Music education in the 20th and 21st centuries, for the most part, is based on old Victorian-era concepts of rote learning; at its core, it promotes mimicking and memorizing other people’s performances, often of classical music, as both the means of learning as well as its end goal.

And while the most talented amongst us still managed an enjoyable musical life after years in these conservatory-style systems, most people start, dislike it, and quit without ever realizing that it wasn’t them that was the problem in the first place.

We believe we’ve solved the problem. Not only has that fuelled our success, but more importantly, it has led to over 50,000 students of all ages acquiring musical skills that are useful, transferrable, and permanent.

The Merriam School of Music was founded by Alan Merriam in 1988. Following his early success in the piano industry as a sales manager at Toronto’s Steinway franchise and before that in Ottawa, he opened his first location on April 1st and quickly grew the school.

Merriam and his team of respected Canadian pedagogists and musicians, including Tony Mergel, a former director of the ground-breaking Humber College Jazz School. They focused on the creation of a proprietary group-based curriculum that built upon the proven concepts of Orff, Kodaly, Suzuki, and, more recently, the work of Dr. Robert Pace of Columbia University. His research revealed an accelerated adoption of musical concepts and fluency when social dynamics between peers were carefully managed and woven into the teaching environment.

Keyfest was the resulting curriculum, which introduced virtually all high-level aspects of musical fluency to children as young as 4, including modes, harmony, theory, rhythm, ensemble playing, memory, ear training, sight reading, and foundational music technology concepts like MIDI.

The school grew quickly through the early 1990s, largely due to the popularity of the Keyfest group piano programs and the use of Roland MIDI modules in the teaching environment.

By 1997 the school was in need of a new, larger home. Merriam conceived of a mega-school expansion that, if built, would have resulted in North America’s largest community music education facility, with nearly 14,000 sq ft of instruction space and 5000 sq ft of retail showrooms. With funding from the Business Development Bank of Canada, Alan and his personal network of investors, the school broke ground at 2359 Bristol Circle in Oakville, ON, completing their present-day headquarters by 1998.

The school continued to expand through the early 2000s, adding an additional 10+ classrooms and more administrative space at 2381 Bristol Circle. In 2009 a third campus was added in Vaughan, ON, providing for a second piano showroom and a 500+ student school location.

In 2013 the school introduced several additional innovations such as Video Logs (which now include live streaming and capture of all student performances throughout the school year), an ‘MTV-style performance stage with full theatre lighting and sound systems, and an in-house recording studio and productions department.

Merriam opened its fourth campus in 2020 above the famed showrooms of Robert Lowrey in Toronto, Canada, the same year that Merriam High School was launched, an online/in-person private High School offering musical arts credits to Ontario students.

Merriam School of Music presently delivers over 3000 lessons per week across our four campuses. We employ over 120 teachers, and with few exceptions, they are long-term employees with an average tenure of 4.5 years.

Our focus continues to be finding new and innovative ways to bring music into people’s lives, focusing on holistic experiences that teach the language of music in a lasting way.

The problem with typical music instruction is that it’s restricted to highly rehearsed repetition and devoid of any meaningful comprehension; most students lose interest quickly and see little value in continuing.

We all know someone who was forced to take piano lessons for ‘x’ years and hasn’t touched their instrument since – despite having spent hundreds or thousands of hours in front of a musical instrument.

By introducing the language of music from the very beginning and weaving it and the act of music making into everyday life, music becomes for the student what it has always been throughout history: an aural mode of communication and creativity. And that’s before the cognitive, social, and self-confidence benefits are added on top.

• Weekly Lessons Taught: 3000+
• Campuses: Oakville South, Oakville North, Vaughan, Toronto
• Teachers: 120+
• Number of Pianos in the School: 103
• Major Instruments Taught: Piano, Vocal, Drums, Guitar, Bass, Saxophone, Violin, Flute
• Departments: Private Instruction, Enriched Department (Piano/Vocal), Contemporary Music Department (Rock Band / Songwriting / Production), Group Piano (flagship program, ages 4+), Preschool, Merriam Highschool
• Extracurriculars Offered: Summer Camps, Choir, Open Mic nights, Jam Nights, multiple Concert Series, Music Festival, Keyfest Exams, Monthly Sign-up Recitals

Oakville: Studio A (100-seat multimedia stage with 4k recording), Studio B (In-house recording studio), Studio C (lecture hall/preschool music facility),

Vaughan / Toronto: Video Logs, Music Festival, Monthly Recitals, brand-new premium pianos in all classrooms, including grands, flex lessons for all students (seamless transition between in person or online as needs require)