Children receive weekly private lessons: 30/45/60 minutes, one-on-one with an adult—a rare opportunity for many students. The teacher gets to know the student intimately, and notices strengths and weakness in areas of focus, reading left to right, processing instructions, motor skills, etc. This motivates students to practice at home and make progress each week. Because the teacher has the time to help the student find a healthy physical set-up and learn skills at his or her own pace, the student develops a productive approach from the first moment.

Four students meet with a coach from the Boston Public Quartet and learn to look each other in the eye, communicate through words and music, and become effective leaders while also practicing interdependence. Through improvisation exercises, they explore musical possibilities within creative limitations. They also play music that is written and arranged just for them, some of which reflects their cultural heritage. Students learn to work with one another despite many differences in age, grade, gender, learning differences, family economics, cultural heritage, language barriers, and other factors.

This activity helps build a full, festive community of involved musicians and learners. Students sit and sing together, improvise melodies, learn music reading and rhythm skills, and listen to the Boston Public Quartet, the resident musicians, play Mozart, Brahms, and Stevie Wonder.  There are three music circle rules: There is no such thing as a mistake when you are sharing, offer silence when others are sharing and applause when they are done, and never criticize a friend.