“Thank you for being such a wonderful influence in [my daughter’s] life. I appreciate all the hard work you give throughout the year during lessons. You have a special gift. You are a great teacher and Claire is lucky to have you in her life.”
— Christine S.
“I cannot being to tell you how much [my children] are loving piano these days. I will be honest: our first month transitioning from traditional lessons was very challenging and many times the kids wanted to give up—we pushed through and have really turned a corner. Both kids LOVE to play their repertoire and LOVE to improvise. This program is AMAZING!! Your teaching style is a true gift to us. Thank you for all that you do!!”
— Jodie H.
“I continue to be so grateful for your gift of teaching music and how much joy it is bringing into my son’s life and our home! I am a Lauralee piano evangelist and he is spreading his piano love around as he plays every piano he comes across :) ”
— Trish
FROM STUDENTS
“It’s fun especially if you get the right kind of teacher. You get to learn all kinds of new songs over a short period. And lastly, Lauralee is very patient…”
— Shayne, 7
“I like the music and how you get to learn more than just songs. You can also be reading music or improvising. It’s fun and there is always support or help from Lauralee.”
— Andy, 9
“I like the songs and Lauralee is nice. Music is awesome!”
— George, 6
“At Strings and Keys Music Studio, learning piano is fast and fun! I like how Lauralee helps with mistakes and teaches patiently.”
— Jonathan, 12
“Lauralee is very enthusiastic and cheerful all the time! She also has high expectations of me which makes me get everything done on time, on task. It is fun learning and experiencing music by not just listening, but actually playing! ”
— August, 9
“I like the way we learn and it’s fun when we play music games. It’s also fun to play music on the piano! ”
— Esha, 6
“Lessons are fun and challenging. Learning an instrument helps improve your math skills and it’s fun!”
— Matthew, 10
“I would tell a friend to learn an instrument because you could be famous and it’s a really cool gift to be able to play an instrument.”
— Luna, 7
ABOUT THE TEACHER:
“I really can’t even put into words how amazing it was to observe your interaction with your students. It was a confirmation of what joy music brings into a child’s life, especially when they are encouraged and uplifted the way you encourage them! I was so impressed by how confident you were in leading the classes and yet how natural and approachable you still were. You are absolutely a master at leading and at the same time you laugh and have fun and I could see how much attention and positive affirming you give each child. I was amazed at how seamlessly you weave all the various streams and concepts into your lessons. You are so full of love and life and joy when you teach and the kids are relaxed and laughing. It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! I wish I could have filmed it so you could watch how amazing you are! Thanks so much, I learned so much!”
— Pepper, Simply Music teacher
“The kids are rarely in front of the music with you on the side like most traditional music teachers. You’re always there, presently in front of the students as the gatekeeper to their music.
You go far beyond teaching music, you teach children to be better human beings, by meeting them on their level to connect, and setting (and gently resetting) boundaries.
Your classroom has a flow about them. You read the energy of the room and orchestrate it where it wants to go—most often along your intended outcome, but sometimes where the kids’ energy takes you. Beautiful!
I count you as one of my 3 favorite teachers of all time!!!”
— Clay, parent
“Thanks for all you do to encourage a love and mastery of music at all levels and abilities. The balance you strike between nurturing encouragement along with gentle but consistent discipline has been the difference that has kept my daughter involved in music.”
— Chris, parent
“Violin lessons online from halfway round the planet was the creme on my coffee in my isolated situation in Australia. Particularly wonderful was finding a teacher such as Laura Lee who has been steeped in the Kato Havas approach on a personal level plus the wonderful pedagogy that is Simply Music. A double whammy for me that has taken my intonation plus to another level.”
— Unmani, adult student
“My son truly LOVES and expresses himself through piano now and it’s become something that has given him a self esteem boost, become “his thing” and the relationship he’s developed with you is very important to me. He hasn’t always has a close connection with other adults and often was not very flexible or what others would perceive as respectful to adults. He is sensitive and has had sensory issues that makes his behavior sometimes complex, but you roll with it like I see you do with so many of your students who are full of energy or just a little different than the next. You so fully accept them and are real with them in a non-judgemental way...loving, playful, present and also straight forward in a way he has blossomed with. He adores you and puts a lot of work into piano because of the foundation and environment you create.”
