Melbourne School Of Music

Jenny has been my piano teacher for the last 8 years. As a mature aged student, I decided to take up piano as a way to wind down at the end of a busy day. Boy am I glad that I found the Melbourne School of Music. Jenny has been a great teacher. She was patient, as I was nervous at the start, and she puts you at ease so you forget that you're playing in front of your teacher, but in truth, in front of a friend.
I chose to take up classical music, but I appreciate her judgement in giving me pieces from the jazz and Latin genres as it has helped my understanding of how different cultures express themselves through piano.
Since lockdown began, classes have moved online and through Zoom, I have continued to maintain my weekly sessions with Jenny and my piano practice has only improved. As I live quite far away from Mitcham, the weekly Zoom sessions has allowed me to save on time, while still staying committed to my practice.
If you are looking to take up piano, I highly recommend Jenny as a teacher.

Don is a fantastic guitar teacher who has been teaching me since 2014, when I was 9 years old. He has a refined teaching process that allows students to learn guitar effectively and also have fun during the process. His extensive knowledge of practical and theoretical elements allows anyone to learn guitar in an understandable manner. Even after all of these years, Don continues to help further enhance my technique and challenges me to keep improving. I still highly enjoy playing the guitar and furthering my theoretical knowledge. I would recommend Don to anyone who wants to learn guitar!

I have a been a student of Don's since 2015. During this time Don has been a very attentive, supportive and patient teacher. His expertise in guitar tuition is clear as he is always able to pinpoint specific techniques that I should work on. His course structure is tailored to the individual's needs and ability. He has vast musical experience and knowledge, and is an excellent teacher. He also helped myself and my son regarding choice of which guitar and amp to purchase. I would highly recommend Don to any aspiring guitar player!

My children are current piano students of Jenny and I am so impressed with her teaching. When we started with Jenny over five years ago (when my oldest child was seven) it was immediately evident to me that Jenny was a teacher of the highest professional standard. Jenny has nurtured my children from their first notes on a piano, to now learning challenging pieces and tackling AMEB Exams, all while fostering a real love of music and the piano. My children have thrived with Jenny's calm and consistent approach in her lessons; Jenny has the ability to bring out their best!

Don is an exceptional teacher, not only because he has taught me to play guitar for over 11 years but because he has inspired me to think like a musician. With Don, I have gained proficiency as a player as well as a deep respect and understanding of music itself. Don has a unique ability to understand how his students view and comprehend music, allowing him to work closely with his students and their musical journey. He has vast and diverse knowledge on style, technique, musicality, and above all, an articulate and individually tailored teaching style. Don is an inspiration, and in my years as both a student and performing musician, I have not found any other teacher like him.

Don provides comprehensive and highly engaging teaching in guitar and music theory. He has a vast knowledge of music that he is only too keen to pass on to his students. Don’s method of teaching guitar is to focus on the fundamental techniques that form the building blocks for more advanced applications, thus ensuring his students receive more diverse teaching in guitar methods. Don's good humour ensures every lesson is enjoyable and entertaining. I first started lessons with Don four years' ago in-person, having never held a guitar before.

The ability to conduct on-line lessons has been tremendous. I started lessons with Don in-person and have since had the ability to continue learning using on-line lessons for the past 2 years after I moved out of Melbourne.

I couldn't recommend Don more highly to both beginners and advanced students.

When I retired 10 years ago, never having played a musical instrument, I decided to take piano lessons with Jenny. Up until Covid, the lessons were in person, but for the past couple of years, over Zoom.

Jenny is that rare thing - an excellent teacher. Sure, she plays beautifully herself but, more importantly, she knows how to teach and understands how students learn. Wherever you're at with a piece, she gives clear suggestions on how to make maximum progress. Jenny also has high standards. I find it unusual, but refreshingly good, to work with a teacher who has high standards. Can't make your lesson time? I've never known a teacher to go to such lengths to fit you in another time. Zoom has worked fine. For me, there's no noticeable difference between face-to-face and Zoom. Except I save on travel time.

I thoroughly recommend Jenny as a piano teacher.

I am so glad I picked Don from the Melbourne School Of Music to teach me guitar. I am a mature student and I decided to learn guitar as a complete novice. Don is very thorough in his approach and really leaves no stone unturned in his teachings and coaching. He helped me pick the right guitar, amp, strings, everything. The learning journey is a blend of learning music, practise and technique, gradual challenges, music theory and a bit of music history. I never thought I would be able to read music and play the guitar the way I can now, and I really enjoy being able to play music. When Covid appeared in early 2020, Don was very proactive and switched to on-line lessons via Zoo, The on-line Zoom lessons work well, and Don and I see no reason to go back to in-person lessons. The Zoom lessons are very convenient and there really is nothing that cannot be covered properly and fully via Zoom. I am very confident in Don and the learnings I receive and wholeheartedly recommend Don and the Melbourne School of Music.

When I was looking for a guitar teacher, I wanted someone who would teach sound guitar technique, along with thorough theory of music and notation. I have been learning from Don for over five years now, initially with classical guitar and subsequently electric guitar, and he more than satisfies these requirements. In addition, I have learnt important practice techniques, have had common misconceptions (often learnt by elementary music students) dispelled, learnt aspects of more advanced harmony, about musical styles, and also about the structure and design aspects of a variety of guitars. Don is a university conservatorium-trained musician with subsequent long experience in teaching (including tertiary level) and as a practising professional musician. (He also has that essential good sense of humour and patience!) I can strongly recommend Don as a guitar teacher.

