Beejell Soco Music Studio

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas! 🎄✨

In the weeks leading up to the holiday, some took up the extra challenge of playing Christmas tunes on Boomwhackers! This was a fun way to get some reading practice in and get into holiday spirit. Enjoy Clark’s performance of “Jingle Bells” and the cute pics of Dylan and Ella having fun with their unusual instruments! 🌈🎶

Congrats to Ella for being the first to complete our Be A Teacher Challenge this month! 🥳

Our newest studio challenge had Ella teaching a skill or concept learned in her lesson to someone at home every week. Teaching is one of the best ways to really master something. When you have to explain it simply, it locks in your own understanding - like magic! 🪄

So proud of how much Ella has grown, and how curious and excited she is about sharing music. She is absolutely crushing it! 🎉

Here is a beautiful performance by Julian at the last Music Students Service League recital! He worked really hard to bring this piece to life, playing with such musicality and excitement. 🤩🎶

Shout out to Katherine, Christopher and Dylan for their spectacular performances as well! 🤗👏🏽

This is a recital hosted by MTAC as a way to give back to the community. As you can see, the audience really appreciated the afternoon of beautiful music. Thank you Julian, Katherine, Christopher and Dylan for your hard work to prepare for a meaningful performance! 🎹

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Here’s a couple fun pieces Lewis learned these past couple weeks for spooky season, composed by the brilliant Wendy Stevens (). 🍁🤩

I love Lewis’s enthusiasm for piano - he is a music lover through and through! I’m always excited to find great pieces like these that keep beginners engaged, having fun, and motivated to learn!

Shout out to Clark for finishing his first Piano Safari method books earlier this month! 🎹 The best part? Flipping through more advanced sheet music, spotting a fun new piece, and hearing him say, “this looks easy!” 😄

Clark has built strong fundamentals in technique, rhythm, intervallic reading, and playing with a steady beat. Developing these skills as a beginner has given him the confidence to tackle more challenging music — he knows he can figure it out like a puzzle! 🧩✨

Nine years of lessons, countless achievements, and now…USC’s Thornton School of Music! 🎓🎵

Katie is one of those tremendously talented young individuals who never ceases to amaze. From her very first clarinet lesson as a 4th grader, I knew she would accomplish great things in music and beyond. 💫

We went from talking about imaginary whales outside the window to auditions for honors ensembles, youth symphonies, jazz programs, MTAC’s Panel Competition, and eventually colleges. Along the way, Katie expanded her musicianship beyond our clarinet lessons — studying jazz saxophone and, with her piano teacher, completing the Advanced level of Certificate of Merit an astounding three times! 🐳🎷🎹

I’m super proud to announce that Katie will be continuing her musical studies at the Thornton School of Music at USC! 🏫 Please join me in congratulating her and wishing her much success as she embarks on the next part of her musical journey! 🥳 Words cannot express how proud I am of her and what an absolute honor it has been to know her and have her as my clarinet student for the past 9 years. 🥹

Special thanks to Katie’s piano teacher - my dear friend and colleague - for hosting Katie on clarinet at her studio recital, as well as introducing us all those years ago. We both won the music teacher lottery with Katie as our student! 💛🎶

✨ “What does a lesson with a 5-year-old even look like?” ✨

It’s a question I get all the time — and the answer is: playful, explorative, and full of movement!

🧩 Games
🎹 Improvisation
🥁 Rhythm exercises
🎧 Listening activities
🎼 Repertoire

I use post-it notes as a visual lesson plan so little ones can see what’s coming next. Dylan loves pulling each one down as we go — it keeps him focused, motivated, and excited to make it to the very end!

We pack a lot into each lesson. Focusing on laughter, creativity, and a fast-paced variety of activities help build the skills that set young students up for a lifetime of loving music. 💛🎶