About the Meridee Winters School of Music
“When my son started [music lessons], I strongly suspected he would not survive the traditional approach. After all, how can piano compete with baseball for a 7-year old?
We're now in the second year. Baseball, soccer, and basketball take a back seat when the Meridee Winters teacher arrives. He's excited. There's beautiful music. The teacher is cool. I'm a science teacher, and if we taught math and physics like this starting in first grade, we wouldn't have to be importing all our engineers from distant shores. We cling to the 19th century philosophy that to be good at something it has to be painful. Meridee Winters has shown our family that this is simply wrong.”
- MW Parent, Peter Beckmann PhD.,
Professor of Physics, Bryn Mawr College
We’re different.
We love the testimonial above, not just because of its glowing review of the school, but because it encapsulates everything that sets us apart from other music schools. At the Meridee Winters School of Music, our slogan is “A Step Beyond,” because every step of the way, that is what we strive for in our music lessons.
Just how do we do that?
We Come to YOU.
There’s soccer, or baseball, or homework, but there’s always something. Main line kids are BUSY, and so are their parents. Still, music is a skill that lasts a lifetime, and studies continue to show that music lessons positively impact kids in many other aspects of learning. We help you make time for music by coming to you. MW lessons are taught in the comfort and convenience of your own Main Line home, or virtually. This cuts down on drive time for you, and allows your child to learn in a comfortable environment.
Our teachers go through comprehensive training, and continue to attend monthly workshops.
The Meridee Winters school seeks out the best applicants possible, by directing our job postings to creative, enthusiastic musicians. On average, only ten percent of applicants even get an interview. The interview itself is structured to look for creativity, passion and teaching ability – in addition to musical skill.
Unlike our competitors, the Meridee Winters School of Music provides all of its teachers with a comprehensive training program to prepare them for their first lessons. Because of her background as a former schoolteacher, Meridee is adamant that all teachers learn sound educational techniques. In training sessions, Meridee and our faculty manager use experiential exercises and a 150 page exclusive MW method manual. Teachers learn the principles of the MW Method, as well as techniques such as stimulus variation and motivational strategies. Teachers also learn how to apply Meridee's original, leading edge material – from games to books – to their lessons.
Your lessons incorporate trail-blazing original material
One of the most common comments we receive from parents is that they love the musical games their teachers incorporate into lessons. From “Note Quest” to “Rhythm Village,” your teacher’s game book is exclusive to Meridee Winters, and is many students’ favorite aspects of lessons.
“I love having a bag of tricks to bring to lessons. The games serve as tools to teach skills, creative outlets, as well as rewards for good practicing, good behavior, or good focus during the lesson. There’s always something fun to find in the bag, either an established game or the tools to create something new.”
– Amy Hansen-Brower, Former MW Teacher
In addition to games, Meridee has released several books. Her first release, the “Right Brain Piano” Series, was an answer to a need for creative music materials. More recently, she has released “Meridee Winters® All Star Piano Patterns™,” an innovative book which teaches technique, recognizable patterns, and encourages students to put their own creative spins on songs.
Our lessons are customized for YOU.
We take great care in matching each student’s personality with a compatible teacher. Lessons are thoughtfully individualized according to the student’s personality, learning style and musical preferences. Does your child want to study with a performing songwriter? Or perhaps a concert pianist?
Because of Meridee's educational background, she has also designed piano lesson and guitar lesson activities for different learning styles, including ADD & ADHD, Autism, preschool piano and kids participating in their schools' gifted programs. Materials are designed to capitalize on each learning style's unique strengths and systematically encourage & mentor other areas. Gifted students are encouraged to compose songs and do meta-cognitive activities, and preschoolers learn to play right away. Alternative learners have games and activities to keep lessons engaging and lively, are given great-sounding music patterns to focus on (and diverge from), and have plenty of ways to encourage motor planning, sequencing and relating.
