Our Classes
Southcoast Lessons is now booking for the 2025-2026 season of classes!
Classes begin the week of September 28th, 2025 through May 31st, 2026
on a rolling monthly basis at a rate of $75 per month , per class.
For a full schedule of classes, please visit our booking page below.
We are happy to hear from you. Any questions may be directed to southcoastlessons@gmail.com
Rising Fiddle
This is an exciting fiddle class for those who would like to delve into the nuance and detail of playing Old Time fiddle tunes with nuance and authenticity. We dig into right hand bow techniques, left hand variations, more obscure tunings, pulsing, creative droning, and other sophisticated elements of the style. Players enrolling in this class do not need to have significant experience playing Old Time music, but should already have the basic elements of technique, a knowledge of the notes in first position, and some level of comfort with eat learning. (And if your ear is already pretty developed, you might not even need that note knowledge so much)! All lessons are supplemented with complementary video and written materials.
Saturdays 9:30
Youth Piano/Keyboards
Not your traditional piano class! This is an introduction to piano & keyboard family instruments Southcoast Lessons-style. Which is to say… keys with an emphasis on playing with others, centered in the styles you're most interested in, and presented with an emphasis on fun. Students get the basics of how to play along socially to rock, folk, blues, contradance & other popular music styles within a single session of class in addition to the building blocks to explore beyond.
Saturdays 10:30
Youth String Band
(Audition or invite only). Not for strings only, youth string band is an ensemble that plays traditional dance tunes and folk songs. And, we do some composing in the style as well. Open to a wide variety of acoustic and folk instruments. All tunes and techniques are taught in class by ear and supplemented with written, audio, and video materials by dropbox. Digital attendance is available for this class.
Sundays 10:00am (Mattapoisett)
Youth Rock Band
In SC Lessons rock band class students not only learn how to play covers of fun rock songs… they also write new songs as a band. And, at the end of the session, when they have their material rehearsed they record those songs using professional recording equipment & software. Every student gets a high quality recording of their music that can be shared freely with friends & family! Rock band class is capped with a smaller number of participants than most ensembles and a limit on the number of players on each instrument. Open to guitar, bass, drums, keys, ukulele, vocals, horns.
Mondays 5:00pm (Mattapoisett)
Growing Tradition
One of the Southcoast Lessons flagship programs returns. Growing tradition is a super fun class that incorporates a complete system of music learning. All students will learn first and foremost to play fiddle (violin). They’ll also learn to recognize the contour of melodies, how to play by ear, the connection between instrumental play and singing, how to create beats with traditional hambone body percussion, and dance traditional squares, play parties, & contras. This class teaches real living traditional music still played in our area today that have open playing possibilities for all ages as well as deep sociological and historical significance to our culture. Also, it’s crazy fun. Did I mention that? This is class is based 100% in what playing music should be: Joy! Play! Friends! Community!
Tuesdays 4:00pm
Banding Together
Learn to play in a band together! This class is open to players on various instruments. This band has drums, bass, guitars, keys, and room for vocalists, band, and orchestral players too! Beginners and early intermediate players on ukulele or guitar are welcome to join in as well. We’ll choose from songs you know and love, make arrangements, and play a set of music together as a group.
Tuesdays 5:00pm
Ear Learning Strategies & Applied Theory
Open to all instruments. Here’s a class designed to demystify the process of learning melodies by ear and hear the chord changes to a song without a lengthy and strenuous trial and error process. And make no mistake about it, if you play a predominantly or exclusively melody instrument, chords are important for you too because they shape the melody and predict where it’s going! And strummers- it’s the same situation, the melody will tell you what’s happening both now… and next. In addition to a range of ear techniques, we’ll learn the necessary bits of practical and directly applied theory that will get you where you want to be. Ear learning, “hearing the changes,” and the ability to communicate ideas in the language of other musicians opens all the doors to social music. And these are the skills needed to find your next level of playing in every common genre. That said, though, we’ll be focused primarily on traditional melodies & folk songs in this class. They’re the roots of all else, and the very best place to start!
Tuesdays 6:00pm
String Band
Play as a big fun social group, learn new tunes and techniques. Get jam ready on fiddle, banjo, mando, guitar, or bass. In the analog we make a big sound. We build the elements needed to play jam ready songs. Kicks, tags, walks, tip offs… we’ll cover all of that. We play follow the leader, just like any tight group does in any playing setting. And, we learn the ways our instruments communicate in a group setting. In person as well as a digital options available.
Tuesdays 7:00pm
Not Strictly Bluegrass
A class for exploring riffs, rhythm, improvisation and beyond on guitar, mandolin, or banjo. All lessons will be built around the practical idea of playing familiar songs together. And- all songs will be presented in a way that makes new ideas and techniques achievable and able to be put into immediate use! Our material? Bluegrass standards, acoustic rock covers, neighboring areas of folk, and the tangential places just past the border of those genres, all explored in a fun social setting.
Tuesdays 8:00pm
Rising Ukulele & Guitar
A mixed ability group exploring the ukulele or guitar’s capabilities. Whether it's some really advanced moves or just a few more chords you're after, this is where you want to be! Playing and learning ukulele or guitar in a large group is equal parts social activity, brain builder, and outlet for creative expression. Maybe you’ve been playing for a bit and you already know that. Come join me to find out what else there is to know on those strings. Available in person or digital.
Wednesdays 9:00am
Morning String Band
Do you know a tune or two but need to build repertoire? Have you been studying on your own but want to learn to play with others? Have you played a different style but now want to branch out? Do you have some of the fundamentals of your instrument, but want to learn to use them in a group setting? Here’s a class for people at the beginning and early intermediate stage of their journey towards playing string band music. Come help us build something together and be a part of a living tradition! Open to fiddle, banjo, guitar, bass, mandolin, ukulele, and other traditional lead instruments.
Wednesdays 10:00am
Clawhammer Banjo
Here’s a class for those who’ve already begun clawhammering, and want to explore possibilities. This class will encourage students to look at common tunes as an opportunity to explore variations and nuance while also adding a few less common pieces as well. We’ll be dropping thumbs, plucking, missing brushes, batting chords, and just generally having all the fun a body can have on four strings plus a drone. Available in person or digital.
Wednesdays 6:30 pm (Mattapoisett)