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RAISING THE STANDARD OF MUSICAL EXCELLENCE

Guitar Lessons

Kansas City School of Music provides a comprehensive foundation in guitar technique and music theory that will allow you to go anywhere you choose – rock, jazz, classical, pop, country, etc. Our guitar students learn how to read music, play by ear, and improvise in many styles. Rather than just learning songs, our instructors teach students how to understand music and develop foundational guitar skills that are transferable to many styles of music. Lessons are tailored to fit each student’s individual needs. We accept children and adults of all ability levels. Our students become versatile musicians and accomplished guitarists as they develop their passion for music.

Advantages to Guitar Study at Kansas City School of Music

Performance Opportunities
Performing is a crucial part of the learning process when it comes to music. At Kansas City School of Music, we offer a wealth of opportunities for your children to perform in a professional setting. Visit our calendar page to see what upcoming events we have going on.

Exceptional Facilities
The quality of facility won’t necessarily impede your child’s ability to learn music, but it can certainly make it more enjoyable. Kansas City School of Music has two locations for your convenience: our Lenexa campus and our Overland Park campus. Both of our state-of-the-art facilities have large and spacious practice rooms, soundproof walls, temperature control, and much more. All of this contributes to our high standard of excellence and allows your student to focus on mastering their musical talents.

Resources

Clarinet Lessons

Clarinet is one of three woodwind instruments we offer lessons in here at Kansas City School of Music. Whether you’ve never held a clarinet before or you’ve been playing for several years, we’d be happy to offer you comprehensive music lessons. The clarinet has a long history and a diverse selection of repertoire and our lesson plans reflect that. Our aim is to not only develop your skills as a clarinetist, but to build a solid foundation of musicianship that will serve you for years to come. Our students don’t just play the clarinet — they excel at it.

Our Instructors

Kansas City School of Music prides itself on its music instructors. We create a custom music lesson plan for each student who comes to us based off their age and skill level. We work with each student from the ground up to ensure they understand the fundamentals of playing the clarinet and are able to show it through each piece of music they perform. Our master instructors provide lessons for students of all ages and musical backgrounds.

Performance Opportunities

Regular performances are key to developing your skills as a clarinetist. Although we strongly advise our students to get involved in music groups outside of our music school, we do offer ensembles and other opportunities to work with other students. These groups are open to all of our students. Give us a call if you would like more information about this.

High-Quality Facilities

Offering two state-of-the-art facilities is part of our high standards of excellence. We want our students to be able to learn and develop in a productive atmosphere and part of that comes down to the design of our facilities. Each of our music school facilities comes with the following amenities:

  • Soundproof walls
  • Temperature control
  • Professional quality instruments
  • Spacious rooms for ensemble rehearsals and individual practice sessions
  • Electric and acoustic pianos

Parental Involvement

Parental involvement is crucial for the musical development of young children. That’s why if your child is in preschool or elementary school, we require parents to sit in on music lessons. However, if they are older than that, we still strongly recommend getting involved in their education. If you have any questions about this, give us a call, and we can help you figure out what level of parental involvement would be most beneficial to your child.

Transfer Students

A transfer student is one who has previously taken lessons, regardless of duration or any breaks in instruction. Transfer students make up a large portion of the student body at Kansas City School of Music.

Anyone who is interested in transferring to Kansas City School of Music should read Admission Requirements. In addition, transfer students will likely be asked to list previous repertoire learned, demonstrate singing ability, and describe why they are looking for a new teacher.

At Kansas City School of music, we hold very high standards to both teachers and students. We want to make sure that all foundational elements of healthy singing are present in the student’s knowledge and abilities before proceeding to more advanced areas. Because of this, there is a possibility that the teacher might spend some time reviewing fundamental concepts to ensure proper technique. Doing this will save time and frustration in the future. The decisions our teachers make are always in the best interest of the student.

Testimonials

Our students become artists who learn to communicate and express themselves through music. To support this, our master teachers use a comprehensive curriculum that helps our students learn theory, music reading, technique, ear training, and other important foundational skills. Here are what a few of our students and parents have to say:

“My family has been part of the KCSM family for over 5 years. It has been an incredible experience all around. Top notch teaching, ample performance opportunity and a supportive community as well. We love KCSM!”

-Kristen Lehman

Want to seriously learn an instrument…voice as well? This is the place to be. Want to learn music, well beyond the sounds of your instrument? To learn how music actually functions as part of our natural “ear?” This is the place to be. Great teachers, well structured curiculam. This is the place to be.”

-Bill Burgweger

“Our family has several years of experience with the Kansas City School of Music. The Director, Scott Smith, is a very dedicated, passionate teacher who focuses on learning in a nurturing environment. Scott’s enthusiasm for music and teaching has fostered self-esteem, creativity, and confidence in our children.”

