Meet Giles Farnaby Music School in Burton upon Trent

A piano school that grew up

If you live around Burton upon Trent and your child wants to learn an instrument, you now have a new local school to look at. Giles Farnaby Music School is opening at Tudor House on Horninglow Street, and we are delighted to be working with them.

We have known the school’s founder, Monika Walo, for a while now. We have watched her put in a huge amount of care to get this right, so we thought you would like to hear about it from us.

The school began life as Giles Farnaby Piano School back in 2018. Monika is a certified Roskell Academy teacher and trainer, and she has studied with the concert pianist Prof. Grzegorz Niemczuk. Her deputy, Paul, trained at Birmingham Conservatoire and is also a composer.

Over the years it has grown into a full music school. Along with piano, children and adults can learn guitar, drums, singing, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, saxophone and a long list of brass instruments. More are on the way.

What parents tend to like

Lessons are one-to-one, once a week. Complete beginners are welcome, and so are people coming back to music after many years away.

Exams are available, but nobody has to take them. If your child just wants to enjoy playing, that is perfectly fine. If they would like to work towards graded exams, the teachers can help with that too.

Children can also play the music they actually love, whether that is classical, pop, rock, film themes or game music. That matters more than many parents realise. A child who enjoys practising will usually keep going for longer.

Where to find them

The school is at 186 Horninglow Street, Burton upon Trent, DE14 1NG. There is free parking at Anson Court, just behind the building. You can find out more and send an enquiry at gilesfarnaby.co.uk, or call, text or WhatsApp 07886 108661.

Why we are working together

Good teaching and good pianos go hand in hand. A teacher can only do so much if the piano in the room is out of tune or hard to play. We have been helping Monika choose and supply Yamaha pianos for the new building, so that students have decent instruments to learn on from their very first lesson.

If you are thinking about lessons, we would suggest popping in, meeting the teachers and letting your child sit at the piano. You will learn more in twenty minutes than from any website.

And if lessons go well and you start thinking about a piano for home, you are very welcome to visit our showrooms in Manchester and London, or ask us for advice at any stage. We will always tell you honestly what we think, even if that means saying you do not need to spend much at all.

Mark Goodwin Pianos has been helping families find the right piano since 2002.