Music Education Archives

Jan 20 2023

Music Royale Rock School 🤘

Music Royale Rock School provides students with an opportunity to play in a rock band with other students on their level. Since 2003, 5 times a year, Rock School has helped thousands of students get their first gig. Our rock bands perform on a real stage for real audiences. These performances are recorded and available for viewing on our YouTube channel.

Rock School Teachers

Our Rock School teachers are also on our staff of award-winning private teachers and are part of many local music groups themselves. They bring their real life experience and expertise to rehearsal.

Jesse McNamara – Guitar, Bass, Ukulele music lessons instructor at Music Royale

Jesse brings over 30 years of experience as a professional musician to the Rock School class. Performing steadily since the early ’90s, he has played hundreds of live gigs and worked as a studio musician and composer. Jesse has composed and performed music for independent movies, t.v. and radio commercials, and the hit video game Tower Of Power. Jesse firmly believes that above all, playing music should be fun.

Ryan Craycroft – Guitar music lessons instructor at Music Royale

Ryan has been playing guitar for over 25 years and has a Bachelor of Music from The Ohio State University in jazz guitar performance. He has been teaching at Music Royale since 2011. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, where he is the instructor of guitar. He has been the lead guitarist for the contemporary service at Trinity United Methodist Church since 2016. You can hear Ryan playing live at local venues around Columbus with his jazz trio and a variety of other groups.

Listen to hear some of Ryan’s original music

Music Royale Rock School Performances

Teachers provide guidance and support for the students, but what makes Music Royale Rock School unique is the freedom students are given to pick their band name and the music they’ll be performing. Students carefully pick Rock School music with the guidance of their teacher to match the skill level of the whole group.

With the opportunity to play on local stages, students perform to more than just friends and family. Real stage experience prepares students for the rest of their musical career. Meet 2 students who have grown up in Rock School: Evan and Alex.

Check out our registration page when it’s open to see the schedule for the next performance. If the registration page is closed, check out our Facebook page and support these talented students in their next performance.

Jun 28 2022

Teacher Spotlight: Paul Baker

Paul Baker is our first Teacher Spotlight from the Music Royale Private Lesson Staff. He has been a student of Music Royale since before the store officially opened. Once he graduated high school, he graduated to an instructor and recently started helping out behind the counter. Find him at Music Royale’s 20th Anniversary Party on July 17th in the parking lot.

Teacher

Mr. Baker’s likes to personalize each of his lessons to meet the musical tastes of each student. Watch his Teacher Spotlight video to get to know him better. With a degree in music performance from Otterbein University, he uses his experience to expand his students musical vocabulary and personal musical expression. Sign up for lessons with Mr. Baker! Read his bio.

Musician

As a professional performer, Mr. Baker plays with many ensembles in the Columbus area, including a Thursday night gig at Zaftig Brewing Company and appearances at the summer music series, Jazz on Lincoln in Delaware, Ohio. He also plays for many local ensembles, bands, and groups when needed. Send him a message if you have an opportunity for him.

Composer

Mr. Baker is not just a teacher and a performer, but a composer as well. You can purchase Mr. Baker’s original jazz albums, “Blue Lights, Late Nights”; “Philosophy After Dark”, and “A Tragedy of Comedy”. He has a fourth album in progress tentatively named, “A Blue Park”. The release date is TBA, so follow Music Royale on Facebook to find out when it’s finished. You can contact him at Music Royale to order a hard copy of his third album. You can also visit his website to read his personal blog and more about his musical influences.

Music Royale is your friendly neighborhood music store and we are proud to have Paul Baker as part of our award-winning private lesson staff.

Jun 03 2022

Student Spotlight: Evan Gardner

Meet another student spotlight, Evan Gardner, a private student at Music Royale for 8 years.

Evan is a graduating senior at the Delaware Career Center. He has a lot of exciting things planned for this upcoming summer. He is participating in an exciting internship working with multiple radio stations, WDLR, MY967, an CD929, hosting a show called ”Delaware County Matters” and producing an own original album, “Songs for All the Haters”.

Watch his interview to hear his great advice to beginning students.

Evan performed a full 45 min set in his last Rock School performance this past February with fellow senior, Alex Haas in their band, Salem.

Check out their set. To skip to where Salem starts playing, start the video at 16:22.

Read Alex’s Student Spotlight interview!

Sign Up for Lessons and Get a Student Spotlight Feature

Our instructors create lesson plans tailored to each student’s needs and goals. Music Royale teaches theory, technique, composition, and music production. We are happy working with all types of students; beginner to advanced, young and old, and students with special needs. Anyone with a passion for music has a place at Music Royale.

Here at Music Royale, we understand that life happens, so always feel welcome to discuss with our flexible lesson planners! We are always enrolling students for all instruments. Since the lessons are private, there is never a bad time to start. Read our teacher bios!

Ask about setting up a new student interview to be able to look back on the progress of a new student throughout their lesson years.