5 Best Music Schools in New York (2026)

Manhattan School of Music is a working conservatory in Morningside Heights offering classical, jazz and musical theatre programs, with over 600 live concerts held on campus and around the city each year. It runs undergraduate and graduate degree tracks alongside a public performance calendar. It's the most-reviewed music school on this list, with a review base that reflects both its academic programs and public-facing events.

Brooklyn Music School is a Fort Greene nonprofit teaching piano, guitar, voice, violin, brass and percussion to students of all ages, with early childhood programs, youth ensembles and adult classes under one roof. It also runs a music therapy program and summer camps alongside its private and group lesson offerings. Families cite multi-year enrollment, with siblings often taking different instruments at the same school.

New York Music Center/New York City Piano Academy teaches piano, guitar, voice, violin, cello, dance and musical theatre out of Midtown Manhattan, with both in-person and online lesson formats. It has the highest rating of any music school on this list, and reviewers frequently mention flexible scheduling and online makeup lessons for missed sessions. The school also runs an international summer piano festival and competition.

Williamsburg School of Music teaches piano, voice, guitar, drums, ukulele, bass, violin, woodwinds and audio engineering out of a Brooklyn studio, with a heavy focus on kids' aftercare programs and school-break camps. Small end-of-semester concerts let students perform what they've learned. It's been recognized locally, including a mention from CNN and a Time Out New York nod for guitar instruction.

Mannes School of Music, part of The New School, is a Greenwich Village conservatory blending traditional classical training with cross-disciplinary performance work. It runs a Preparatory Department for younger students alongside its full college-level programs, and students study under a faculty that includes GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize winners. Graduates have gone on to major orchestras, opera houses and independent creative careers.