Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Idol Generation

Founded in 2004 as an internet-based operation, TakeLessons has grown from 6 local employees (all still with the company) to over 40 staffers working in customer support, student sales, teacher-hiring, marketing, software development, and operations. Headquartered downtown on Fourth Avenue, with certified music and voice instructors in cities nationwide, the firm has announced a new partnership with Learning Care Group, the second largest for-profit early-education and child-care provider in North America.

“TakeLessons instructors will be offering music lessons to children aged 5 to 12 at select schools within the Learning Care Group umbrella of brands,” says founder and CEO Steven Cox, “including Children’s Courtyard, Childtime Learning Centers, La Petite Academy, and Tutor Time Child Care and Learning Centers.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cox credits music video games with sparking a resurgence in young people wanting to become actual musicians, despite those who feel the games lack fundamental music instruction. “We’re in a new era that I’ve deemed ‘The Idol Generation.’ Millions of people watch reality shows each week with the dream that maybe they could learn to sing as well. Meanwhile, computer software and music creation is converging in the forms of home studios and DJ production. All of this is feeding a new social standard for creativity. It’s building a new generation of artists not bound by genre, instrument, or idea. The sound and tools may be different, but the underlying social fabric is the same as it’s always been — self-expression and communication.”

His stance is that Christmas is a great time to get guitars into the hands of kids, even if it’s a plastic one designed for video-gaming. “Music video games introduce non-musicians to try their hand with rhythm and pitch. It’s not a replacement for traditional artistry, but it helps enhance the curious creative spark that’s already there.

“If I owned a chain of music stores today, I’d have community Rock Band and Guitar Hero tournaments in the store every week. This gives people who may never pick up a guitar a chance to explore their inner musician.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village

Founded in 2004 as an internet-based operation, TakeLessons has grown from 6 local employees (all still with the company) to over 40 staffers working in customer support, student sales, teacher-hiring, marketing, software development, and operations. Headquartered downtown on Fourth Avenue, with certified music and voice instructors in cities nationwide, the firm has announced a new partnership with Learning Care Group, the second largest for-profit early-education and child-care provider in North America.

“TakeLessons instructors will be offering music lessons to children aged 5 to 12 at select schools within the Learning Care Group umbrella of brands,” says founder and CEO Steven Cox, “including Children’s Courtyard, Childtime Learning Centers, La Petite Academy, and Tutor Time Child Care and Learning Centers.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cox credits music video games with sparking a resurgence in young people wanting to become actual musicians, despite those who feel the games lack fundamental music instruction. “We’re in a new era that I’ve deemed ‘The Idol Generation.’ Millions of people watch reality shows each week with the dream that maybe they could learn to sing as well. Meanwhile, computer software and music creation is converging in the forms of home studios and DJ production. All of this is feeding a new social standard for creativity. It’s building a new generation of artists not bound by genre, instrument, or idea. The sound and tools may be different, but the underlying social fabric is the same as it’s always been — self-expression and communication.”

His stance is that Christmas is a great time to get guitars into the hands of kids, even if it’s a plastic one designed for video-gaming. “Music video games introduce non-musicians to try their hand with rhythm and pitch. It’s not a replacement for traditional artistry, but it helps enhance the curious creative spark that’s already there.

“If I owned a chain of music stores today, I’d have community Rock Band and Guitar Hero tournaments in the store every week. This gives people who may never pick up a guitar a chance to explore their inner musician.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III

Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Next Article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader