Skip to content

Music tuition and instruments

Arranging tuition for your child

To organise tuition for your child, first please speak to the headteacher or music co-ordinator of your school (head of music in a secondary school) to see what is available.

Outside of school hours, instrument tuition is available through the four Area Music Centres located across Warwickshire. Please contact your area music centre manager for more information.

All music centres and most schools can help families with financial hardship to pay for instrumental tuition.

Instruments available

We provide teachers with over 30 different types of instruments including:

  • Violin
  • Electric guitar
  • Flute
  • Bassoon
  • French horn
  • Tuba
  • Steel pans
  • Cello
  • Bass guitar
  • Clarinet
  • Recorder
  • Tenor horn
  • Percussion
  • Harmonium
  • Double bass
  • Drum kit
  • Oboe
  • Trumpet
  • Sitar
  • Viol (treble, tenor and bass)
  • Trombone
  • Classical guitar
  • Keyboard
  • Saxophone
  • Cornet
  • Tabla
 

Instrument and sheet music - loan, hire and purchasing

Leaflet - musical instrument loan, hire and purchase (pdf, 349Kb)

Instrument loan

If your child is being taught by a CMS teacher through school or music centre, instruments are available free of charge for the first year of tuition, subject to availability.

Hiring an instrument

You cannot buy an instrument through the County Music Service, but you may be able to hire an instrument for the second / third year, subject to availability. CMS would encourage pupils to obtain their own instrument as soon as possible as this always creates a greater sense of commitment. For more information, please contact us.

VAT free scheme

If a school sells musical instruments to its own pupils, no VAT is due if the following conditions are met:

  • the sale is made in class to its own local authority pupils;
  • the musical instrument is sold at or below the cost to the school;
  • the musical instrument is closely related to the education being provided as part of the normal school curriculum;
  • the musical instrument is required for regular classroom use.

Assisted purchase scheme - more information (pdf, 6Kb)

Buying an instrument or sheet music

Information - Music Retailers in Warwickshire and beyond (pdf, 26Kb)

Information - Music Publishers (pdf, 25Kb)

Yellow Pages - instruments and sheet music retailers in Warwickshire

Instrument insurance

The County Youth Music Association is an agent for the British Reserve Insurance Company which provide comprehensive insurance for all instruments. Please contact us for more information.

Alternatively, contact your home insurance company to see if it is possible to add it to your policy. They will need details of the instrument, including make and serial number, as well as the address of the owner of the instrument (Warwickshire County Music Service, Saltisford Office Park, Ansell Way, Warwick, CV34 4UL).

Piano tuners

Please check out the list of piano tuners in our Information - repairers and piano tuners (pdf 22Kb).

Yellow Pages - piano tuners in Warwickshire

Exams

If you require an accompanist for an exam, please contact the Head of Music or Music Co-ordinator at your school, who should be able to help you. Your child's teacher may also have some suggestions for people to contact.

Our teachers are not required to prepare their pupils for external examinations. We have a comprehensive internal awards system of our own.

Where our teachers are able to prepare pupils for external examinations, it is the responsibility of the parent - not the teacher - to arrange all aspects of the exam.

Information - Examination Boards

Orchestras and groups

In addition to the many groups provided by schools, music groups and orchestras are available at our music centres, as well as our County groups as follows:

Please see individual centres and groups for costs, times and events.

Events

Events listings - details of events, concerts and recitals

Children's University

CMS is a recognised partner of the Children's University. Pupils attending music centre group activities will be eligible for awards issued by the University.