START YOUR SCHOOL YEAR OFF RIGHT!

The Performance Program is School of Rock's hallmark music program, where tens of thousands of students enroll each year. Utilizing the patented School of Rock Method, Performance Program consists of a weekly group rehearsal where kids and teens learn by playing rock music's most iconic songs with a band composed of their peers. Students are assigned songs and parts that are tailored to them based on their age, experience, and ability to learn new skills and concepts. Students then work through their parts in weekly private music lessons, and refine the skills and concepts that those songs introduce. The goal of this curriculum is to prepare kids and teens for live performances. Every few months, Performance Program students take the stage and play at local music venues in front of a live audience.

ROOKIES

AGES 5-7 | WEDNESDAYS 6:15PM-7:15PM

This weekly, 60-minute, Class follows a similar structure to Little Wing. The difference? Rookies focuses on the 5 main band instruments - Guitar, Bass, Keys, Drums, and Voice - and gives kids the chance to play their favorite instruments every week. RookiesPLUS! adds a 30-minute Private Lesson! Open Enrollment all year long!

ROCK 101

AGES 7+ | MONDAYS 5:00-6:30PM, THURSDAYS, 5:00PM-6:30PM, SATURDAYS 10:30AM-12:00PM

Welcome to your first step to becoming a Rock Star! This Program is designed to get any Novice & Beginner rocker on an instrument and into their first band rehearsals. Students meet once a week for a 90-minute band rehearsal and an additional 45-minute lesson every week. Students perform LIVE at the end of each season!

GREEN DAY

AGES 13-18 | TUESDAYS, 6:00PM-8:00PM

Parental Advisory: Some lyrical content in this show may not be appropriate for all students.

Green Day rose to prominence in the early '90s as one of the largest bands in Punk Rock. Mixing Pop-style songwriting with Punk Rock aesthetics, Green Day has continued to be one of, if not the most, successful act in the sub-genre of pop-punk. Ranging from their early hits from the album Dookie to their later releases like American Idiot, this show is sure to excite any student. The Green Day show will offer a wide variety of guitar parts which are perfect for beginner and intermediate players. Advanced players will be challenged with marrying musical accuracy with stage showmanship.  Drummers will be challenged to gain the endurance necessary to power through high tempo songs while more beginner players can build their chops with some of the slower more ballad centered material. Vocalists will focus on Billie Joe Armstrong’s fast staccato delivery, the use of chest voice and belting, as well as exploring the use of the major scales. In addition, proficient vocalists will be challenged by the various harmony concepts. When it comes to punk-style bass parts, Mike Dirnt lays down solid punk rock bass tracks, ranging from driving root notes to dynamic riffing.

CLASSIC SOUL

AGES 13-18 | SATURDAYS, 12:30PM-2:30PM

Soul music takes root from African-American gospel and R&B in the mid-'50s. Artists such as Etta James, Smokey Robinson, Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles pioneered the genre by combining the musical concepts of Gospel with non-religious lyrics and themes. The '60s established the sound we are most familiar with when we think of Soul music. Two of the primary record labels during the '60s that  mass-produced and promoted Soul music were Motown and Stax records, each which established its own signature sound. Motown Records out of Detroit combined elements from Pop music such as hooks and common chord patterns with a deep rhythmic feel to create a unique ‘Detroit’ Soul sound. Stax records out of Memphis managed to still highlight elements of Pop but focused more on R&B roots by releasing music with heavier use of organ and brass and featuring more artists with roots in Gospel music. Though the Stax sound could be more musically dense it still held up a lot of groove, often producing dance tracks that rivaled Motown’s. Other notable artists from different labels which impacted Soul include James Brown (King), Aretha Franklin (Atlantic), and the Isley Brothers (RCA Victor and later Motown). Soul music has developed and evolved throughout the later decades of the century, and has enjoyed a resurgence in the modern day. However, the one thing that remains constant is the deep sense of rhythm and groove-based, catchy songs that are derived from the African-American music of the '50s. Classic Soul is a great show choice for any student interested in fun yet challenging rhythm-based music with uplifting lyrical themes. 

ADULT BAND: BEST OF THE 80'S

AGES 18+ | MONDAYS, 6:00PM-8:00PM

In the Best of the '80s show, School of Rock will travel back in time to an era of fluorescent clothes, poofy hair, and the best synth-driven pop anthems you will ever hear. On August 1, 1981, music fans were catapulted into the '80s music era by the debut of a cultural phenomenon: MTV.  This new music format - the music video - gave old and new artists alike the chance to reach unimaginable numbers of diverse audiences and sell millions of records and cassette tapes. The '80s  would not have had its soundtrack without Michael Jackson. Jackson began the '80s on a sonic high that carried over from 1979’s “Off the Wall”, but he struck gold with the worldwide phenomenon that was Thriller.  Also making a huge impact on the '80s were super-star Pop acts like Madonna, Prince, and all-girl band The Go- Gos.  Gender became less binary and static in the '80s with wildly popular artists like Boy George of Culture Club, Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics, Chrissie Hynde of Pretenders and every hair metal act challenging perceptions of what is acceptable attire or behavior for “male” and “female.”  Although pop acts reigned supreme in the '80s, rock bands like Guns N’ Roses, Journey, and Bon Jovi reaped the benefits from the ‘decade of excess’. The Best of the '80s show will feature a diverse mix of styles and artists, and is a challenging and fun experience for students of any instrument or experience level.