Online Music Lessons · Private & Group

Where every lesson
is a discovery

Because every good teacher is still learning.

Trombone · Piano · Voice · Composition
50 Years of Teaching Eastman School of Music 58+ Original Compositions Burlington, Vermont
Begin the Conversation
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What We Study

Lessons offered in
four disciplines

Scott brings fifty years of teaching experience to every lesson — whether you are a beginner finding your first notes or an advanced student preparing for performance. Each session is tailored to where you are and where you want to go.

🎺
Trombone
From fundamentals to advanced technique. Tone, breath, slide, and musicianship — the whole player developed together.
🎹
Piano
Classical foundations, reading, theory, and expression. A keyboard approach built on real understanding, not rote repetition.
🎵
Voice
Technique, resonance, breath support, and interpretation. The voice as instrument — cultivated with patience and care.
✍︎
Composition
The craft and art of writing music. From melody and harmony to structure and meaning — grounded in fifty years of composing.
Investment

Monthly plans — clear & simple

Lessons are offered on a monthly basis. Choose the plan that fits your schedule. Your monthly enrollment holds your place — sessions are reserved for you, and the commitment stands whether or not every lesson is taken. This is the nature of dedicated instruction.

Private · One-on-One

2 Lessons / Month
$200
per month · private
Two one-hour sessions per month. A solid foundation for students who want consistent instruction with flexibility in their schedule.

Group · Per Person

2 Lessons / Month
$130
per person · per month
Two group sessions per month. An accessible entry point for students who want the energy of ensemble learning.
Availability

Current schedule

Lessons are offered online via video call — available to students anywhere in the United States. The schedule is designed so that your lesson time will not change when Scott relocates to Portugal.

Day Hours (US Eastern) Notes
Sundays 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET Three hours available for private or group sessions
Wednesdays 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM ET Two hours of evening sessions

All times listed in US Eastern Time. Students in other time zones welcome — contact Scott to discuss scheduling.

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The Philosophy

Teaching as mutual discovery

"The name Shiny Penny Learns captures something I have believed for fifty years: a teacher who stops learning has stopped teaching. Every student brings something new. Every lesson is an exchange."

Scott Thomas Carter holds a Master's degree from the Eastman School of Music and has spent fifty years teaching trombone, piano, voice, and composition. He is also a composer with 58+ original works — including a full opera — and the developer of the TransformativeArts Framework, an approach that integrates creative expression with authentic human development.


His teaching is built on genuine attention to the whole student: technique matters, but so does understanding why music works, how it heals, and what it means to communicate through sound.

  • Master of Music — Eastman School of Music
  • 50 years of teaching experience
  • Who's Who in America — 2022 biographical listing · Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Trombone, Piano, Voice, Composition — all four disciplines taught at the highest level
  • 58+ original compositions including the opera HURT and HOPE (HURT.)
  • Developer of the TransformativeArts Framework
  • Creator of Shiny Penny Productions L3C, Burlington, Vermont
Get Started

Ready to begin?

To inquire about lessons — private or group, any discipline — send Scott an email. Tell him a little about yourself, what you'd like to study, and what you're hoping to get out of lessons. He'll get back to you promptly.

Current availability: Sundays 9 AM–12 PM ET · Wednesdays 5:30–7:30 PM ET

shinypennypro@gmail.com

Online lessons via FarPlay — near-zero-latency audio that makes live accompaniment and duets possible online, as if teacher and student are in the same room · Students anywhere in the US welcome

More from Scott Thomas Carter

The full portfolio

Shiny Penny Learns is one part of a larger body of work spanning music, writing, research, and tools for authentic human development.

Hub
Shiny Penny Productions
shinypennyproductions.art
Writing
Transformative Arts
Substack
Framework
Relational Honesty
relationalhonesty.fyi
Tool
The Bullshit Finder
bullshitfinder.fyi
Research
Home Sweet Home
homesweethome.fyi
Framework
Center Coordinates
centercoordinates.fyi
Education
The Learning Corner
thelearningcorner.fyi
Family
Bill's Business
billsbusiness.fyi
Accountability
OathCheck
oathcheck.fyi
Music
Compositions on Spotify
Search: Scott Thomas Carter