Interested in Music Lessons?

Fun, private and small group music lessons for all ages and all levels,
taught in our Fernwood studio or in the convenience of your home.

• Learn more
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Why take lessons with us?

• Book a Trial Lesson!

Our School

Established in 2025 in Victoria, we at Sunflower Music School believe that learning and playing music should be a fun, low-pressure, accessible activity. We believe that all humans can make, and benefit, from music, and that every learner is talented and unique in their own way. To foster an inclusive, caring and supportive environment we:

We provide lessons in the following instruments:

Private Lessons

Private music lessons are designed to give learners a dedicated, safe environment to learn music which fits their interests, goals, needs and pacing. We work with each student to construct an individual plan, taking into account existing knowledge and experience, the learner’s goals, needs and restrictions, if any.Private students usually meet with us once a week. The duration of the lessons, depending on the interest of the student, can be either 30 or 60 minutes.Lessons are offered at our Fernwood studio or at the students’ homes.

• Book a Trial Lesson!

Small Group Lessons

Small group lessons are a more affordable, community-oriented way to learn and play music together. Individuals can join existing groups, or sign up with a group of friends. With each group, we strive to bring together individuals who have similar levels, interests and goals, and craft a plan which ensures that learners are engaged and are having fun during their weekly meetings. We do our best to spend the majority of time during each session actively playing and exploring musical concepts.Small group session pricing:

Please inquire about pricing and availability for larger groups

Parents with young children
To meet community demand and increase accessibility, we've created a new, more affordable rate for parents and children who want to learn together. The rates are cheaper than those for a 2-person group. You can register for a parent and child lesson bundle by going to our group registration page

• See list of open groups

Why Take Lessons With Us?

Our core belief is that all humans can benefit from engaging with music and from learning to play a musical instrument. To promote this belief, we are proud to be able to serve several diverse segments of our community.
Below are the main groups that make the majority of our learner, and how we do our best to serve each group.
Not sure whether our lessons are a good fit? Please reach out to us and we'll do our best to help!

Meet Arkady

Arkady has lived in Victoria since 2015. He studied guitar performance at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Music History at the University of Victoria. His favorite Genres include folk, jazz, bluegrass and fingerstyle. He has been teaching in Canada and abroad for about 20 years.Arkady performs as a bassist with Victoria based East European folk band Bucan Bucan and the Horsetail Bandits Trio . Since 2015, he has also performed on bass, guitar and uke-bass with various jazz bands in the Anchorage area, gypsy jazz group Swing49 and the Chad Meyer Trio.Through his new music teaching business, Arkady strives to create a supportive, fun environment for learning which is tailored to students’ needs, knowledge and interests.

Testimonials

Here are some testimonials from past and current students.

Contact us

Please send us an email or give us a call to have a chat to see if Sunflower Music School is right for you!

Stay in touch

If you're interested in learning about upcoming promotions, events, group instruction openings and shows, please join our mailing list!

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Promotions

New Client Promotions

There are no current promotions. Subscribe to our mailing list if you'd like to be notified about future promotions for new learners!

Current Client Promotions

Bring a Friend

Refer a friend and get credit to pay for future lessons. For every friend you refer who signs up for their first month of private lessons, you will receive credit for an hour long lesson.

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Book a Trial Private Lesson

Book a no-commitment trial lesson using the form below.Please select a date, time, duration, your instrument and preferred location.You will be invoiced for the lesson once the booking is confirmed.
Lesson rates can be found here. If there are any promotions or discounts at the moment of booking, they will be applied to the lesson fees.The first lesson is an opportunity for us to get to know each other, and for you to determine whether we are a good fit for you and/or your child.Don't see a time that works for you or have additional questions? - Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page or connect with us via phone, text, email or social media, and we will be happy to help!

Group lessons

Below is the list of groups which are open for registration at the moment. If you are unable to see a group that works you, you can request a group and we will be in touch as soon as we can find a good fit for you.

Fall 2025 small group lesson series at the Oaklands Community Center

Request a group on your own schedule

Can't see a group you're interested in? Fill out the form below to tell us about what you'd like to learn, and we will work on creating a group to match your interests and availability.

