Institute for Music and Health

The Institute for Music & Health offers instruction to individuals, families, and groups. We work with all ages and levels – from beginner to professional.

children
adults
individuals with disabilities

• Piano
• Singing
• Woodwinds

The Diamond Method for Music aims to enhance creativity, develop technical skill and musicianship, while at the same time nurturing the student’s love of music. The Method is suitable for everyone. In our current roster of students, we have everyone from child beginners, to adults with disabilities, to professional musicians looking to broaden their approach.
Learn more about the Diamond Method for Music »

How is Our Approach Different?

Our approach has evolved from many years of teaching and experimentation.  Our students have included the entire range of human potential: from beginners to professionals, from toddlers to centanarians, from individuals with serious disabilities to university professors.  From the gamut of this experience we have synthesized a method with universal applicability that, while principally inspired by the work of John Diamond, M.D., is also informed by many of the great music pedagogues of the past, including Shinichi Suzuki, Theodor Leschetizky, Frederic Chopin, Friedrich Wieck, and Abby Whiteside, among many others.

While we respect the need for technical proficiency, we believe that this is is most effectively achieved when developed in conjunction with the aural and creative sides of music-making. So along with conventional learning, we encourage our students to sing–essential for developing musical ear–and to improvise. These three aspects–technical, aural, and creative–work together to produce an integrated approach that encourages constant engagement and maximizes achievement.

The fact that many of our students include professional musicians who wish to take their creativity and musicianship to new heights is a powerful endorsement for our work. We individualize our approach to the different needs, tastes and abilities of every student and through our stylistic flexibility (everything from classical to jazz, popular, and folk), we aim to bring out the best in everyone.