5%
Available when a student is enrolled in two or more different types of lessons with DWA.
REGULAR MONTHLY PAYMENTS
Our school tuition is based on 33 lessons across the academic year.
The annual cost is spread evenly across 12 monthly payments, so your regular payment continues during school holidays, including August.
You’re not paying specifically for lessons during those months – the annual tuition cost has simply been divided into 12 equal payments.
★ One month’s notice is required to cancel lessons. Your regular monthly payment will continue during the notice period in line with our cancellation policy.
DOES MY CHILD NEED A PIANO AT HOME?
Children do not necessarily need to have everything in place before their first lesson.
Equipment requirements can vary depending on the student, their tutor and how their lessons develop.
Where home practice would be beneficial, your child’s tutor can advise you on suitable equipment and what will be most useful for their stage of learning.
We don’t want families feeling that they need to buy lots of equipment before a child has even had the chance to try piano.
PRACTICE AT HOME
Practice can help children make progress, but it doesn’t need to become a chore.
We encourage a small and often approach.
Even five or ten minutes of regular practice can be more useful than one long session once in a while.
The aim is to help children build good habits while keeping music enjoyable.
HOW DO I KNOW MY CHILD IS MAKING PROGRESS?
Progress is rarely a straight line.
Some weeks a child may make a big leap forward. Other weeks they may simply be consolidating a skill, becoming more comfortable with a piece or gaining confidence.
Success might mean:
learning a first piece, reading a new section of music, remembering to practise, improving coordination, playing in front of somebody else or simply looking forward to their lesson each week.
For some children, the biggest change isn’t what they can play.
It’s how they feel about what they can do.
That counts too.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Parents receive regular updates on how their child is getting on.
DWA provides progress reports throughout the year, including at Christmas, Easter and Summer.
These reports help families understand what their child has been working on, how they are progressing and what they may work towards next.
GRADES AND EXAMS
Music exams can be a useful goal for some students, but they aren’t compulsory.
Where appropriate, tutors can help children work towards graded music exams and advise parents on when an exam may be suitable.
We don’t believe children need to race through grades.
The goal is to help them become confident young musicians who enjoy playing, understand the foundations and have something positive to work towards.
PERFORMANCES
Where possible, students may also have opportunities to perform through their school.
For some children, performing might mean playing a piece in an assembly or school concert.
For others, simply playing in front of their tutor or family can be an important milestone.
Performance isn’t about playing perfectly.
It’s about giving children opportunities to recognise how far they’ve come.
COULD PIANO BECOME THEIR THING?
For some children, music becomes something they’re good at, something they look forward to and something that’s theirs.
Piano lessons can give children the opportunity to develop new skills, make progress at their own pace and enjoy being musical as part of their school week.
Find Your School & Sign Up