Lessons
Piano, Guitar & Bass
Bob teaches piano, guitar and bass at his home studio in Upton. His teaching style is based on selecting music that the student loves and wants to learn. He took piano lessons at an early age and quit when lessons were too boring. Looking back, if the teacher had focused on the passion he had for The Beatles, etc, he never would have quit! It wasn't until later that he found the guitar and piano and started composing and playing jazz, blues, rock and classical . Bob has developed his teaching style to keep it fun and creative. Bob is comfortable teaching all styles of music.
Start a Band with Your Own Friends
Youth Bands
Bob has been running youth bands since the summer of 2007. It started as a summer band camp. It turned out that such a good time was had by all that the bands continued beyond the summer and are still going strong. Playing with a group is a great way to improve your playing while at the same time developing long lasting friendships with other band members. Band members choose the songs that they want to play or they can write their own originals. Bob teaches each instrument their part and helps bands develop their style, helping arrange the songs and collaborating on originals. Most of all the bands are fun and friendly. Bands meet at Bob's music studio in Upton.
Bob's bands have performed at venues such as the Hard Rock Cafe, The Natick Center For the Arts, The Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham and his two student concerts a year.
What Parents & Students Have to Say
Crowd Pleasing Shows for School, Community Theater, Drama Club, Summer Camp, After School Enrichment, Churches, Home School Groups
Jen Davis and Bob Nicoll have been creating musicals every summer since 2007. Jen adapts the script from a classic story and Bob writes original music. These shows are available to schools and theaters.
Pied Piper Songs
Bob Nicoll
Bob has been teaching music for the past 17 years, working from his home studio in Upton, enjoying the students, bands and concert events. Bob has composed and performed music for many theaters throughout Boston including the Lyric Stage, Enter Stage Left, the Upton Recreation Commission, and the Boston Center for the Arts. Bob and Jen run the youth theater program with the Upton recreation commission. Bob has composed music for their shows including "The Bremen Town Musicians", "Peter Pan", "The Pied Piper", "Aesop's Fables", and "The Secret Garden". He also was the musical director and composer for the Miscoe Hill Middle School's production of “The Wizard of Oz".
Bob plays keyboard with the jazz group "Double Take" and also a jazz quartet with Barry Hall, Jeff Lee and Howard Kaufman and Ian Brackett. They perform Bob's originals and jazz standards at various local venues.
Bob was the music director for 8 years from 2014 until Dec 2021 at the UUSGU (Unitarian church) in Grafton where they played all kinds of music from rock to jazz to classical and gospel.
Bob studied at the Berklee College of Music and he has a B.S. in education and music from S.U.N.Y, New Paltz. He has been teaching since 2005 when he and his wife Jen and their son Jarrett moved to Upton. He started the youth bands in 2007.
