Cedar Tree Music Studio (Piano and Violin lessons)

We have had the privilege of having Ms. Dove teach our 7 year old, piano for over a year now. Our initial choice was motivated by a reference from a family friend and the convenient location of classes close to our work place. We also wanted a loving and caring teacher who would make our child love playing music for the sheer joy of it, rather than merely to impress us or perform competitively.

We started gently with half hour lessons. We discovered quickly that she has a natural gift to work with children and tailored the instruction and practice to our child's pace of learning. Her cheerful spirit and frequent encouragement were a key factor in instilling a love for the instrument in our child and this joy we think is vital to sustain and grow in musical abilities over a long period of time. The initial lessons emphasized proper finger and body posture, as well as play simple tunes that were familiar to our child. We then progressed to the "Piano Adventures" series of books and eventually to 45 minute lessons.

Looking back, we clearly see the strides our child has made, and more importantly how much he enjoys experimenting with music along with songs from the lesson books.

Yes, we discovered Ms. Dove quite by chance but we have chosen to stay with her for many reasons.
1. A caring instructor who makes every child feel special and recognizes their gifts (you have to experience it!)
2. Tailored lesson and instructions including home assignments
3. Parents are encouraged to attend lessons and make videos of instruction so our child can use them during home practice. Our lessons are the best times of the week especially when we have the teacher duets.
4. Does her best to accommodates schedule changes due to our work
5. Spends time with the child some times beyond class duration to demonstrate advanced concepts or answer questions
6. Willing to teach beyond lesson books - we have experimented with child friendly piano versions of Imagine Dragons, Swan Lake, contemporary piano compositions and more.

In summary, we think we did well to give our child a gift that we hope will last a lifetime. We asked our child to describe what makes Ms. Dove his #1 teacher. Here are some snippets - "She is always kind to me and makes me happy", "When I make a mistake, she does not get upset but instead asks that we practice the part we did not get right".

As an adult learning a new instrument it was a little daunting until I met Hunter Dove. She has a lovely combination of experience, knowledge, passion and the ability to have fun with it. She is a great listener and is able to dissect a concern and create a tailor made solution. Not only do I look forward to every class I notice that the students before and after me always have a smile on their face.

Ms. Hunter is wonderful! She loves what she does and truly enjoys it. Our boys love learning from her and always look forward to their class. Highly recommend!

Ms.doves awesome and patient. Seems to know just whats wrong around every corner and how to adjust properly; lots of very helpful strength and dexterity exercises. She was flexible with the way i learn and just an overall funny and cool person to be around! See ya next week ✌

I am so impressed with Ms. Dove’s teaching. This studio has the perfect combination of lively and involved teaching with sophisticated musicality and technique. Great experience, all around.