Craig Smith Music

Welcome to the Craig Smith Music Tuition Agency. This service - essentially a mobile music school covering the entire North West - was set up when Craig Smith's very popular private piano and keyboard tuition practice became overwhelmed with demand from prospective students. The waiting list for lessons with Craig became months long, so more music teachers, including piano teachers and keyboard teachers (and later, guitar teachers, drum teachers and a woodwind teachers) were brought on board to eliminate that wait.

VACANCY: Due to a teacher leaving, we have several piano and keyboard students in Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton who will be in need of a new teacher soon. To apply, click here.

Craig Smith Music has provided one of, if not the, busiest privately-run professional music tuition services anywhere in the North West for a number of years. The service has a fantastic reputation and large client base, now providing well in excess of 70 hours of lessons per week across six days.

Although Craig still has some availability for daytime piano lessons and keyboard lessons anywhere in the North West, peak times (evenings and weekends) have been full up for the past couple of years.

So, we decided to expand. Craig Smith Music Tuition Agency was set up; new students are matched with other music teachers on our books so that no-one has to wait too long to start the magical journey of learning to play an instrument.

As well as our drum and guitar teachers in Blackpool, who provide guitar lessons, percussion lessons and drum lessons for students on the Fylde, the piano teachers and keyboard teachers that work through the agency provide piano lessons and keyboard lessons in Preston, Chorley, Kirkham, Darwen, Blackburn, Bolton, Salford, Lytham, Blackpool, Southport and Ormskirk (and all their surrounding areas). We have a flute teacher available for flute lessons and saxophone lessons across central and West Lancashire, Merseyside and Liverpool. Our newest teacher is a piano, keyboard and guitar teacher in Fulwood. Please read on for all the details.

Which instruments do the teachers teach? [Top]

At present, our students range from children aged 4 to adults and OAPs over 80 years old. A large percentage piano lessons and keyboard lessons of all levels in various styles; classical, pop, jazz and blues, from complete beginners to grade eight and diploma exams. All lessons are one-to-one lessons provided by private tutors who usually visit the students' homes. However, other instruments have become available more recently...

In addition to our piano and keyboard lessons available across the whole North West, we also provide guitar lessons in Preston, Blackpool and the Fylde, drum lessons in and around Blackpool and in Preston, and saxophone and flute lessons in Salford, Lancashire and Merseyside. Lessons in other non-instrumental subjects such as popular music theory and ear training are available elsewhere too. Music theory lessons are available throughout the North West at students' homes or teachers' studios.

Our guitar lessons in Blackpool and surrounds are available on Thursdays; for exact vacancies information for our Blackpool guitar lessons and all other lessons, please see the vacancies page. Our drum lessons in Blackpool and Preston are flexible; please contact us for details. Piano and keyboard lessons are available every day except Sunday, depending on location.

Craig Smith Music's contacts include some of the very best musicians in Preston, the North West, and beyond, so feel free to contact us for recommendations for a fantastic teacher on any instrument.

How much do lessons cost? [Top]

Since April 2010, Craig has priced 30 minutes one-to-one visit tuition in piano, keyboard or music theory (popular or classical) beginning at £15 and 60 minutes from £24. Lessons at the teacher's studio are priced from £11 per 30 minute slot. Teachers working with the Tuition Agency usually use the same prices but are allowed to set their own fees, be they higher or lower.

Discounts of £1 are available for lessons before 3:30pm (where a teacher is available, at that teacher's discretion) and for anyone able to book in long-term blocks and pay by fixed standing order. Details of the latter discount are available on request.

When and where do lessons take place? [Top]

Lessons with the Tuition Agency teachers are currently available all daytime and evening every day except Sunday. Keyboard and piano lessons in Preston take place most evenings with various teachers. See below for further details of lesson vacancies in Preston. Information on lessons in specific areas or instruments is available via the following links:

Thanks to the popularity of our piano lessons and keyboard lessons in Preston, and the word-of-mouth- recommendations that result, we've had to bring on board yet another piano and keyboard teacher to cover the demand for our lessons in Preston (we've now got 8 keyboard and piano teachers working in the area).

LIPA-trained Steph has taken the same route into professional musicianship as was taken by Craig (who taught her until she left for uni a few years ago). Steph, who began working with us in 2010, is available to teach keyboard and piano to beginners and upward, both from her personal music space and as home visits. Her keyboard and piano lessons are now available only on Mondays and Saturdays and, thanks to her advanced training, she is already almost fully-booked. Take care not to miss out because, due to other commitments with bands and a residency at a Merseyside club, it is unlikely Steph will make more slots available. Steph's lessons start at £12 for 30 minutes.

Sarah, who is primarily a flute teacher, is also qualified to provide piano lessons and can supply these anywhere south of Preston's River Ribble. Sarahs flute lessons, piano lessons and saxophone lessons take place in Chorley and surrounds on Wednesday evenings, Ormskirk and surrounds afternoon and early evenings on Wednesday, and Manchester and Salford (and surrounds such as Eccles, Trafford etc) on other nights of the week. Piano lessons are available for beginners to intermediates, and woodwind lessons to all levels, starting at £15 for 30 minutes home tuition.

