Residents have a final opportunity to confirm they are eligible for the discount before increased bills are issued. If you are in receipt of a letter, please complete the review online or by using the enclosed form.
When it is not possible to have a lesson at school/college, young people living in the borough can enrol for music lessons with Dudley Performing Arts at just £12.50 for a 20 minute individual lesson.
The lessons will take place at Resonance, our base on the Waterfront in Brierley Hill. When appropriate, some lessons can take place online if there is a specific night that you can't make the journey and we will try to find the best time for lessons to take place after we have received your application. In the event that we are unable to find a time that works for you we will provide a full refund.
Certain instruments are available to hire at £10 per term with the first term free for new starters.
Current Availability to start in January:
Keyboard: some availability on Monday evenings from 4pm
Drums: options on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 4pm
All brass instruments: Monday and Tuesdays evenings (various times available)
Violin: Wednesday 3.45pm to 4.15pm and 4.40pm to 5.20pm
Cello: Wednesday (various times available)
Piano: (limited availability on Wednesdays)
Guitar: Tuesday, availability from 4pm
Woodwind: Mondays from 4pm, Thursday from 5.30pm
We will update this page as lesson availability changes
The offer is open to students who are not able to have lessons in school and includes:
Clarinet (i)
Flute (i)
Trumpet/Cornet (i)
Trombone (i)
Tenor Horn (i)
Violin (i)
Viola (i)
Cello (i)
Guitar (acoustic/electric)
Bass Guitar
Keyboard/Piano
Drum Kit
Voice
Where instruments are marked (i) DPA can provide an instrument at £10 per term (first term free for new starters)
To get started, please enrol your child. Please read the notes carefully as this explains more about the process.
‘Sign in’ and enter your email address and password
‘Enrol for an Activity’
‘Music Lessons at Resonance’ and select ‘Lessons at Resonance’ and press ‘Next’
Select the instrument in the drop down menu and the cost will be displayed. Press ‘Next’
Complete the student details. Note – Date of Birth format is DD/MM/YYYY and press ‘Next’
Complete the Parent/Guardian details and press ‘Next’
Payment press ‘Next’
Complete the Privacy options and press ‘Next’
Check the details and agree to the Terms and Conditions and press ‘Enrol’
Please complete the payment details.
You will receive an email confirming your enrolment has been successful. Dudley Performing Arts will contact you by email to arrange the music lessons at a later date.
Enter your email address and press ‘send verification code’
A verification code will be emailed to you. Please leave the Schooble page open whilst you retrieve the code. Enter the verification code and press ‘Verify code’
Enter a password. This needs to be between 8 and 64 characters and must have at least 3 of the following:
a lowercase letter
an uppercase letter
a digit
a symbol
Enter your First name and Surname and press ‘Create’
Enter your mobile number and press ‘Send Code’
A code will be sent to your mobile. Enter the code and press ‘Verify Code’
‘Enrol for an Activity’
‘Music Lessons at Resonance’ and select ‘ Lessons at Resonance’ and press ‘Next’
Select the instrument in the drop down menu and the cost will be displayed. Press ‘Next’
Complete the student details. Note – Date of Birth format is DD/MM/YYYY and press ‘Next’
Complete the Parent/Guardian details and press ‘Next’
Payment press ‘Next’
Complete the Privacy options and press ‘Next’
Check the details and agree to the Terms and Conditions and press ‘Enrol’
Please complete the payment details.
You will receive an email confirming your enrolment has been successful. Dudley Performing Arts will contact you by email to arrange the music lessons at a later date.
You will be contacted by one of our teachers from a secure work email ending in either @dudley.gov.uk or @dpa.dgfl.org and this will include all the information you need. In most cases this will be the teacher you know contacting you. These are the only two email addresses we will use regarding online lessons. Communication about these lessons will only take place by email so please only ring the office in an emergency.
Note: Contact about these lessons must be between our teacher and a parent or responsible adult. Our staff will not correspond with children’s email addresses.
Our teacher will ask you about your preferences for how the lessons take place and we will do every thing we can to make your preferences work. This will include the option of face to face lessons at our base at the Waterfront or online lessons in your home should Covid measures return.
If it becomes necessary to teach online the teacher will be at home, dressed professionally and will conduct the lesson as if they were in the same room at school. We need you to ensure that the lesson in your home takes place in a suitable room, that children are dressed appropriately and ensure that siblings or others do not wander into view.
A responsible adult must be present at the start of the lesson and remain in proximity throughout. Ideally, we would like this person to remain in the room to help children with practice or work for next week.
The session must not be recorded or shared by either teacher, parent or student.
The session will end if our teacher feels that any of the above is not in place or if they feel that anything is not as it should be. If this happens they will email you and the Head of Dudley Performing Arts.
Face to Face at Resonance, Cable Plaza, Waterfront West, Brierley Hill, DY5 1LW
The lesson will take place in a purpose built rehearsal room. Parents can wait in the cafe area where a drinks machine is available. Parking is free at Resonance but please avoid parking next to any moored narrow boats.
Online Lessons
As a minimum, you will need a smart phone and have either the Zoom or Teams app downloaded (we will tell you which). Please experiment with these apps and see which works best for you. The lesson will work better on the highest quality equipment you have. A tablet will probably work better than a smart phone and a laptop probably will work better than both. However, you know what works best in your house, please decide accordingly.
The lesson may work better if the student wears earphones and you might experiment with this (including one earphone on, one off etc).
Background noise can be a major problem during online tuition, especially in a music lesson. Try and find a quiet place in the house. NB – if this is a bedroom the responsible adult must be visible at all times.
Find somewhere stable for the phone, tablet or PC and be prepared to experiment. The teacher may ask you to move the device to get a clearer picture of how the student is playing the instrument from time to time. You may also need to think about lighting in the room. For example, a bright light behind the student’s head will make it hard to see what is happening.
Make sure that any books, printed music or backing tracks etc that may be needed are ready before the lesson starts.
A fee is payable in advance as you enrol for a term of lessons. For subsequent periods you will receive an invoice before the start of the term. The fee is based on the number of lessons in the term and for 2021/2022 is as follows:
Different rates apply for autumn half term starters based on the number of weeks available
Autumn term 2021, 13 lessons, £162.50 Spring Term 2022, 11 lessons, £137.50 (7 lessons remaining, £87.50 if enrolling now) Summer Term 2022, 12 lessons, £150
Different rates apply for autumn half term starters based on the number of weeks remaining.
A full refund will be made in the event that DPA are not able to provide a tutor. Where lessons are missed at the fault of DPA a refund will be provided for the cost of that specific lesson or a credit offered for future provision. Lessons missed due to the fault of the student will not be refunded/credited.
DPA will provide at £10 a term the following instruments if required: (subject to availability, first term free for new starters)
Flute
Clarinet
Trumpet/Cornet
Trombone
Tenor Horn
Violin
Viola
Cello
Oboe
Bassoon
Instruments are loaned free of charge for the first term and are to be returned immediately should tuition stop. Parents will be required to sign a guardian agreement before any instruments can be handed over. After you have registered we will contact you to find out if one of these instruments is required.
Parents are responsible for repairs caused by negligence and for replacing any loss.
Our teaching follows a set calendar that follows school term times that can be seen in thelesson calendar
After you have enrolled we will confirm with you the time and date of your lesson. Please specify in the "Any additional relevant information" box during enrolment if you have a preferred lesson day/time. Alternatively please email dpa.cs@dudley.gov.uk and tell us the name of the students with your preferred lesson day and time.
Lessons will take place between 5 pm and 8pm Monday to Thursday.
Lessons will commence at the beginning of each term as defined in the teaching calendar ondudley.gov.uk/dpa
Applications received after the published closing date will be rolled over to the following term/start date.
The spirit of the agreement is for a year of tuition split into 3 periods based on school terms. It is not possible to cancel tuition once the service has begun.
Where applicable, the length of a group lesson is 20 minutes for 2/3 students. The lesson length will be extended to 25 minutes (4 students) and in the event of a suitable group not being available an individual 15-minute lesson will be given.
The length of individual tuition is agreed during enrolment.
Fees for all tuition and instrument provision are payable in advance each term and are non returnable. When the expected number of lessons are not completed due to the fault of DPA parents will be refunded or credited for future invoices. Pupils absence for any reasons will not qualify for refunds.
After initial application parents will be invoiced termly in advance of the following term. Failure to pay by the given deadline could result in a disruption to tuition and if there is no indication on intent to pay lessons will be cancelled.
No guarantee can be given as to the condition of DPA instruments, but every effort will be made to ensure that they are in a condition which allows the student to progress. Where applied, the charge for maintenance covers normal wear and tear, but not the cost of replacement strings, rosin, reeds, valve oil or cleaning. In the event of wilful damage and/or negligence, parents will be responsible for the cost of replacement of repair. Insurance against damage and/or loss is the responsibility of parents. The Head of DPA will have the final decision as to who receives a DPA instrument. The period of the loan for flutes, clarinets, cornets and trumpets is limited to 2 years. At the discretion of DPA this may be extended.
