When musician, teacher and mum Courtney Little couldn’t find the kind of music programme she wanted for her own children, she decided to create it herself, proving that music really is for everyone.
On any given afternoon, laughter drifts through the Little Musos studio in Hillcrest. Tiny hands beat out rhythms on drums, colourful scarves dance through the air, guitars are gently tuned and someone inevitably bursts into song. To an outsider it may look like joyful chaos. To Courtney Little, it’s exactly what music should be.
For Courtney, music has never simply been about learning notes or performing on stage. Growing up as part of Durban’s much-loved family band, Kith and Kin, music has always been woven into the fabric of her life. It has been a place of creativity, connection and belonging. Today, she is sharing that same gift with hundreds of children and families through Little Musos, a music school built on the belief that every child can find their rhythm.
The idea wasn’t born from a carefully crafted business plan. Instead, it evolved naturally over many years. As an Intermediate Phase music teacher, Courtney loved introducing children to the world of music. Alongside teaching full time, she began running holiday music camps and offering private piano and guitar lessons after school. The response was overwhelming, and she quietly began wondering whether this small passion project could one day become something more.
Then she became a mother. Like many parents, Courtney started looking for meaningful music programmes for her own young children. To her surprise, there were very few options available.
“As a qualified teacher and a musician, I understood the incredible impact music has on a child’s development,” she says. “Becoming a mother didn’t change my passion for music education, it simply redirected it towards the youngest learners.”
She also wanted a career that would allow her to be more present for her own family. Those two dreams came together to create Little Musos.
Today, the studio has grown into far more than early childhood music classes. Alongside programmes for babies and young children, Little Musos offers private piano, guitar, ukulele and violin lessons for children, teenagers and adults, works with preschools across the Upper Highway, hosts interactive holiday clubs and birthday parties, and regularly brings music to schools, festivals and community events.
Yet, despite its growth, Courtney insists the heart of Little Musos has never changed.
“For me, ‘Where Every Child Finds Their Rhythm’ is much more than a slogan. It’s the heart of everything we do.”
The philosophy was shaped long before Little Musos opened its doors. During her years as a school music teacher, one of the hardest parts of her job was telling children they hadn’t been selected for choir or another music ensemble.
“Watching the disappointment on a six-year-old’s face was heartbreaking. It made me question why music should ever be something a child feels excluded from.”
That experience became the foundation on which Little Musos was built.
“Music shouldn’t be reserved for the talented few,” she says. “It should be a language every person has the opportunity to speak.”
While music undoubtedly supports brain development, coordination, memory and language, Courtney believes its greatest impact reaches much deeper.
“My heart goes to what’s happening inside the child. If a child walks into my class feeling shy, nervous or even a little sad, and leaves laughing, dancing, singing and believing in themselves a little more than when they arrived, then we’ve done something truly meaningful.”
She often tells her young learners, “By the end of this lesson, you’re going to be smiling, because music is medicine for sadness.”
It is a philosophy she sees come to life every week. Over the years, she has watched shy children grow in confidence, children who struggled to find their place discover something they genuinely love, and children on the autism spectrum connect through rhythm, movement and song.
One little boy, who comes from a difficult home environment, continues to remind her why she does what she does.
“When he plays the guitar, his worries melt away. It’s the place where he finds peace.”
Courtney understands that feeling herself.
“When we’re making music, we’re not living in yesterday or worrying about tomorrow. We’re completely present. I think that’s one of music’s greatest gifts.”
That belief extends well beyond the walls of the studio. As Little Musos has grown, so has its commitment to community outreach. Courtney and her team have shared music with children at Lusana Preschool, and hope to expand their work with organisations such the Upper Highway Baby Home and Fulton School for the Deaf. Her dream is to make music accessible to everyone, regardless of their age, ability or circumstances.
“Music belongs to everyone.”
Looking ahead, Courtney hopes to see Little Musos continue growing into more schools across Durban while expanding its outreach into under-resourced communities, children’s homes, care homes for the elderly and organisations supporting people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
“If more people are smiling, singing, dancing and finding their rhythm because of Little Musos, then I’ll know we’re on the right track.”
For Courtney, success has never been measured by the number of students who become professional musicians. Instead, it’s found in the confidence, joy and sense of belonging that music inspires.
After all, children may not remember every musical term they learn, but they will remember how music made them feel. And perhaps that’s the greatest lesson of all.
Little Musos at a glance
Based at 22 Nqutu Road, Hillcrest, Little Musos offers early childhood music classes, private piano, guitar, ukulele and violin lessons for children, teenagers and adults, music programmes in Upper Highway preschools, holiday clubs, interactive birthday parties and musical entertainment for schools, markets, festivals and community events.
For more information, follow @little.musos on Instagram.
