The Black Tree School

The Black Tree School is Chris Murphy and there is no better way to become the musician you want to be than through his training. I met Chris through a friend well into my 3^rd year of banjo lessons elsewhere and still hadn’t been taught the core basics of music and music theory that I knew I needed to know to play well, understand how music is structured and play in a group with others (all my goal!). Into my life walks Chris and everything changed. He and his Black Tree School are the very best blend of classical music training infused with a Zen approach of life’s relationship to music. Chris is both demanding and supportive, existential and traditional in every positive way possible and I have found myself challenged, inspired and spent after each lesson. If you have the will to double down and get serious, The Black Tree School is the right place to go. You’ll walk away a more serious musician and likely a wiser person overall.

The Black Tree School is not your typical music school. Chris Murphy, the owner, is quite amazing at his craft, he encourages you to find your artist/​music niché. Not only will he open your mind to new thoughts on music and help you find your sound, he will help you define it! He has inspired me musically… and in other artistic ways. He found out I loved to cook and encouraged me to look into the art of French cooking. I am now working through Julia Child’s cookbook, Mastering French cooking. But seriously, don’t miss an opportunity to learn from this school & Chris Murphy. Your mind will be blown wide open to your dreams of achieving your music/​artistic life & goals! Highly recommend!

Chris Murphy is the best music teacher I’ve ever had! He takes incredible pride in his students and their personal growth. Chris runs The Black Tree School, which is an intimate community, very different than your typical music class. Here we study ear training, sight reading, music theory, music history, and technique. This multi-​dimensional way of teaching has helped me progress immensely and move beyond just learning songs. Besides our lessons and group class, Chris arranges unique experiences such as a percussion class, a Beatles class, and a camping and music outing. I highly recommend The Black Tree School to anyone interested in learning an instrument, no matter your age, level, or instrument!

Enrolling in a music program as an adult can be intimidating. Having no prior knowledge of music outside of the general, I embarked on my current expedition under the tutelage of Chris Murphy at the Black Tree School.
Bear with me – if you can read these few paragraphs of back-​story — otherwise, the present day review is in the bottom paragraph, so feel free to skip ahead.
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About eight months or so prior, I had seen Chris Murphy perform at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market with one of the bands from The Teahouse Company. It could have been The Blind Blakes or some configuration of The Devil’s Box — if I could describe it then, I would have said it was Celtic in origin, but it was also kind of rock and roll, and a little gypsy, I’m also thinking to myself that I could produce those sounds, but I would need some help.
I took a card and pinned it up for about six months on my «vision board» of things I wanted to do in my lifetime, along with sewing, climbing a mountain, and learning French cooking, all of which require a certain amount of dedication and finesse.
My piqued interest in the violin has always been particular to that instrument. The tonality of it, the physical interaction with the instrument or the passion, the immediate tactile payoff of using a bow, the social aspect of playing with a band, playing solo, the versatility in delivering a somber tune or celebratory reel– all of these things appealed to me.
About three weeks later, as luck, the universe, or the giant cheese in the sky would have it, I was sitting at work and my coworker, JC, said he was selling his violin. Taking this as a sign, I plunked down 700 bucks and bought it. It could have been a total piece of crap, so I was taking a risk, but to be honest, I didn’t care because I had intention, and now I had the tool.
I got it out every day and poked at it, even took one lesson from another teacher who will remain nameless — her approach in 30 minutes was going over the first 2 pages of the Suzuki book, not explaining it. We didn’t have time to go over the scales, beats, notes, or measures. she left me more confused than we started. She didn’t seem very interested in what I was trying to do and didn’t ask any questions. I was impressed by her charismatic performances on Youtube, but her teaching style didn’t leave me wanting more.
Months passed. I was BRUTALLY fired from a TV show I was working on and feeling a little guilty because I realized it was the perfect time for me to pick up an instrument to take my mind off of what was happening. True story.
Sent the email out, and ended up having a delightful first meeting with Chris, whose integrative approach was the opposite of Ms. Doolittle. We determined what skill sets I was bringing to the table to start. I explained my limited background in music and where I wanted to go, and we started right away to determine if I could follow a rhythm, if I could hear and reproduce pitch using my voice. I knew a few things — The Do Re Mi scale (which I now tackle in solfégé forward and backward) that my mother sang with me in the bathtub, reverting back to 7^th grade music class when we were learning scales, which I BARELY remembered.
The studio setting is very safe, comfortable, and nonjudgmental; there’s nothing to be scared of. It’s growth and progress. If there is anything I am learning here, I am letting go of engaging myself in negative chatter when things go wrong and always MOVING ahead. The change in thinking is across the board.
Fast forward to present day, three months into 3 hour lessons starting on the mandolin and fiddle in addition to vocal training and theory, twice a week. Every lesson presents a new struggle I’m not aware of, and at times these lessons are very painful. I struggle with my body not responding to what I hear in my head, my fingers want to quit on me with new aches and pains in my 3 and 4 fingers almost daily, yet I leave my lessons wanting to keep going. I hopped on YouTube last week and taught myself two basic songs, NOT Twinkle Twinkle… I had the melodies down after a few hours. I can write the notes out AND say the notes out loud as I am playing and added in some chords and techniques to go with it on my own, to the metronome… my brain, rewired, is working differently, musically, in just three months time. I know not everyone is the same, but I am very happy with the results I have experienced at The Black Tree School.
I’ve just started group lessons — with two of us students, playing side by side — working out issues as they come up, anticipating, visualizing what’s next, breaking it all down. I leave you with this: Why repetitively invest money for 45 minute to an hour lessons that get you nowhere and so SLOWLY… instead, get started down the musical ninja path at Black Tree. You won’t be sorry.

A boutique style music school featuring an excellent, pragmatic and no nonsense approach to learning music efficiently and quickly. Taught by real working musician Chris Murphy, classes range from private lessons to large ensemble and music theory classes as well. The ensemble classes are an ideal time to put to use all of the skills that you hone in your private lessons and apply them to the real world of live music. Students range from beginners to advanced and anywhere in between. A fantastic musical experience for anyone seeking to really get to the marrow of what it is to be a serious musician!

The Black Tree School’s unique and highly effective approach to learning ventures beyond scales and music theory. The program challenges students to push past creative limits and find their own creative and musical voice. The Black Tree School founder and instructor, Chris Murphy’s methods provide an invaluable resource for the discriminating student looking for a comprehensive approach to musicianship. Not for the faint of heart, whether your goal is to become a professional musician or simply to have fun while learning to play an instrument, I cannot think of a better instructor than Chris Murphy and The Black Tree School.

I have been learning from Chris for about a year now. I have to say that he is an amazing teacher. He teaches in a holistic manner so that he covers all the nuts and bolts while also developing the student as a true musician. I couldn’t be happier.