Melinda Bateman’s Piano Studio

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Introduction

Greetings prospective piano students! I moved my life and business last year from Los Angeles to Frankenmuth, MI. Built a beautiful home studio onto our house, complete with a wonderful 7’ Kawai grand piano. I have been teaching students of all ages and levels for more than 30 years and tailor lessons to met the goals of each individual. I hold a Master’s degree in Music with an emphasis on piano performance and teaching from Cal State U. North ridge and a B.A. in Music from Cal State U. Dominguez Hills. Member of MTNA, local branch, MMMTA (Mid Michigan Music Teacher Assoc.) I am offering in person lessons (yes, we do need to wear masks at this time). If you are interested in starting or continuing with your music journey, I look forward to hearing from you. Lessons are $25 for 30 min., $ 38 for 45, and $50 for 60 minutes. “I’m an interpreter of stories. “There are eighty-eight keys on a piano and within that, an entire universe.” - James Rhodes

Overview

Serves Frankenmuth, MI

Background checked

1 employee

27 years in business

Business hours

SunClosedMon9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Payment methods

This pro accepts payments via Cash and Check.

Social media

Instagram

Projects and media

5 photos

Projects and media

5 photos

Reviews

Customers rated this pro highly for work quality, value, and professionalism.

5.0

3 reviews

100%

Taylor D.

Sep 1, 2020

Melinda is a fantastic piano teacher! I took weekly lessons with her for many years and regularly think back on all the fun we had. I had taken a break from piano for several years before starting lessons with Melinda because I wasn't enjoying the lessons with my previous piano teacher. With some encouragement, I decided to get back into it and cautiously started taking lessons with Melinda. I was young, skeptical, picky, and came with a list of requirements (which I'm sure she got a good chuckle out of -- but still happily obliged by). From day 1 she always had such an awesome positive attitude, with a huge smile on her face. When I first started lessons, we stayed well within my list of requirements, playing the songs that I wanted to play, on my terms. As time went on, she helped me branch out by introducing me to new types and genres of music. I ended up learning some really awesome and fun songs that I would have never found or picked on my own. We even learned to play a few duets together (that I was certainly skeptical about at first), one of which ended up being my all time favorite song to play. We would both always walk away with huge giddy smiles on our faces after playing that song, and sometimes with tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. Melinda even got me rather interested in music theory, teaching it in a way that was directly applicable to improving my playing. She teaches the theory aspect sitting right at the piano, directly playing the keys to illustrate the concepts. I went from thinking music theory was just arbitrary information you had to memorize, to big epiphanies that made playing piano so much easier. It helped me see and understand patterns that helped everything click into place. Bottom line: lessons with Melinda are just so much fun. She's an incredibly intelligent and skilled musician. She always brings so much positive energy, you can't help but smile by the end of a lesson, even on a bad day. She takes the time to get to know you and teaches in ways that work best for you, while also broadening your horizons and helping you grow. If we still lived in the same area, I would pick up lessons with her again in a heartbeat. She is such a unique and wonderful person, you really won't find anyone like her. It is a privilege getting to take piano lessons from such a quirky, smart, fun, beaming burst of positive energy named Melinda. (She also has an amazing grand piano that is a joy to play on!)

Taka K.

Aug 31, 2020

Melinda is one of the best mentors I have encountered in my life. At 12 years old, I had been learning to play the piano entirely by ear, and was unable to read music. But then we found Melinda. Before I knew it, a year passed, and we had made it through 5 years of reading and playing - my passion for music only grew from there. Throughout high school, I was able to advance from playing Bach’s C major simple inventions to Chopin’s nocturnes, Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody, and Beethoven’s infamous 3rd movement moonlight sonata! At 18 now, I find myself writing my own unorthodox jazz pieces and taking up countless instruments to fuel my musical passions. I write with fellow musicians and can develop a pop song cover on the piano at the drop of a hat. And quite frankly, I credit all of my musicality to Melinda. She has helped me reach places I never could have imagined, one of them being the music department of an Ivy League University. (My work with her was a vital component of my application) Thank you for everything Melinda, I hope that others can experience your life-changing mentorship like I did.

Catherine R.

Aug 25, 2020

I always wanted to play the piano. I had tried with other teachers in the past to no avail. But with Melinda and the method she uses I was playing music with both hands in just a few lessons! I always look forward to my lessons and I even love practicing at home, even my scales, because the whole experience has led me to a mastery of the piano I never dreamed I could achieve. Three years later I am playing music from Bach to Bacharach and having a wonderful time with it, thanks to Melinda, her expertise as a teacher and her ability to encourage and challenge in an empathetic and effective way. She’s the best!

Credentials

Background Check

Melinda Bateman

FAQs

What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
B.A. in Music from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills, CA M.M. In Music (Piano Performance and Pedagogy, Cal State University, Northridge, CA 30 + years of teaching
How did you get started doing this type of work?
I grew up in Southern California, and my parents really wanted my brother and I to learn instruments. I started on tenor banjo at the age of six and added piano lessons by the age of 10. The piano and I just became best friends, would just lose myself in the music and practice for hours. Eventually, that grew into teaching which I also enjoy immensely.
What types of customers have you worked with?
I have worked with most age groups, 4 1/2 through seniors in their 80’s. Really keeps the work interesting for me. I really enjoy the journey and seeing that spark light up in a child when they are able to play well, not to mention adults that don’t think they will ever be able to play well, and then, one day, it happens!