ABOUT US, OUR PHILOSOPHY
We care about music and we care about helping you achieve what you have set out to do: Learn to play music yourself.
You may have doubts about your own ability to pick up music, perhaps you feel you are too old to learn? Trust us, this is never true. Perhaps you think you should have started years ago? Now is a great time.
Over the years at the Academy, we have seen countless students start from scratch and achieve what they wanted to do with music.
Everyone comes to music with a different intention. For some it is just to be able to play a few tunes for themselves or friends, while some come with a desire to delve as deep into the process as possible. Both are great desires as far as we are concerned: We are here to help you make music a part of your life, whatever that means for you.
We are a tight connected group of teachers at RMA. Skilled teachers and also great people. We aim to create a committed, focused and supportive atmosphere without it being stern or stuffy. We like music, all music, the kind of music you like too. Radiohead is on par with Rachmaninov as far as we are concerned.
One on one, individual lessons are our main offering at RMA. This is the best way to tailor the lessons to your own development and get feedback as you learn. In addition to lessons we host many events throughout the year, which can be a great motivation to practice and a goal to work towards. Over the years a very supportive community has developed at RMA, our concerts have become great social events!
7 days a week, all day and after hours till 10pm, we teach music.
From Contemporary(Rock, folk, pop: Anything you enjoy) to Jazz, blues and Classical.
You can lean to play guitar, piano, singing, drum kit, bass and music production.
Individual, one on one lessons are our main offering.
For students that want to perform, we have events all year to build your skills as a performer.
We have a MONTHLY OPEN MIC NIGHT. Held at Dizzy's Jazz Club, which is always a night of great people and great times. Anyone is welcome to play. Whether you want to show off the first tune you have ever learned (perhaps accompanied with a little healthy anxiety) or to premiere something you have been learning and working on for months. Maybe even a song you wrote yourself.
For the classically inclined we host a CLASSICAL CONCERT several times each year. All adult students of RMA are welcome to play, especially beginners! It's a great challenge and perfect thing to work towards if you would like to step up to the plate!
Creating music is something that everyone can cultivate. Making your own music is an important part of learning an instrument. If this is something you want to work on, we are passionate about providing the support and guidance in your own journey. Songwriting and composition are a specialty at the school. Our RMA ORIGINALS CONCERT is a complete concert of music written by students.
Our annual concert is always an event, a very special night which is a great way to celebrate what RMA is about. It is filled with students sharing the music they have worked on throughout the year in a great environment filled with the whole RMA community.
As a school, we teach all ages from adults to younger years. We have many young students learning with us from ages 4 and up!
Our RMA JNR concerts are a great supportive challenge!
“I’m just a beginner and I literally don’t know a single thing about music, can I learn with you?”
Yes. The vast majority of our students start from absolute scratch - many of the videos of students at RMA started with us as a beginner - you can achieve a lot in a few years. If you are committed to learning, we are committed to helping you learn.
“There are a lot of mentions of performing and concerts, I’m not really interested in getting on stage, I just want some lessons. ”
Totally fine - these are only for the students who are keen. It’s probably about 50/50 at the school. Some people like the idea of the challenge and the goal of performing, for other people it is their worst nightmare! A lot of people just have their weekly lesson and keep it just for fun at home.
“Are the lessons one-on-one or in groups?”
We mainly teach individual, one on one lessons. Although occasionally we do teach group events. We do have a weekly group choir which is open to anyone, especially beginners.
“I work full time, do you teach after hours?”
Yes. You would be surprised to learn that almost nobody wants to learn music during the day - everyone is at work or school. We do the bulk of our teaching from 3pm till 10pm on weekdays and early morning till mid afternoon on Saturdays and Sundays. This being said - we do teach many students who want lessons outside of these times (i.e weekday mornings) and we are happy to do lessons whenever suits you. We mostly can and do accommodate these requests.
“I’m an adult - am I too old to learn?”
RMA is a very different school to most music schools - we mostly teach adults. There are literally people of almost every age at the school - 20 year olds, 30 year olds, 40 year olds, 50 year olds, 60 year olds, 70 year olds and 80 year olds, although we are looking forwards to our first 90 and 100 year old… any day now.
Also, it is good to talk about one thing - a lot of people think that you can only learn music if you are young. It’s not true. In fact, often the benefit of life experience really helps the process. We have taught hundreds upon hundreds of adult beginners and honestly our conclusion is that if you are committed, you will be fine.
“I see that you have lessons in different styles, I really don’t know what I’m looking for yet. Can I start and work it out once I get some idea of how the instrument works?”
Yes. We do teach Jazz, Classical and Contemporary(Rock, Pop, Folk) but you don’t have to set your path down straight away - a lot of students have started with intention of playing Jazz and ended up in pop... or starting in rock and taken a liking to classical. We are happy to help you work out your own path as you go.
“Do you have specific program do you teach to?”
We don’t. Every student is different and every student needs something specific for their own learning. We don’t prescribe a universal approach, because there isn't one in our opinion.
We do keep each student on a structured path but according to your own learning style we will find an approach that fits you best.
That being said, there are many choices - if you are looking for even more structure we have a lot of students doing Rock, Jazz or Classical exams. These work very well if you feel you will need a goal to keep momentum. Exams don’t work for everyone but when they do work, they can really drive development.
WE HAVE A CHOIR!
CHOIR3121 is Richmond's own local choir! Total beginners are welcome, no experience necessary.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
Are you interested in becoming a student at RMA?
You can learn Piano, Guitar, Singing at RMA as well as Music Production, Bass guitar and drum kit. // WHAT WE DO
Get to know us at RMA. // Who We Are
Where is RMA? Richmond, of course (That's in Melbourne by the way). // GETTING HERE
Some nice things our students have said about us. // TESTAMONIALS
Some common questions(and answers!) // FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS