At School of Rock The Heights, we don't teach music to put on shows - we put on shows to teach music. Students are assigned songs selected to develop them as musicians, and work on them in private lessons with their instructors, as well as in weekly rehearsals with groups made up of their peers. The season culminates with a performance at our seasonal showcase, where they can show you everything they've been working on throughout the season!
Rookies
Ages 6 - 7 | Mondays 5:30p to 6:30p, Thursdays 5p to 6p or Saturdays 11:45a to 12:45p
At School of Rock The Heights, our music program for children with no previous musical experience (typically ages 6 to 7-years-old) is called Rookies. Rookies students have one weekly group music lesson where they learn fundamentals like chords, rhythm and song structure. Kids get to learn and experiment with multiple instruments so they can later decide which one they ultimately want to continue pursuing in Rock 101.
Rock 101
Ages 8-11 |Monday & Tuesdays 5:15p to 6:45p or Saturdays 11A to 12:30p
From the classics to today, Rock 101 covers it all! This show, perfect for students ages 8-11, will cover the entire rock and roll spectrum. Throughout this season, students on guitar, bass, keyboard, drums and vocals will learn essential skills to start their musical journey, while being inspired by the artists that started rock and roll, and every artist and band that has made it the awesome genre it is today!
Modern Metal
ages 12-17 | rehearses tuesdays, 6p to 8p
The Modern Metal show traces the evolution of metal music from the turn of the century to the present day, and focuses on bands who kept the virtuosic spirit of metal alive while incorporating more contemporary techniques into their sound, such as an emphasis on melody and harmony, and modern studio production. Artists such as Disturbed and Slipknot rose to prominence with the popularity of Nu-Metal, while Metalcore bands such as Killswitch Engage and The Dillinger Escape Plan brought the genre into the 2010s. The Modern Metal show will celebrate this next generation of metal artists - including Avenged Sevenfold, Tool, Baroness, Gojira, System of a Down, Lamb of God, Mastodon, and more!
Pop punk & Emo
ages 12-17 | rehearses thursdays, 6p to 8p
In the 1990s, artists such as Green Day, Offspring, and Blink-182 achieved success by blending punk attitudes and influences with a more polished, melodic, commercially appealing sound than their often raw predecessors. By the 2000s, Pop Punk and its Emo offshoot (featuring lyrics that touch on emotional and confessional topics) were fully entrenched in the mainstream music world, with bands such as Fall Out Boy, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! At the Disco topping the charts and selling out arenas. Of course, this music is still incredibly popular and influential today. A fun show that can be musically challenging but also teaches solid fundamental skills, Pop Punk & Emo is sure to appeal to all levels of students and will entertain any crowd!
Rock N' Grohl
ages 12-17 | rehearses fridays, 6:15p to 8:15p
Rock 'n' Grohl (aka The Dave Grohl Show) is a killer show that covers quite a lot of musical ground on all instruments, featuring Grohl’s work with Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Queens Of The Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Probot, and more. This music is centered in the Hard Rock aesthetic but ranges from Grunge to Punk to Metal to Prog. Best known for his work in Foo Fighters and Nirvana, Dave Grohl is unanimously admired throughout the entertainment industry and continues to be a force to be reckoned with in the modern music scene. The Rock ‘n’ Grohl show is ideal for guitarists of every experience level, in that it encompasses a wide range of skills and techniques - from Nirvana’s rhythmic yet aggressive strumming to the Foo Fighters’ melodic and driving octaves to Queens of The Stone Age’s heavy but quirky leads and solos. Dave Grohl is especially well-known for his prowess behind the kit throughout his career, making this show a favorite for drummers. For vocalists, Foo Fighters songs provide great examples of the belting and chest voice techniques, and intermediate vocalists will be challenged by frequent dynamic changes and two-part harmonies.
Note about song casting
We strive for well-balanced shows where all of our students are challenged and get equal opportunity for parts. Please understand that factors such as attendance at rehearsals, behavior at rehearsals, and musical preparation for rehearsals can affect the number of songs a student is assigned. The School of Rock method is merit based. While a show’s first casting is as equitable as possible, in subsequent castings we reward commitment, hard work, and steady improvement.
We know many students have talents beyond the instruments they study at School of Rock. We do our best to encourage (and show off) all of our students’ abilities! However, students who take lessons on an instrument at School of Rock get priority casting on that instrument in shows. Students are guaranteed to be assigned parts only on instruments they are actively taking lessons on at SoR. Depending on the makeup of the show’s cast, we may not be able to accommodate students who wish to perform on an instrument (including vocals) that they do not study at SoR. If your student is interested in studying an additional instrument, please reach out to us to discuss options.