We are pleased to offer guitar lessons in Preston, Blackpool, Lytham St Annes, and their surrounds, with Dan and Paul. Paul's Blackpool guitar lessons can take place from a purpose-built acoustically-treated studio close to the Airport. Paul has a long-term performance contract that sees him travel the country at weekends, so guitar lessons in Blackpool and the Fylde will be on Thurdsay daytimes and evenings only until a second suitable teacher can be found.

Dan, our newest teacher, teaches both piano/keyboard lessons and guitar lessons in Preston. He is available to visit students' homes, and also has a dedicated music space at home, where he teaches piano, keyboard and guitar lessons in Fulwood. Dan's also our youngest teacher, at 18, yet he's achieved his grade 8 qualification and plays regularly with bands. He hopes to go on to study a music degree at LIPA or Leeds. Dan decided he'd offer an introductory rate of just £10.50 for 30 minutes music tuition at his house for his first three months with us. Visits will be slightly higher, depending on your location.

Kim, our busiest teacher after Craig, came on board to cover the increasing demand for piano lessons and keyboard lessons in Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton, plus all the surrounding areas of these towns and cities including Bromley Cross, Harwood, Eccles, Egerton, Horwich and Astley Bridge. Kims evening now full up, so we're busy searching for the right person to take on more piano and keyboard lessons in East Lancashire. In the meantime, to be added to a (hopefully short) waiting list, please contact us.

The music teachers on our books live in or near to Ormskirk, Chorley, Ashton (Preston), and Fulwood, covering the following areas: Ashton (Preston), Blackpool, Broughton, Chorley, Cottam, Ingol, Eccleston, Fulwood, Freckleton, Kirkham, Lytham St Annes, Ormskirk, Penwortham, Skelmersdale, Southport, Tarleton, Walton Le Dale, Warton, Withnell, Wrea Green.

Who will teach my lesson? [Top]

Several of the teachers on our books are past students or long-term associates of Craig, meaning we are sure that they meet our expectations both personally and as musicians and teachers. Our keyboard teacher(s) and piano teacher(s) in Preston who currently have availability are: Dan, Steph and Sarah. Sarah also covers flute lessons and piano lessons in Chorley, Ormskirk, Salford and surrounds. Paul is available for guitar lessons in Blackpool and is easily accessible to students throughout the Fylde, whilst Dan provides our Preston guitar lessons, based in Fulwood and available to travel. Mark, our drum teacher, is available to provide drum lessons in Preston, Blackpool and the entire Fylde. We anticipate having a new drum teacher and saxophone teacher for the Manchester and Bolton area shortly.

All of our music teachers have to meet certain criteria before being formally accepted onto our books. These include, but aren't limited to, having high levels of ability on the instrument(s) to be taught, graded certifications in performance and theory of music, and suitable teaching space when they teach from home or a studio. They are also asked to provide a valid CRB disclosure. All of the teachers working with the Tuition Agency are selected for their enthusiasm for working with young and old musicians alike, and for having a similar approach to music tuition as Craig.

How does Craig Smith Music Tuition Agency work? [Top]

Essentially, Craig Smith Music has had to branch into acting as an agent for other teachers in the area in order to deal with the massive demand for our services of piano tuition, keyboard tuition and music theory lessons.

The teachers within the agency are self-employed rather than employed by Craig Smith Music, but to work with our Tuition Agency, they all have to meet various criteria including but not limited to performance skills, teaching skills, CRB disclosures, and for those hosting lessons from home, an inspection of the teaching environment and instrument(s). All of the music teachers we currently place students with are past or present (advanced level) students, or long-term associates of, Craig and therefore we are as confident in their ability to meet your expectations of the service as we can possibly be.

We offer private music teachers various levels of support through our Tuition Agency. Some are simply happy to be associated with Craig Smith Music and its great reputation, and to help with students we can't place with Craig. Others take advantage of Craig's experience and expertise in music tuition and regularly sit in on or discuss lessons to improve their skills as instrumental music teachers.

Many new students have already been placed with other teachers, all of whom meet our high standards and share our values, and all of these students and parents have been happy with the service their teacher provides. The piano teachers and keyboard teachers are helping us to place students in the Preston, Kirkham, Bamber Bridge, Leyland, Chorley, Blackburn, Darwen, Bolton and Salford areas who don't want to be on the (often long) waiting list for piano lessons and keyboard lessons with Craig.

For more details or with any questions about the Tuition Agency, please email tuition@craigsmithmusic.co.uk.

Peripatetic school lessons [Top]

Craig Smith Music is available to provide peripatetic music lessons in schools across the North West including the whole of Lancashire and The Fylde, and parts of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. At present, we have drum teachers, percussion teachers, guitar teachers, flute teachers and and piano/keyboard teacher available to work in a peripatetic capacity on various days. Our lessons in schools begin at £4 per student. For more information, please see the Tuition Agency page for your area or visit the dedicated Schools Page.

How do I get on the books of the Tuition Agency? [Top]

Please see the jobs page of this website if you're interested in working with Craig Smith Music.

A quick summary of Craig Smith Music's Tuition Agency: