Pune, India · Since 2016
Every great musician had a first teacher. Make it a great one.
Ten disciplines, taught one to one by a faculty led by concert pianist Shirley Manuel, from the first lesson to diploma.
- 25
- Years of teaching
- 2,300+
- Students taught
- 1,500
- Music teachers trained
- 10+
- Countries
The music school
Ten disciplines, taught one to one.
Every lesson is one to one, in person or online. Each plan is built around the student: their age, their goals, and the music they actually want to play.
- PianoFrom age 4
- Electronic KeyboardFrom age 4
- Classical GuitarFrom age 6
- Plectrum GuitarFrom age 6
- ViolinFrom age 7
- FluteFrom age 7
- DrumsFrom age 5
- VoiceFrom age 3
- Theory of MusicFrom age 5
- Music HistoryFrom age 10
Certification
Four international boards, one honest rule.
Students are entered when the work is genuinely ready, not when the calendar says so. All four boards are British and internationally administered; the certificateThe certificate is identical wherever it is sat.
Trinity College London
ABRSM
London College of Music
MTB Exams
About the school
Music, taught as a discipline.
SSAMS was founded in 2016 by Shirley Manuel, after thirteen years alongside her father at Rebecca Music Academy. Music here is not treated as an enrichment activity or a line on a school application. It is a discipline with a tradition behind it, worth learning on its own terms.
Technique comes first, and is never skipped. Alongside it we teach aural perception, sight-reading, rhythm, composition and improvisation: the things that make a musician, rather than a competent operator of an instrument.
Whether it is a three-year-old’s first lesson or an adult returning to an instrument set down years ago, the approach is the same: the right teacher, a goal worth reaching, and the work to get there.
What we hold to
Five things we will not compromise on.
Inclusivity
There is a musician in everyone, and no age at which it is too late. We have taught five-year-olds and people well into retirement.
Individual growth
Every student’s needs are different, so we shape the teaching around the individual rather than one fixed sequence.
Authentic expression
Each student has their own voice. We build the skill that lets them use it.
Empowerment
We do not spoon-feed. A student who can solve their own problems keeps improving after the lesson ends.
Community
Our recitals, concerts and competitions exist as much to bring people together as to assess anybody.
★★★★★
“Highly recommended for anyone who feels it’s too late to learn, because here, it never is.”
Journal
Writing from the studio.
- Piano care · 3 min readPiano maintenance and care for beginners
- Repertoire · 4 min readTen easy Disney songs to learn on the piano
- Technique · 4 min readHow to sit properly at the piano
How it begins
Come and hear the place before you decide.
Trial lessons are by appointment, with no obligation. Tell us who is learning and what they want from it, and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right school.
i.
A trial lesson
Meet the teacher and try the instrument. No audition, and no obligation.
ii.
One to one
A weekly lesson with a specialist. Theory and ear training alongside, from early on.
iii.
Examinations and the stage
Trinity, ABRSM, LCM and MTB grades, and a concert every quarter.