Blackpool Music School

Blackpool Music School is a small, charity run school, with a big passion for music.

We have another exciting project in the pipeline for summer 2018.  The over 55s’ ‘Well Being Course’ will run for 3 to 12 months, (subject to funding).  It will offer therapy through music, a chance to learn an instrument, and most of all a chance to meet new people and have fun.

The instruments on offer are guitar, ukulele, keyboard, drums and group singing, depending on availability.

No experience is necessary. This course will run on various days at set times, to be confirmed. We really hope that those of you who are young at heart will come and join us.

If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 01253 695398 or via email – info@blackpoolmusicacademy.co.uk. If you do get in touch please say that you saw it on Live Blackpool.

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Blackpool Music Academy Reopens

Published 29.8.14

A music school set up thanks to help from Blackpool Council and a bunch of heart-warming volunteers is set to open its doors to everybody this weekend.

The Blackpool Music Academy on Waterloo Road will host a special open day, to celebrate the community donations that helped it to open.

The academy, which provides music tuition to children of all ages and abilities in Blackpool, has moved from its old location at Springfield Methodist Church to a brand new building in Marton.

Without the funds to kit out the new building, academy founder John Shaw began asking local builders merchants, labourers and local community organisations to help out.

In total, a massive forty-eight businesses waived a fee for their work and helped out furnishing the new building to make it ready for use. As well as help from local businesses, the academy was also able to benefit from community grants totalling up to £45,000, which included help from nearby Cherry Tree and Revoe Area Forums.

Now, a special plaque to thank each and every business who helped create the store is set to be unveiled.

It comes as the music academy holds a special family open day at the site.

Along with the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Blackpool, a number of the volunteers who worked on the scheme will also be in attendance to see the revealing of the special plaque.

The open day will take place at the academy on Waterloo Road from 10am, with the plaque being unveiled at 11.30am.

A number of family friendly activities such as a bouncy castle, face painting and a special raffle will also be going on throughout the day.

Deputy Mayor of Blackpool, Cllr Chris Ryan, said: “This is a fantastic example of Blackpool’s community spirit.

“I’m delighted that John and the rest of the music academy have been able to access community grants, including from Blackpool Council, as well as getting help from local companies to expand their business and provide a service for lots of enthusiastic music lovers.

“It’s a great example of what can be done when we all work together.”

For the founder of the academy, getting the school up and running was a personal achievement of his own.

John Shaw was told that he wouldn’t be able to walk again due to problems with his spine in 2002. As a result, John decided to take up music to overcome the setback of his disability, before branching out to creating a school to provide more opportunities for people with disabilities across the town.

His academy relocated from its original premises in Springfield Methodist Church in 2012, but needed helped from local businesses and community grants until it was able to open properly.

The BMA now offers music tuition to anybody aged eight or older, including a variety of different music instruments, including keyboards, saxophones, drums, banjos, singing lessons, music theory, guitar and many more.

To find out if your project could apply for Area Forum funding, call 01253 477034.

To find out more about the music academy, visit http://blackpoolmusicacademy.weebly.com/

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Blackpool Music Academy provides low cost music tuition to all kinds of people who might not otherwise be able to access, or afford the delights of being able to learn to play an instrument.

For many years, the Adult Education Centre at Carr Head Lane in leafy Poulton-Le-Fylde was host to musical keyboard tuition. In the authority’s wisdom, they decided that all courses should include examinations and many students in a variety of subjects felt that the pressure was put on what had been previously a “leisure” subject. When the keyboard classes eventually closed in 2004 John Shaw and his 40 fellow students plus their tutor Jim Lomas were determined that they should not be deprived of their hobby and that their learning activities should continue and John shaw formed a committee to discuss the possibilities of forming their own music school.

The original committee was set up in and soon managed to secure funding from the Lottery “Awards For All” and various other sources both local and further afield. A home was found at the Springfield Methodist Church in Bispham (North shore), Blackpool. Several spacious rooms adjoining the church meant that large classes could be accommodated and the first keyboard classes started in January 2006.

The classes began with 22 students and two keyboard tutors – Stephen Austin (a name familiar in the organ world as a performer and first class teacher) and Jim Lomas, a professional musician and teacher of many years experience.

And now in 2011, Blackpool Music Academy has grown from strength to strength and funding from such as the Liverpool Foundation as enabled BMA to widen its facilities to include not only group tuition for keyboard, guitar and Music Theory but also 1-2-1 tuition for piano, organ, percussion, vocal training, and other instruments whether at the Springfield Church location or in the pupils’ own home during most days of the week. A team of qualified and experienced teachers are available for beginners, intermediate and advanced students whether children or adults.

Blackpool Music Academy became a community interest company in February 2007 then in September 2007 BMA was linked to the charity “Blackpool Music School”.

Recently, examinations have been introduced, but this time the students can choose to study for these or not. For guitar and percussion the “Rock School” syllabus is used and for keyboard, piano and organ students, either the ABRSM or ICMA syllabus is favoured. The range and style of music covered around the various classes is amazing – from Bach to Beatles, from George Gershwin to Lady Ga-Ga!!

The academy has achieved 100% pass rate in all examinations taken and is very proud of this. The academy is the only music school to cover all ages from 8 to 80+ under one roof. Since January 2010 it has started to do outreach work with the mind organization in Blackpool and recently has moved into helping care homes with activities learning the keyboard music. It has also secured the use of the Centre for Independent Living on Mondays and shortly Thursdays helping the deprived and disabled in music therapy vocal guitar keyboard.

The Academy this year 2011 is about to invest in its own music centre with a three hundred thousand pounds investment. It has secured a mortgage through The Social Enterprise Loan Fund for the building, CSL furniture has donated a car park for a 2 year period for 30 cars. This has been placed in the south shore area at the end of Waterloo Road of Blackpool, accommodating facilities such as using the building for all types of music tuition, a charity music shop, coffee shop and a full recording sound proof studio, also having other uses as a community centre etc.

The academy has 100 students 9 tutors all with special quality’s in teaching. Students are always assured of a warm welcome.

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