— Tracy, parent
“We really appreciate your strong relationship with our girls (and all of us!), and especially appreciate your “meta-coaching” i.e. teaching them how to learn. We find this to be a rare skill among educators!”
— -Vanitha, parent
“Lauralee has been our children’s music teacher for over 8 years and she has been an instrumental part of our children’s education. With 2 violin players and one piano player, we spend a lot of time at Strings and Keys Music Studio. Lauralee’s patience, consistency and musical talent shine through in every lesson. She helps her students balance the challenges involved in learning an instrument with the realities of busy lives and full schedules. Her calm demeanor and peaceful environment make music lessons a delight!”
— Kaye, parent
“Lauralee is a caring, committed, skilled, and uniquely talented teacher and musician. You will be so grateful if you decide to become her student. She is a leader in our professional community of teachers and has a strong ability to guide people to become the musicians that they so deeply long to be.”
— Annette, Founder and Past President, Bay Area Piano Teachers of Simply Music
ABOUT THE PROGRAMS:
“Music has filled our home ever since my son started at Strings and Keys Music Studio—from day one! We have loved the playing-based program because it’s fun and musical from the beginning. The formal music theory is layered in when the students are already making music. It’s the joy of the music that carries my son forward and we are so thankful he is growing into a musician!”
— Sandra, parent
“Strings and Keys Music Studio has taught me the Simply Music method of learning to play the piano in a way I never thought I’d be able to play. It is a remarkable method that provides immediate results. I highly recommend it!”
— Pearl, adult student
“… I had him practice Bishop St. Blues. He was quite rusty and thought he didn’t remember the chords. He played Alma Mater Blues to figure out the Bishop I chord. Then he went through the Bishop diagram to figure the rest out. As soon as he played the Bishop 5, he said “oh, it’s just a G7chord!” I think it is just amazing how all of this is coming together in his little head. Anyhow, having a wonderful morning practicing so I thought I would share. Thank you for making music an enjoyable experience for my whole family.”
— Amy, parent
“At 83 years of age, this wonderful program has given my life a dimension that has brought me much joy and satisfaction. It is so fulfilling to sit down at the piano and play. The experience of Simply Music has helped me to cope with stress, and even sadness. I have been most fortunate and blessed to have had the experience of Simply Music.”
— Sara Larmer Meuse, adult student, Sacramento, California
“Thank you so much for all of your understanding, support and your responsiveness. I continue to believe that Simply Music is the best technique for learning to play piano/develop a lifelong love of music. ”
— Shannon, parent
“My two children have been taking traditional piano lessons for two years. They are now 8 and 10. A month ago I purchased the Simply Music Learn At Home program on a whim to help me learn piano myself. I’m SHOCKED that after such a short time I know a huge number of songs, have tremendous confidence in playing and (if I may say so) play quite well for such a short time. Unfortunately, I’m equally shocked at how little my own children know after two years of lessons and countless hours practicing with traditional methods...”
— Susan
ABOUT PERFORMING
“Your Shin-Gigs are always so fun. Thanks for organizing them and making the kids so welcome!”
— Elane, parent
“Just wanted to thank you for creating such a fun and inviting environment that the children feel comfortable improvising and adjusting without any hesitation.”
— Jennifer, parent
“About a month ago my daughter participated in a talent show as part of the bible class she attends with some friends. She chose to play the piano, other kids played the piano too. They brought up their music and struggled through their songs. The woman that was MC asked her how long she’d been playing. She didn’t know. Somehow the woman came up with that she had been playing for a year and a half. She sat down and played a couple of songs without sheet music. When she was done the woman said, “ gee, and you’ve only been playing for a year and a half, it seems like you’ve playing for five years!”. At the time she had been playing about six and a half months!!”
— Al, parent
“As always, thanks so much for getting us all together for music (and costumes!). We feel so fortunate to have learned about you and to have our kids learning and growing musically with you. Having our children exploring their nascent relationship with music and performance has also served to reignite our home as a whole with musical enthusiasm!”
