Chris Caton-Greasley
- Oct 24, 2020
- 2 min read

The Personal Touch - That Music Shop in Stalybridge

After a long period of consideration, discussion, debate and deliberation we, at Stalybridge Music Academy, have concluded that it is time to bring Music Corner back from the ashes.

When we ran Music Corner it was as an in-person retailer, trying our best to provide a personal service in an increasingly impersonal world. We were, it is true, nudged firmly out of the ‘ball-park’ by the big boys we turned to tuition to recoup our losses and have been handsomely rewarded, with people growing to appreciate the personal ‘feel’ of our lessons that we have striven to format as the learner requires, combining what they want to learn, what we feel that they need to learn in order to achieve their goals and in a manner that they find suits their individual learning styles.

We have decided, in a small way, to bring Music Corner in from the cold. We will be selling, in person, selected instruments and accessories. We will not be shipping to far off places but will provide an instrument and tuition package for those who wish to learn. This new and exciting project will start small and as it is utilised, so we will allow it to grow.

Initially the instruments that we will be providing will be reviewed by our teachers and tutors to provide honest and interesting opinions on the instrument and package and, initially, they will be beginners instruments. As we develop further we will look at reviewing and stocking all four levels of instrument, from beginner, through elementary, intermediate and to advanced but this, at least now, appears to be a long way in the future.

Our three suppliers that we are opting to work with are Barnes and Mullins, Stentor Music and The Soundpost. These trio have a diverse range of products and competing ranges of bowed stringed instruments.

As our efforts at a stringed ensemble have not amounted to anything due to Covid we will also be selling on the violins that we procured with the intent of setting up the ensemble.

We will not be selling instruments by themselves, only with a 4 or 6-block of lessons., although accessories will, of course, be available albeit in a limited range.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those people, learners, sponsors, friends, family and our staunch supporters in the community for their appreciation, support (mental, emotional and financial) and assistance in keeping us open and in business. Indubitably, without such support we would have folded within a few weeks of the March lockdown.

Please check out out shops on the following links.