Rowley Music Lessons

long with her availability (easy to accommodate & then tweak again our schedule this summer, which was key). She's very patient while being precise, which is just what Paul -- who has ADHD & Asperger's, which means he's easily distracted -- needs. It was a good idea to make the first lesson a combined hour (to learn how to care for the instrument, moisten the reed, posture, where hands should be, forming the mouth, etc.). She knows the book Paul's school uses She was waiting for us with a parking pass (essential in Somerville). I feel really good about the prospect of Paul being able to "catch up" this summer with the first year school year instruction he missed out, given Tegan's focus & attention. One possible drawback for some others -- vs. my son & me, who value substance (where Tegan is outstanding) over appearances -- might be that Tegan's apartment is more like an early '70's hippie pad (cramped un-air-conditioned attic 3rd floor walk-up, with no place for me to wait during my son's lesson except scrunched up against an eave in the studio/ living room, 1 foot from their chairs, petting the friendly dog) than a more traditional dedicated studio in the home, as his piano teacher has."

s. I feel very fortunate that I was able to find Chuck and work with him.

Chuck is a very talented musician and teacher. He communicates and explains musical concepts in a way that's easy to understand. Lessons were challenging, but in a good way, and Chuck is always friendly and supportive. He gave me great recommendations for what to work on in practice and always had listening suggestions that reinforced what we were working on.

I wish that I had started taking lessons with him sooner, because I learned and improved more as a musician and guitarist in 2 months of lessons with Chuck than in the 2-3 years I had been teaching myself how to play. I can't recommend him enough, especially for beginners or someone who needs a little help to take the next step in their musical journey."

sten. That is how we came to find Kelly Jenkins (Miss Kelly) when we moved to a new area. Her business card said “Gift of Music Piano Lessons” and spoke of developing each child’s individual gift for music. One friend confirmed this claim and commented how her children actually wanted to practice for Miss Kelly. That seemed a bit hard to believe at first. But in the three years we were blessed to learn from Miss Kelly, we found this to be true—not only for my son and daughter that took piano lessons from her, but for my younger children who got excited about music and piano from watching their older siblings and being cared about by Miss Kelly.

Miss Kelly has an excellent knowledge of music—both performance and theory. But more importantly for a teacher, she is able to convey that knowledge in a positive, effectual way. Perhaps this is due in part to being the oldest of ten children. But from whatever source, she is able to teach and correct in a way that leaves the learner feeling empowered, not diminished. She is very friendly, professional, and respectful. We were looking for a teaching experience that was not overly stringent but that would develop a solid musical foundation for a lifetime of music love and service. We are very happy with Miss Kelly’s ability to provide that.

Needless to say, when Miss Kelly moved, we were sad to see her go. Yet we are still able to maintain a friendship—even across the country. We have even been blessed to hire her, on occasion, as a consultant when music questions have arisen that we knew she could help with.

In short, we highly recommend Miss Kelly."

endable."

bsolute perfection."

lly talented, but the desire to learn an instrument has always been there. Like a lot of people with a full-time schedule and trying to advance their career, it’s hard to carve out time for extracurricular hobbies. On a whim, I decided to learn violin and bought one from Amazon. I quickly realized I was out of my depth. I went looking for an instructor and found Ha-eun on Take Lessons.

She’s a fantastic instructor because she’s always willing to take time to answer questions, change the lesson plan to fit what the student’s needs at that time, and focus on the basics while learning how to play music. There is a lot to know when playing violin and it can feel quite overwhelming. Ha-eun broke down some of these big overwhelming chunks into small comprehensible sizes. There is an art in teaching an instrument without making the process frustrating, and she actively tries to make learning how to play violin easy on the student. The violin is a difficult instrument, especially when you realize there is no frets on it. I think Ha-eun does an excellent job and recommend her as an instructor."

pe that songs would simply "happen". They didn't. Nate demystified the songwriting process. He has helped me to actually create songs from scratch (just a simple melody recorded on an iPhone) or to build on ideas that were riffs. Moreover, he focuses on all aspects of songwriting: Lyrical content, melody, harmony and recording/production. So, I have, at the end of our work, an actual recorded song (professionally produced) that I can share with friends or keep in the vault. Nate is very patient and a good listener. He tries to understand what my songs are about and how to better reflect the message through the music. I highly recommend Nate. He has been a great musical mentor."