Jenny has taught piano to both my daughter Julia, 10y and son Charlie, 8y since 2019.
My children could not be more opposites in personality, concentration and learning style. However, Jenny has a tailored method in teaching that can suit those who wish to excel, and also those who cannot seem to sit still.
During the uncertainty of lockdown, Jenny was able to swiftly accommodate us with online learning so that the children could continue to progress.
Most importantly Julia and Charlie are beginning to understand the joy of music as we often “catch them” playing piano purely because they want to.
Thank you, Jenny for making music a part of our children's lives and we look forward to the next lesson!

I have been taking guitar lessons with Don for a bit over two years now. Don is extremely knowledgeable in all things music - theory, music history, and especially guitar. He is an excellent and observant teacher and has an ability to provide targeted feedback that pin points areas where development is needed.

I didn’t have much playing experience previously and very little theoretical knowledge (only tabs and chord charts) but now I am able to read music and I am learning a solid theoretical foundation that I can apply directly to my playing.

With many thanks to Don, I am finally making progress in playing and understanding guitar after dabbling around the fringes for so long. I’d never imagined I would feel this comfortable playing guitar.

Don also helped me to select and purchase a guitar that suits my needs (I would have been completely lost without his help!) and he is the first I would ask about any musical equipment as he always provides trustworthy and sound advice. I’d definitely recommend Don!

Some 5 years ago I signed up for lessons with Don at Melbourne School of Music as a mature age student, eager to learn to play the electric guitar. As a person of little musical talent and knowledge, and very little time – only a love of music and a desire to learn – I knew I’d need someone patient as well as capable.

Since then my mind and ears have been opened to the world of music. I have become a competent guitar player, I read music, I’ve learnt about the guitar as an instrument, and I understand music theory. I actually listen to music differently now, with far greater awareness and appreciation! I enjoy music of many styles, not just those I grew up listening to on the radio and TV. And I even mess around creating my own music (when no one is listening).

Don is a master musician and guitarist. He has a deep and extensive knowledge and love of music. He’s a perfectionist who insists upon developing solid foundational skills. And he’s a wonderful, patient teacher. I consider myself to be most fortunate to be one of his students.

If you're expecting a school that teaches tabs, party tricks and licks, it's definitely not that kind of place. If you're open to learning to read music properly, learning the theory of music and how to play guitar well with the correct technique, then I'd highly recommend Don at Melbourne School of Music

Thanks Raquael

Jenny Ford is a teacher I highly respect. I have achieved my greatest progress in piano throughout the past two years in Jenny's class. The classes and practice content provided are well structured with clear direction. It is easy to practice and improve with such clarity.

The passion is clear every week when I am given insight into the different varieties of music. We cover how cultural and historical influences shape music and the various styles that have been produced by past composers. This passion is infectious and has completely changed the way I look at music. The classes are fun, calm and a pleasure to be apart of.

I would highly recommend Jenny to anyone who is serious about taking their piano to the next level.

Jenny is an intuitive and engaging teacher who understands the needs of her students and how best to develop their skills.

Just as the Melbourne School of Music website says, they offer ‘professional tuition’. This is NOT YouTube promising a new song a week. MSOM provide structured & professional music tuition. I’ve been attending weekly lessons with Don at MSOM for 5+ years & from the outset the emphasis has been on reading music correctly, playing in rhythm & playing with correct technique. It took a while to undo all of the self-made mistakes I had created for myself, but the pay-off has been well worth the effort.

As with any worthwhile pursuit, I’ve found that learning from a professional teacher is the only way to go; if not for the depth of knowledge, but also for the ability to identify & correct mistakes early and providing guidance in areas where I struggled with theory concepts.

Learning music takes time & effort and can be difficult at times, but the rewards cannot be overstated. Personally, I cannot recommend Don at MSOM enough.

Piano lessons with Jenny are one of the joys of my week. They're fun, interesting and I always leave feeling rejuvenated and recommitted – even if I don’t always live up to the practice hours I envisage as I walk out.

I had learned piano as a child and was playing occasionally before I started lessons at the Melbourne School of Music, but in the four years I have been having lessons, my playing has improved immensely. Piano has gone from something I did intermittently, to a rewarding work in progress.

Jenny helps motivate me and has exposed me to pieces from a range of styles and eras, including a lot of music I would never have found myself. She offers solutions to technical problems week by week, slowly building musical understanding and provides insight into what different compositions are trying to do and how they should be preformed. She also helps more broadly by teaching ways to practise effectively, learn pieces more quickly and improve reading.

She is a devoted teacher and her curiosity about music in general means lessons are peppered with historical background on composers, insights on how thinking about music has changed throughout history and glimpses of the underlying structures of music. I would highly recommend Jenny as a piano teacher to anyone.

I've learned both guitar from Don and piano from Jenny throughout my time with the Melbourne School of Music, and both have been delightful to learn from and talk to. When it comes to key knowledge in musical theory, practice and history, they really have it covered.
When you're a student of any sort, you need a mentor who is patient, knowledgable, passionate and most of all willing to take you under their wing, be honest with you, and give you advice that is worth your time. These are all qualities that are shown in every lesson I've received with Don and Jenny.
If I had to describe how I feel towards the 5 years I've spent learning from them, I would say that I am extremely lucky to have found such talented, well-spoken and down to earth teachers as I have in the two of them.