Hickory Arts

Hickory Arts Music lessons, acting classes, artist development & creative services in Hickory, NC. Serving students, families & artists since 2010. Home is where the art is.

Hickory Arts is a music, acting, and creative arts studio in Hickory, North Carolina, offering private music lessons, acting classes, artist development, recording, photography, and creative services for kids, teens, and adults. Since 2010, our instructors have helped students build confidence, technique, creativity, and real-world performance skills through personalized one-on-one instruction. St

udents can study guitar, piano, voice, violin and strings, bass, songwriting, acting, audition preparation, artist development, recording, photography, and more.

What can you do to keep your voice healthy?It’s one of the questions we hear all the time from singers, actors, and perf...
08/25/2026

What can you do to keep your voice healthy?

It’s one of the questions we hear all the time from singers, actors, and performers.

There are no magic cough drops. No secret tea. No mysterious singer potion hidden behind the counter somewhere.

A lot of vocal health comes back to fairly unglamorous things:

Drink water.

Get enough sleep.

Pay attention when your voice feels tired.

Warm up without beating your voice to death.

Protect your ears.

Think about how much you’re talking throughout the day, not just how much you sing at night.

Our Vocal Health guide collects some of the habits picked up through years of singing, acting, directing, teaching, recording, touring, and vocal coaching.

It’s experience-based advice, not medical advice, but hopefully there’s something useful in there for anyone who relies on their voice.

Read the full article. Link in the comments.

08/22/2026

Ashley Tanisha performs “Look for the Silver Lining” during her 2025 Hickory Arts House Concert, joined by Jeff Hartman on piano and Steven Foster on saxophone.

Ashley’s journey with Hickory Arts has included voice, audition preparation, and professional headshots through Carol Anne Hartman Photography.

In 2023, she portrayed Little Eva and Janelle in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical under Jeff Hartman’s direction and music direction. Two years later, she returned to Hickory Arts as the featured artist for her own intimate House Concert.

“Look for the Silver Lining” was written by Jerome Kern and Buddy DeSylva and has lived on through generations of performers. Ashley’s arrangement draws inspiration in part from Leslie Odom Jr.’s recording, combining voice, piano, and saxophone in the close-up setting of the Hickory Arts House Concert Series.

Ashley Tanisha — Vocals
Jeff Hartman — Piano
Steven Foster — Saxophone

Ashley Tanisha House Concert
March 28, 2025
Hickory Arts
Hickory, North Carolina

Home is where the art is.

Artist Development in Hickory, NCSome artists don’t fit neatly into one box.Good.Maybe you sing and write songs.Maybe yo...
08/21/2026

Artist Development in Hickory, NC

Some artists don’t fit neatly into one box.

Good.

Maybe you sing and write songs.

Maybe you’re an actor who also makes music.

Maybe you perform, record, produce, write, create videos, or keep picking up new skills faster than you can figure out what to call yourself.

At Hickory Arts, we call that an Everything Artist.

Artist Development is one-on-one training designed to help connect those different interests into a clearer creative path.

Depending on the artist, that can include music, acting, songwriting, performance, recording, production, audition preparation, self-accompaniment, creative direction, industry knowledge, or simply figuring out what comes next.

You don’t have to pick one box just because somebody made a form with one box.

Learn more. Link in the comments.

Home is where the art is.There’s a certain mythology around acting:Get serious. Pack your bags. Move to New York or Los ...
08/18/2026

Home is where the art is.

There’s a certain mythology around acting:

Get serious. Pack your bags. Move to New York or Los Angeles.

Maybe someday.

But a new ZIP code doesn’t automatically give you stronger technique, better audition skills, a good self-tape, professional headshots, or the ability to take direction.

Those things can start at home.

Actors in Hickory can train, audition, perform, work on-camera, develop professional materials, and figure out what kind of actor they actually want to become before deciding whether a bigger market is the right next step.

Our newest blog takes an honest look at the question:

Should actors move to New York or Hollywood?

The answer is a little more interesting than yes or no.

Read the full article. Link in the comments.

Guitar Lessons in Hickory, NCYou don’t have to learn the guitar somebody else thinks you should play.Maybe you want to s...
08/14/2026

Guitar Lessons in Hickory, NC

You don’t have to learn the guitar somebody else thinks you should play.

Maybe you want to strum songs around a campfire.

Maybe it’s electric guitar.

Maybe it’s blues, rock, country, bluegrass, folk, worship, songwriting, or learning to sing and play at the same time.

Maybe you’ve never played a chord.

Maybe you played years ago and want to pick it back up.

Our private guitar lessons are one-on-one and built around your goals, your experience, and the music you actually want to make.

Learn more. Link in the comments.

Can you teach yourself music?Absolutely.YouTube can teach you chords. Apps can help with notes and rhythm. You can learn...
08/10/2026

Can you teach yourself music?

Absolutely.

YouTube can teach you chords. Apps can help with notes and rhythm. You can learn songs, watch demonstrations, study theory, and figure out an amazing amount on your own.

But there’s a difference between information and feedback.

A video can show you what to do.

It usually can’t tell you what you’re actually doing.

Our newest blog takes an honest look at self-teaching vs. private music lessons—where online resources work really well, where they can fall short, and when a teacher can help you stop practicing the same problem over and over.

You can learn a great deal on your own.

You don’t have to learn everything alone.

Read the full article—link in the comments.

Creative work is rarely just one person holding a camera.Behind the finished photo, video, album, reel, or promotional p...
08/07/2026

Creative work is rarely just one person holding a camera.

Behind the finished photo, video, album, reel, or promotional piece is planning, creative direction, lighting, recording, editing, production—and usually somebody saying, “Let’s do one more.”

Creative Services at Hickory Arts include:

Recording and music production
Photography and headshots
Video production and personality reels
Film and media production
Graphic design and artist branding
Audio engineering and post-production

Through Plastic Moon and Carol Anne Hartman Photography, we help artists, performers, businesses, and creative professionals take an idea from “What if?” to something they can actually share.

Learn more—link in the comments.

Simply the best.
08/05/2026

Simply the best.

What’s the best age to start music lessons?The honest answer: it depends on the student.Helpful, I know. Put that on a b...
08/03/2026

What’s the best age to start music lessons?

The honest answer: it depends on the student.

Helpful, I know. Put that on a billboard.

Some children are ready earlier than expected. Some need more time. Some people begin as teenagers or adults and do beautifully.

The better question isn’t, “What’s the perfect age?”

It’s, “What kind of lesson is right for this student right now?”

Our newest blog looks at readiness for piano, guitar, voice, and violin—and why the goal isn’t to start the earliest.

It’s to begin well.

Read the full article—link in the comments.

Some artists don’t fit neatly into one box.Good.Anneliese Montgomery has studied contemporary and musical theatre voice ...
07/31/2026

Some artists don’t fit neatly into one box.

Good.

Anneliese Montgomery has studied contemporary and musical theatre voice at Hickory Arts, performed a House Concert, and is now writing and recording the eighth track of her full-length album with Plastic Moon at Hickory Arts.

That path—from lessons, to the stage, to original music, to the recording studio—is exactly what Artist Development is built for.

It’s about connecting songwriting, performance, recording, and artistic identity instead of treating every creative skill like a separate destination.

Learn more—link in the comments.

Address

720 Second Avenue SW
Hickory, NC
28602

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 7pm
Tuesday 11am - 7pm
Wednesday 11am - 7pm
Thursday 11am - 7pm

Telephone

+18282709801

Website

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