-Gretchen Stout, Overland Park, Kansas

“Studying voice with Bonny Green has joyously influenced every area of my world – in my profession, family, community, volunteering, church, and very soul. The faculty is extremely supportive of each student and I encourage every young person and adult to experience life with Kansas City School of Music!”

-Kaaren Witte, Kansas City, Missouri

“Such an amazing school with incredibly gifted instructors! They want your child to not only learn music but to love it as well!”

-Marcia Williams Valera, from Facebook

“When we moved to Lenexa 14 years ago, in my search for a piano instructor for our 7 year old son, I found Scott Smith at the Kansas City School of Music. We will forever be grateful we found Scott. His dedication to training young minds in the art of piano is more than exceptional.

Scott is an uncompromising, devoted individual who is committed to training your child. He expects effort on the child’s part and parental involvement in your child’s learning. Lessons with Scott are calm, not rushed, and he is kind and patient with children. He makes lessons fun, has a great sense of humor, and will let your child choose music that he or she may enjoy. Our son had two previous years with two other piano instructors outside of Lenexa prior to discovering Scott, so we know the difference a solid teacher can make.

If you are considering learning piano, or any other musical instrument, my husband and I highly recommend the Kansas City School of Music. Music training, particularly piano instruction, does a great deal for training young minds intellectually. Our son was trained by Scott Smith for 10+ years until high school graduation, of which he graduated as valedictorian, and is now preparing to graduate from Kansas State majoring in computer engineering and minoring in mathematics and information systems as an “A” student. I state these things not to boast in any way, but to suggest that your child can do the same with perseverance and proper training, particularly in piano.

The other instructors at KC School of Music were also very good. We had met with two other instructors occasionally if Scott was ever unavailable, on rare occasion.

One more note I’d like to mention: Our son is engaged to be married next year, and when I was preparing a guest list for his fiancé, the only person our son said that he wanted added to the list was “Scott Smith.” This speaks volumes. Scott is more than a piano instructor. He is a true friend whom our son respects greatly.”

-Tammy Larson Hill

“I can’t say enough about how wonderful Scott Smith and the Kansas City School of Music have been! My son took piano lessons for many years with Mr. Smith until he graduated from high school and moved away to college, and my daughter is going to be a senior in high school and is still taking lessons. I’ve lost track of how many years, 9 maybe?, but it says a lot about the instructor when both your children continue to study and practice, despite the many demands of other extracurricular activities, especially in high school. They have learned so much through studying with Mr. Smith and the Kansas City School of Music, and I’m not just talking about technique, theory, and music knowledge, although they have been exposed to so much more knowledge than I could have ever hoped for. More than this, they learned about perseverance, dedication, commitment, how to conquer perfectionism, and the value of hard work, largely through the example set for them by Mr. Smith. They find such enjoyment in music now, it is a vital part of who they are, and I attribute this to Mr. Smith’s influence in their lives. You won’t find a better school of music. It has been worth every penny over the last nine or so years. I read a review here saying that it may be a little pricey, but worth it. It is definitely, definitely worth it. Honestly, knowing what I know now and how our lives would be blessed by enrolling at the Kansas City School of Music, I’d pay twice what we have over the years. Mr. Smith’s influence on our family’s life has been invaluable. I wish I could leave my number here for those that have questions, because I could go on and on, but I absolutely, unquestionably recommend the Kansas City School of Music for the best music education in the Kansas City area.”

-Jennifer Vrablic

“I can’t thank God enough for leading us to Kansas City Shool of Music! 5 years ago. My daughter started “from scratch” in 5th grade and Mr Scott applied an outanding teaching method on her and currently she is playing like a real pianist! His patience, talent, sense of humor, but still with a rigorous lesson and routines make this school the best place in town if you are interested in playing any instrument professionally.”

-Susana Belvedere, from Facebook

“If you are serious about learning music and enjoying it as you learn – this is the best school for that. Mr. Smith is really an admirable, thoughtful and committed teacher and the students are blessed to be learning from him. That being said all the teachers here are amazing.”

-Vinayak Kamat, from Facebook

Please leave us a review on Google. We’d love to hear from you.

Locations

Kansas City School of Music has two locations for your convenience.

Our private studios feature soundproof walls, temperature control, and professional quality instruments. The large classrooms are spacious and include multiple digital pianos for group instruction, as well as acoustic pianos for private lessons. These facilities contribute to our standards of excellence.

Overland Park Campus:

Kansas City School of Music is located on the west side of Metcalf, one block south of 159th Street, in the Metcalf 160 building. Please enter on the south side (lower level). We share the building with other tenants.

16010 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park, KS 66085
(913) 888-2444

Lenexa Campus:

Kansas City School of Music is located in the same parking lot as Taco Bell. Our stand-alone building is in front of the shopping center and sits close to 87th Street.

12201 W. 87th St. Pkwy.
Lenexa, KS 66215
(913) 888-2444