Aller Piano Studio

At Aller Piano Studio, you get so much more than private one-on-one piano lessons! 

We go above and beyond for our students, both within and outside the lesson-time! 

As part of our commitment to giving the best music education to our students, we are constantly working on things for our students’ benefit, beyond your lesson-time and group class-time.

Here are some of the benefits that make Aller Piano Studio unique:

• We provide detailed, personalized annual progress reports for each student, designed to give positive feedback on the many things we work on in lessons, concrete goals to work toward in their practice at home, and specific strategies to use for reaching these goals. (This is optional.  If you don’t wish to receive a written progress report, we can discuss options.)

• We create our own study sheets and finger exercises for our students, using professional music notation software programs, to help them master important terms, concepts, and techniques in piano.  This  includes many helpful practice materials, glossaries, and strength-building programs, with many more in the works!

• We search for, procure, and edit music for our students that they have chosen to play for fun.  It is very important to us that our students work on music that they personally love and enjoy, as part of their weekly lessons and especially for recitals!  We work to make sure the music is edited in a way that allows the student’s practicing to be efficient.

We offer several group-classes per year:

In addition to the regular one-on-one weekly lessons, we have a few different types of group-lessons throughout the year.  They are fun and educational; they also give students the opportunity to socialize with their fellow musicians.  While piano is typically a solitary pursuit, these classes build great camaraderie among our students!   Here are the group-classes we offer each year:

• 2  Performance Classes  to help build confidence and skills for performing in front of an audience.  We work on every detail of what makes a good performance, and students practice those things in a friendly, small-group setting.  We end each class with a short musical game!
  • Having more frequent performance opportunities makes each new performance feel more “normal” and commonplace, and therefore less of a “big deal” to be nervous about.  This confidence is a benefit that can carry over into success for many events in our lives: public speaking, job interviews, giving presentations, etc.!

• 2 “Piano Parties”!  These group classes are full of fun and educational games and activities for students of all levels!  Piano Parties sometimes include a fun and engaging Music Appreciation presentation that teaches about music – featuring fun cartoons.  Other activities will vary from one to the next, but may include musical games, group rhythm activities, ear-training and improvisation activities, and more.

• 1 practice-recital per year to prepare for the Spring Recital.  Students practice their Recital pieces at the studio with a small group of their fellow students as their audience, in the week leading up to the Spring Recital.

• 1 Holiday Mini-recital each December – a fun way to end the year, with everyone playing their favorite holiday music.  Then we all enjoy a little party with treats and social time.

At Aller Piano Studio, our students receive:

• A well-rounded music education
  • Some of the things we work on in weekly lessons are: physical techniques in piano; music reading, music theory, ear-training, sight-playing, musical expression, practice- and memorization-techniques, and performance preparation.  
  • While giving all students experience with these important skills and aspects of music, we tailor lessons to suit each student’s individual learning style, musical interests, and goals!

• 2 Student Recitals per year (participation strongly encouraged but not mandatory) 
  • Spring Recital:  Held at the Unitarian Fellowship each April, this is “The Big One” where we have the whole studio playing their favorite pieces and showcasing their skills at the piano.  We end this recital with a big reception and lots of treats to reward our students for all their hard work!

• • Halloween Pre-Recorded Recital:  After a week of in-person Performance Classes, our students get to use their creativity to make their own performance-videos to contribute to the Halloween Recital.   While this began as a necessity during the pandemic, we found that our students really enjoyed the ability to make this performance their own.  Students may keep their performances simple and traditional, or customize their videos in any way they like!  Some of the creative touches our students have added to their performances include playing in their Halloween costumes, decorating the piano with props to go with their music, and even adding background filters and other effects!   

We love seeing the wonderfully creative things our students come up with.  And pre-recorded recitals have an excellent side-benefit:  This option has helped some students, who never felt comfortable performing before, to participate in recitals happily and with confidence!