Now open · Cromer, Northern Beaches
Learn an instrument or join a band program. For kids and adults.
Welcome to Stairway
Operating inside South Creek Recording Studio in Cromer on Sydney's Northern Beaches, Stairway Music Academy offers private lessons in guitar, bass, drums, piano, keyboard and voice with experienced and nurturing teachers.
There is also a ten-week band program where students are placed in a rock/pop band with like-minded peers, rehearse a set together and finish the term with a live performance and studio recording.
All programs are held inside a world-class recording studio under the direction of a highly experienced teacher. From beginners to advanced, kids to adults, all are warmly welcome to climb the musical stairway.
Programs
Book a single lesson to start, and move between programs as your playing develops.
Private 1:1
Weekly private lessons in guitar, bass, drums, piano, keyboard or voice, taught by an experienced professional one-to-one. Tailored to your level, from beginner through to advanced.
Band Program
A group of like-minded players rehearse a set over a ten-week term. Each session combines focused one-on-one instruction with whole-band rehearsal, so every player develops individually while learning to play as a unit. The term finishes with an in-studio live performance and recording — and for bands who are keen, an original song.
Adult Lessons
Stairway Music is for the child who is half an adult or the adult who is half a child. Adult music lessons in guitar, bass, piano, voice and drums run every day, and evening band sessions run weeknights from 8:00 to 9:30pm. Beginners, returners and experienced players are all welcome.
You will rehearse in an incredible recording space with an expert producer and end the term with an in-studio recorded live performance. Bring your family and friends along to watch.
Pathways also exist to perform at local venues for the adventurous.
Adult Sessions →The Studio
South Creek is a world-class recording studio on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Learning here means sharing the same space and equipment with some of Australia's top artists.
Lessons run with the studio fully set up. Students play through the same amplifiers, sit behind the same drum kit, and sing through the same microphones as the artists who record here. They hear themselves in a proper acoustic environment and that changes everything.
Take a look around →
About our teachers
Stairway Music Academy is the educational side of South Creek Recording Studio, run by brother and sister David and Jane Stanley.
David has been teaching music for over fifteen years. He is also a producer and multi-instrumentalist whose production work has received ARIA awards and national airplay. His arrangements with Matt Fell and Fanny Lumsden won an ARIA award in 2020.
David has worked with artists such as Keith Urban, Powderfinger, Delta Goodrem and many others. He brings that experience directly into the teaching room.
Jane is a string player and arranger who has performed and recorded with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Bruce Springsteen, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, John Farnham, OneRepublic, Kate Miller-Heidke, Harry Connick Jr and Sarah Blasko, among many others.
More teachers joining soon.
More about David and Jane →How it works
Tell us what you want to play and pick a time. There is no commitment — just come in for a single session and see how the room feels.
Private one-on-one lessons or the band program — we will recommend the right fit and slot you into the next term. You can move between programs as your playing develops.
Build your technique across the term. Private students work at their own pace with their teacher. Band students rehearse together and finish with a song recorded live in the studio.
Ready?
Book a lesson and come in for a single session. There is no commitment and no term to sign up to — just come in and check it out.
Book a Lesson →FAQ