• Request to find a group

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to take lessons remotely if I am not in the Victoria, BC area?For learners who are outside of the Victoria area, or those who prefer to learn remotely, we are fully set up to teach lessons remotely, no matter where you may be in the world.If you need support setting up various tools and technology for remote learning (your webcam, microphone or instrument) we are happy to assist as well.Our remote learning services and prices are identical to those for in-person learning.What If I do not have an instrument? Would I be able to take lessons?
We have a selection of instruments to offer to learners who want to start their lessons but do not have an instrument of their own. We will also provide you with tools and information on where and how to rent or purchase an instrument that meets your needs and budget.What kind of prior knowledge do I need to start taking lessons?We welcome all levels of learners, from complete beginners who have never tried to play an instrument to advanced students wanting to improve various aspects of their playing. If you are completely new to music, we would love to have you study with us and help you learn things in a way that suits your pace and interests.

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Music Lessons for Children and Youth

Music lessons provide children and youth with many proven, significant benefits. Some of these include enhanced cognitive skills like improved memory, math, and language abilities, as well as increased focus and patience.In our lessons, we ensure to work with each young learner and their family, adapting our pace, progress and material to their level and interests while providing an encouraging, judgement-free environment.Over time, this helps children and youth build confidence, communicate well, be more engaged in their schoolwork, collaborate more with others, be more socially active etc.Taking music lessons also offers a powerful creative outlet for emotional expression. Music education cultivates teamwork and introduces children and youth to different cultures, contributing to a well-rounded education.In response to community demand, and in an interest to enhance accessibility to our lessons, we invite parents to join their young learners and fully participate in parent-and-child duo lessons. The significantly discounted parent-and-child rate applies to all parents with children at or under 12 years old.

• Book a Trial Lesson!

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Music Lessons for Adult Learners

Whether one picks up an instrument as an adult for the first time, or if they are returning to music study after a prolonged break, we love supporting adults in (re)-engaging with music.We genuinely believe that it is never too late to learn an instrument, and we work with each of our adult learners to help them build confidence, instrumental abilities and repertoire that matches their goals and interests.Our adult students come from all walks of life – Some are new parents who want to play music for, or with their children. Some are adults who have not had the chance to engage with music previously, and are discovering it on their own for the first time. Some others have musical experience in a different genre or instrument, and study with us to learn their instrument of choice, songs that they love and other elements of music that they are interested in.All of our work is tailored to meet each learner where they are, and support them in achieving their goals, whether these are instrumental proficiency, playing with others, building confidence, or just try a new skill and experience joy in music in a low-stress, supportive environment.

• Book a Trial Lesson!

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Music Lessons for Senior Learners

Music education offers seniors substantial cognitive, physical, and emotional benefits, including improved memory and focus, enhanced motor skills and coordination, reduced stress and depression, and a powerful means for social connection and lifelong learning.Engaging with music can stimulate brain plasticity, slow age-related cognitive decline, and provide a therapeutic link to memories and emotions.Learning a new instrument can assist with emotional well-being through relaxation, boost mood and provide comfort. Learning music can be a new, interesting and fascinating journey to undertake.We work with each individual to make sure to meet their needs, goals, and limitations, if any. That means that, in our lessons, while we do learn new skills on the musical instruments (songs, chords etc...), we are not as focused on strict instrumental proficiency – Our guiding principle is to provide our learners with a kind, judgement -free environment to enjoy connecting with an instrument, maybe play with other people, create community, and use music as a means to create a positive and engaging experience.We make sure to adapt our teaching to various challenges which senior learners may experience, such as arthritis (by adjusting our body and hand positions, and providing alternative ways to play various songs), difficulties with vision (by providing larger print materials) and so on.Ultimately, our goal is that our lessons create a way for learners to create community connections through playing with others (if they choose to do so), and to enhance their quality of life through engaging in a fun, enjoyable activity.

• Book a Trial Lesson!

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Music Lessons for Homeschoolers

Music education for homeschoolers offers significant academic and personal benefits, including improved cognitive skills like memory, reasoning, and problem-solving, as well as enhanced language and literacy development. It also fosters crucial emotional growth, building self-confidence, resilience, and a healthy way to express feelings. Socially, music promotes teamwork, collaboration, and cultural awareness.Furthermore, music can boost overall mood, make learning more enjoyable, and provide a valuable avenue for self-expression and creativity within the homeschool curriculum.In our work with homeschoolers, we focus not only on technical, instrumental proficiency, but also on elements around creativity, self-expression, our learners’ interests and their musical goals. Through our lessons we create lesson plans that make sense and support each learner, and strive to create opportunities for homeschoolers to play music with other children and youth of comparable age and abilities.In response to community demand, and in an interest to enhance accessibility to our lessons, we invite parents to join their young learners and fully participate in parent-and-child duo lessons. The significantly discounted parent-and-child rate applies to all parents with children at or under 12 years old.

• Book a Trial Lesson!