The Piano Studio of
Hadley McCarroll
106 Fairmount, Oakland, California
(510) 444-3595
hadleymccarroll@me.com
Serving Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley, San Leandro and the Greater Bay Area
Students of all ages welcome -- children and adults!
Weekly 30, 45, or 60 minute lessons available.
Fun, supportive, and motivational environment.
Connecting with students to help them reach their full potential.
Working with students to develop a solid foundation in technique,
theory, ear-training, sight-reading, and musicianship.
Large library of pieces -- there's something for everyone!
Music games and puzzles.
Optional recital opportunities available throughout the year.
Sliding scale tuition available.
Contact Hadley for a FREE Trial Lesson!
Hadley's Credentials
Over 25 years teaching experience.
Founding President of the East Bay Chapter of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers.
Masters Degree in Piano Performance with an emphasis in Piano Pedagogy.
Active performer throughout the Bay Area and the United States.
Taught at Crowden Center for Music and the San Francisco Community Music Center.
REVIEWS
Hadley's the One if You're Serious About Wanting to Learn to Play Piano
Hadley is a true professional! She's an amazingly talented and driven pianist and an excellent teacher. She embodies music and has the ability to clearly and succinctly break down the complexities of piano playing thus making it accessible to kids (and adults!) of all ages and skill levels. She teaches musicality, proper form and technique, ear training, and she includes music theory in every lesson. She also teaches helpful practicing techniques to employ for continuous improvement as well as for tackling difficult and frustrating elements within a song. She takes both playing and teaching very seriously, and she expects the same from her students. Her lessons are jam-packed and focused from the get-go, but she's also spirited and playful, and she makes learning to play the piano fun!
-Susan Asher
Our 11 year old son has been taking lessons from Hadley for the past five years, and we love her! I enjoy their conversation about things musical and the high standard and expectation Hadley brings to each new song. There is nothing boring about her highly intelligent, witty, and vivid personality! I couldn't be more excited to recommend her as an excellent music teacher!
-Nora Moakher
Hadley has been the piano teacher for our two boys since they were each in 1st grade (one is now 13 and the other is 10). They both still love going to piano, they truly enjoy Hadley and her teaching style, and they have such a strong connection with music that will last them their entire lives. Kudos to Hadley on making piano and music in general so engaging and fun for her students.
-Mary Worthington
Hadley is an amazing teacher and an integral part of our daughter's musical education from 2nd grade to middle school. Hadley was first and always a very talented piano instructor, but she was also Trinity's music teacher and musical gateway. Trinity learned how to read music early, developed an appreciation for opera and accompaniment, and a love for performance. While our daughter is now older and in high school and more focused on voice and guitar than piano, we credit Hadley for the very strong musical foundation. Also, she was just the exact right blend of personable, demanding, and fun for our daughter both as a precocious, intelligent elementary schooler and for our older, more independent middle schooler.
-Mike Jacob
Hadley had been my daughter's piano teacher since 2nd Grade. She is now a freshman in college. My daughter has developed not just as a technically proficient pianist but as a musician. Hadley was able to provide structure and fun in their weekly lesson. She knows when to push her kids into more challenging pieces. You can tell who are Hadley's students in their regular recitals without reading the program notes. All her students are musical !! Communication between our family and Hadley have always been prompt and clear. She is punctual and the consummate professional. It has been our pleasure to have Hadley as our daughter's dear piano teacher and friend.
-Yen Lim
I learned about Hadley from a friend. My daughter took lessons with her for a number of years and greatly excelled. Hadley is well versed in teaching piano, while staying in tune and being supportive. As my daughter grew, she became interested in playing different types of music. Hadley was flexible, while challenging and building her confidence. I highly recommend her.
-Lisa Polevoy
I took adult piano lessons as an adult with Hadley for about a year. I had some piano lessons with a different teacher as a child, but I was extremely rusty. Hadley is very patient and follows your lead on the types of skills and material that you want to work on. She corrected some of my bad technique and had some fantastic advice for maximizing practice time.
-Robyn Gerdes
Hadley is one of the best piano teachers I can imagine. She has taught me not just to hit the notes, but also, about the importance of tone, theory, and rhythm together that make up an entire piece. She has a bag of tricks to help with every technique to help master a piece, and throughout each lesson, fills the time with laughter, learning, beautiful sounds, and fun. I look forward to every lesson with her, and come home being able to play pieces from every level. She helps me to find pieces that I like to play, and are fun instead of basic scales and the same classics that everyone plays. Thank you so much Hadley! I've learned so much from you!
-Andrea Imhof, Age 13
What do I like about playing piano? I think that being able to play a musical instruments is so impressive. Of course I'm not there yet, I still have a long way to go to be able to really play the piano like I want to! I think it is so wonderful to be able to make music--when you play you really forget everything else about the world and your life. I also love to play piano with Hadley. I have gone though many piano teachers and I have stayed with Hadley the longest. I have figured out that to be able to play piano I need a teacher that is like me and that I enjoy playing with. Hadley is a lot like me and has a lot of the same characteristics as I do. I think that the reason I am still playing piano is because of my wonderful teachers. I have such a great time playing piano and hope to play for many more years.
-Elias Johansson-Miller, Age 13
Hadley McCarroll is the ideal piano teacher for my daughter. She embodies just the right combination of exacting technical instruction, love of the art of music, and the utter joy of learning. Her students learn to make music a real part of their lives.
-Victoria Neve, Professor of Piano, San Francisco State University
"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."
-- Martha Graham
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents."
-- Ludwig van Beethoven