This approach may sound like a terrifying “sink or swim” method to the uninitiated, but Qian said that it’s actually far more effective in many respects than traditional music school techniques. They have to function right away in a group, before they can hardly play a single note.”
“For example, instead of teaching the classical way-with private, one-on-one lessons and then sending the kid home to practice by themselves-we teach them some basic skills and then immediately put them in with a band with a drummer, guitarist, singer and everything. We want to teach the music that they’re really interested in,” he said. “We really want to be able to connect to the students.
#ISCHOOL OF MUSIC SYOSSET NY HOW TO#
However, while the instruments may seem familiar, Qian said the teaching techniques used to get students to learn how to play them are a little more off the beaten path. ISchool teaches all musical instruments except for brass, with the main focus being on piano, guitar, drums and some string instruments such as the violin and cello, all taught by certified professionals in the field. In addition to teaching music, iSchool also holds art classes, where they instruct students in cartooning, painting and photography. In 2005, the two started their first iSchool-the “i” standing for “inspiration,”-in Port Washington, followed by a second location in Syosset in 2008, and finally a third in Rockville Centre. “We had gone to college together-we were both drummers-and we wanted to open a music school, but something interesting…something for the kids, but not a regular school.” “At that time, Ken was living in Texas,” he said.
When he moved back to Long Island, Qian reached out to him about developing a business venture that would encompass their mutual love of performing and teaching music.
Throughout the years, Qian had kept in touch with a college friend named Ken Benshish. Then in 2005 I moved back to Long Island.” “I eventually earned a Master’s Degree and then went to Indianapolis where I taught for four years. “I was a percussionist and soloist, and participated in a lot of competitions and recitals,” he said. Yi Qian, owner and director of Syosset’s iSchool of Music and Art, born in China but currently residing in Roslyn Heights, said the study and love of music has been a constant aspect of his life for as long as he can remember. Yi Qian of Syosset’s iSchool (Photos by Chris Boyle)
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