About
About Us
Sparks is a family friendly music school where top professionals engage with students of
all ages and skill levels to help them reach their musical goals and dreams. Using our
tried and true teaching methods and programs to teach our students, the premier
program we use is the Alpha-Diatonics System of diatonic harmony created by our own
Creative Director, Michael Manning, BMusEd. Mike’s program is the best system of
learning for musicians at all levels.
For our youngest students, we use Music for Little Mozarts and Baby Beethoven. These
complete music methods are designed to inspire children from ages zero to six years of
age, to love music. These fun and interactive classes help to establish a lifelong musical
foundation in a child to allow them to branch out to other instruments.
We Make Learning Fun and Progress Tangible
At Sparks we love to make learning fun. Each achievement is something exciting to be celebrated! We have three different ways we celebrate achievement…
Daily Achievement
Each time your student comes to a lesson, they have the opportunity to earn a Sparks Gem. Sparks Gems are given for good behavior in class at the discretion of the teacher. We do not expect perfection, we just ask to see that your student is trying their best in class! Sparks Gems can be redeemed for prizes from Sparky’s Treasure Chest.
Weekly Practice
In your student folder, you’ll find a weekly practice log. We encourage daily practice in small increments to develop muscle memory and a love for the practice process. Five or ten minutes is a great amount of time to practice when starting out. Allow your student to check off each day that they practice. Initial their practice log before their weekly lesson and they will earn one raffle ticket for every day they practiced. At the end of each quarter, we will do a drawing for some fun larger prizes.
Long Term Growth
As your student accomplishes each of the 15 steps in the Alphadiatonic system, they will receive a different colored bracelet representing their graduation into a new level. They will earn medals and trophies after completing level 5 and 10 and if they achieve all 15 steps they earn a giant trophy! Achieving all 15 steps is a huge accomplishment not expected to be achieved quickly. Once your student has graduated from the Alphadiatonics system, they will be ready to audition for and enter any collegiate musical program in the country.
Building Confidence Through Performance
We believe that performing is a rewarding and integral part of becoming an accomplished musician. We offer several performance opportunities throughout the year including two traditional recitals and Sparks LIVE! Events at local establishments in the community. Performance not only gives students a concrete goal to work toward but also helps inspire self confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
