An international musical menu is featured. Classical and celtic, gypsy jazz and gamelan, soukous and samba, tango, tarantella, afro-cuban and zydeco are served, along with the recipes and ingredients. Students are encouraged and assisted in developing their own recipes and menus, as well.

Students are not judged, scored, ranked or otherwise compared with one another. There is no ladder of graded steps towards certification, awards or recognition. Camaraderie is encouraged, rather than competitiveness.

Practice is essential to the building of musical performance skills. Musical learning, however, can move forward independently of a practice regimen.

Open Strings provides an organized abundance of music, information and resources. The student’s own interest in the music itself is the natural and effective motivation to learn and to practice.

The common approach of measuring and monitoring a student’s practice time is not beneficial to the student in the long run. The joys of music, made compulsory, lose their appeal; a student’s interest, attention and inspiration naturally tend to drift elsewhere.

For this reason, practice charts, contests, rewards and other motivational strategies are not employed at Open Strings. All aspects of learning, including practice, are voluntary, and subject to the student’s own interest and independent choice.