Craig Smith Music

Latest news: Craig is now the London College of Music (LCM) representative for the North West (Lancashire) centre in Preston. Anyone wishing to enter candidates for LCM exams in Preston can contact Craig through this site. Exams take place three times a year in brand new, purpose-designed acoustically treated music studios at A&C Hamilton's Music School. We're the local LCM centre to Blackpool, Lytham, Kirkham and anywhere else on the Fylde.

Welcome to Craig Smith Music Tuition, a provider of a wide range of quality, student-specific music lessons in Preston, and local towns across Lancashire, including piano lessons, keyboard lessons, music theory and tuition in other more specialised disciplines such as composition.

Craig is a full-time professional musician in demand, currently working regularly in live popular music (alongside some big names) as well as teaching through his own music tuition practice and a Preston music school. His students are based all over the North West, from Preston to the Yorkshire and Cumbrian borders and Merseyside. Many travel very long distances for the quality tuition they receive. Please read more below:

About Craig Smith Music Tuition [Top]

Craig Smith Music Tuition was originally set up as a means to help Craig pay for his degree at Paul McCartney's world-renowned Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). It soon became apparent, though, that there was a huge demand for Craig's services, with parents and students searching for qualities that simply weren't being provided by local music schools (especially those teaching in schools) and part-time 'pocket money' teachers, including:

• Full-time professional musician working regularly with household names also available to teach
• Lessons that were available where it most suited them: either in their own home, or in a proper music studio
• A young, enthusiastic teacher who could actually inspire his students and be familiar with the music they like
• An advanced musician able to teach in far more detail and teach less well-known ideas and skills
• A flexible teacher who could cope with being led by the student on what they wanted to study, not limiting them to traditional tuition

As a result, Craig soon provided one of, if not the, busiest privately-run professional music tuition services anywhere in the North West, teaching seven days a week with very little time off, with a waiting list of up to 9 months for his lessons. This was unsustainable, so we expanded in mid-2010 to become a regional mobile music school, with several teachers on various instruments. This allowed Craig to devote more time to his session work and composition (and his wife!).

In recent years, Craig has become the go-to man for piano tuition in popular music due to his unique training and work with several house-hold names. Traditional classical training is also available as Craig was classically trained before moving to work in contemporary music.

Craig's many happy clients range from school children aged 5 to adults and OAPs 80+, with most having piano lessons and keyboard lessons in various styles at all levels; classical, pop, jazz and blues, from absolute beginners to diploma standard. Most students have private one-to-one tuition. His large client base is a testament to his first-class musical education, ongoing good relationship with his students (please see the testimonials page), and, of course, excellent prices. 30 minutes one-to-one tuition in piano, keyboard or music theory (popular or classical) begins at just £11 and hour-long group keyboard and piano lessons are a mere £9.

Craig is experienced in many aspects of musical work and performance (see the other pages of this website) and has also studied psychology. He is able to transfer his knowledge to his students, who can benefit from rich and varied lessons, taking in so much more than simply learning to play tunes. His students have gone on to study music at college and some of the top universities, and his piano and keyboard students regularly take part in various concerts, competitions and talent shows.

When and where do lessons take place? [Top]

Keyboard and piano lessons are available six days a week with locations varying day-by-day. Keyboard lessons and piano lessons in Preston are available most days, but further afield, lessons are limited to certain days of the week. Lessons for schools are available during most week days. More information can be found by viewing Craig's current vacancies via the link at the bottom of the page or clicking here. Craig provides keyboard and piano lessons for beginners right through to diploma level.

Current clients live in Preston and Preston's surrounding areas (including Ashton, Cottam, Fulwood, Lea); Broughton* (including Barton, Woodplumpton); Longridge (including Goosnargh, Grimsargh); The Fylde (including Freckleton, Kirkham, Lytham, Newton, Warton, Wesham, Wrea Green); South Ribble (including Hutton, Penwortham); Central and East Lancs (Blackburn, Burnley, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Eccleston, Langho, Whalley) and as far away as Greater Manchester (Bolton, Salford), Merseyside and the Cumbrian and Yorkshire Borders. Craig is available to teach anywhere in Lancashire.

* We've recently had a large increase in the number of students taking both keyboard lessons in Broughton and piano lessons in Broughton, owing mainly to people moving to us from other teachers following word of mouth recommendations. We now teach more students from Broughton High School than any other school in Preston.

Please get in touch for information on more specialised tuition such as arranging, advice on taking up keyboard lessons or piano lessons in Preston or elsewhere in Lancashire, Merseyside and Manchester, or to enquire about teachers on any instrument in the area. Craig Smith Music's contacts include some of the very best musicians in Preston, the North West, and beyond, so look no further for recommendations for a fantastic teacher on any instrument.

Who will teach my lesson? [Top]

We strive to ensure everyone who applies for piano lessons, keyboard lessons and music theory lessons in Preston with Craig Smith Music is taught by Craig himself.

As you will see from the Vacancies Page, there are still a few slots with Craig remaining. There is a waiting list for those who cannot find a suitable slot.

The sheer popularity of Craig Smith Music Tuition, and demand for lessons with Craig, mean that the business has now also become a North West wide music school, called our Tuition Agency; as well as tuition with Craig, we now provide other teachers too on several instruments...

What is the Craig Smith Music Tuition Agency? [Top]

Craig Smith Music Tuition has always been a popular service, but around two years ago, mainly due to word-of-mouth recommendations, Craig became simply overwhelmed by the demand for lessons with him.

Craig Smith Music now offers a service whereby students who can't get a slot with Craig can be matched up with another suitable teacher to save them waiting for months for lessons with Craig (at its peak, the waiting list for Craig's lessons involved a 9 month wait). Almost all of these teachers are past students of Craig Smith Music, or colleagues from his live work, so we know them inside out and are certain that they're up to our high standards.

As well as piano and keyboard lessons throughout the North West, we also have available drum lessons and percussion lessons in Preston and Blackpool; woodwind lessons (flute, sax, clarinet etc) in Lancashire, Merseyside and Salford; and Blackpool guitar lessons through the Craig Smith Music Tuition Agency, a mobile music school covering the entire North West of England from the Cumbrian border south to Manchester and Liverpool, and the Fylde as far east as the Yorkshire borders.

For all the details, please see our Tuition Agency page.

Exams [Top]

Craig is the London College of Music (LCM) representative for the North West (Lancashire) centre in Preston. These LCM exams take place three times a year at A&C Hamilton's Music School's studios in Lea, Preston, the local LCM centre to Blackpool, Lytham, Kirkham and anywhere else on the Fylde. You won't be sat at an old piano in a cold and dingy church (which we know is often a concern); instead, you'll be in contemporary glass-fronted acoustically treated studios, purposely designed for playing music. LCM exams are available for most instruments.

Exams are not compulsory, but recommended to most piano, keyboard and composition students. Exams can be taken with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, London College of Music and Victoria College of Music (of which Craig is an Associate with Honours), and are available in classical and contemporary / jazz piano, electronic keyboard, theory of music, popular music theory, musicianship and composition. LCM exams offer the option of being examined only on your playing, omitting all of the scales, listening tests and suchlike. This 'leisure play' option is currently proving very popular, particularly with Craig's many adult piano and keyboard students.

A quick summary of Craig Smith Music's tuition service: [Top]