Song Studio - Collaboration | Fall 2026 | Ages 9+
Song Studio - Collaboration | Fall 2026 | Ages 9+
A creative, piano-centered music class where students develop skills in piano, songwriting, harmony, improvisation, percussion, stringed instruments, and ensemble playing. Students rotate through hands-on stations, building musicianship and learning how individual musical ideas come together to create a song.
Class Time: Tuesdays, 4pm - 4:45pm | Friends School of Wilmington at Longleaf Cottage
Schedule: September 29 through December 15th (No class November 24th)
Recommended ages for this class are 9 years and up. We encourage parents with “cusp” aged children to make a decision that suits their child’s development.
An informal concert will be scheduled where students will have the opportunity to perform and show off their new skills! Tentative date for this is December 19th.
No prior experience needed and all materials provided!
Scroll for a look into the daily class!
Learn the musical “language” & Create something of your own
Song Studio takes the same hands-on approach and develops it into more intentional musicianship. Students use piano as their primary musical foundation while exploring how melody, harmony, rhythm, lyrics, and instrumentation work together to create a song.
Each class begins with a short group lesson introducing the musical concept and the creative work for the day. Students then divide into small groups and rotate through the stations, applying that concept in different musical settings.
The Stations
Piano | Melody, Chords & Accompaniment
Students develop practical piano skills through melody, chord progressions, accompaniment patterns, playing by ear, improvisation, and applying music theory to real songs.
Percussion | Beat, Rhythm & Groove
Students develop rhythmic independence and learn how rhythm interacts with melody and harmony to create the foundation and feel of a song.
Stringed Instruments | Melody, Chords & Accompaniment
Students explore stringed instruments as another way of understanding melody, harmony, and accompaniment while discovering how different instruments can fulfill different roles in an ensemble.
Create | Songwriting & Composition
Students write melodies, lyrics, chord progressions, and musical ideas while experimenting with songwriting, composition, improvisation, and arrangement.
Developing the Inner Musical Ear
Song Studio also intentionally develops audiation, the ability to hear and understand music internally, even when the sound is not physically present.
As students grow, audiation allows them to move beyond simply reproducing what they see or hear. They begin to anticipate musical patterns, hear melodies and harmonies internally, imagine musical possibilities, and then use their instruments or voices to bring those ideas to life.
Students practice this throughout the class by learning music by ear, predicting where melodies and harmonies will go, improvising, creating musical responses, and composing their own ideas.
Putting It Together
Every station is part of the same musical language.
A chord learned at the piano can become the foundation for a melody. A rhythm created at percussion can change the feel of the song. A melody developed at the writing station can become something the ensemble plays together.
Students learn to hear, understand, create, and communicate as they discover how individual musical parts work together.
The goal is not simply to learn an instrument. It is to develop the musicianship to hear music internally, understand how it works, and use that understanding to create and communicate through music with others.