Testimonials
“Having been a teacher for ten years, I’ve seen many different teaching styles. Emily is one of the most gifted educators I’ve ever known: unfailingly positive, while holding standards and expectations that bring out the best in children. Run, don’t walk, if you, or a child you love, has the opportunity to learn from her!”
“… that he can play the notes of much more sophisticated pieces goes without saying, but I am also amazed at how adept he is at articulation and controlling dynamics; his playing is much more musical than it was a year ago.”
“Emily Mott is a breath of fresh air! She is creative, focused, good humored, relaxed, and motivates our high-spirited 10-year-old daughter to explore her whole musical self. Emily teaches music—not just piano. She is a gifted teacher and we feel lucky to have her.”
“She has an excellent handle on the children’s abilities and gives accurate and valuable feedback. I’m not sure we would have continued this long with another teacher.”
“We have especially enjoyed Emily’s flexible, inclusive approach to music education. While focused primarily on basic music skills such as reading, rhythm training, and music theory, she has creatively and effectively integrated these skills into our family’s musical identity. Early in the process, Emily identified my wife’s piano playing and my guitar work as elements that could be directly involved in our kids’ training. Frequent duet projects with the boys and parents were at the same time fun for us and motivating to the kids, resulting in a family musical experience that would have been much harder to come by otherwise. She even inspired me to dust off my clarinet, which hadn’t been out of the case in 20 years!”
“Emily’s teaching style is a great match to my daughter’s learning style. Emily combines high expectations with a nurturing and positive attitude. I value that Emily’s lessons are very personal—she really teaches to my child’s skills and interests. I am impressed by how much my daughter has learned in our first year of lessons with Emily.”
“Emily is such a pleasure as a teacher—just the right level of introversion/extroversion as teacher. She has a gentle, kind spirit that draws the kids out. We have been so lucky to have Emily as a part of our lives.”
“As an adult student learning piano for the first time, Emily is both patient and carefully demanding. Her manner and tone are gentle, yet she is so inspiring to learn from. Emily’s essence is musical, and as a student, that pushes me to be better. Emily is very flexible and allows me room to choose the types of pieces I want to learn. She is respectful of all the parts to my life, musical and otherwise, and that makes her an amazing teacher.”
“Emily is a wonderful music teacher. Patient and kind. Gently asking children to do their best.”
“Emily is patient and fun with the kids. She works at their level to make sure they really can see some progress on their own and stay in love with music and musical instruments. My daughter sounds fantastic!”
“I love how humane and joyful the lessons are, and how much you tease out the musical enthusiasms and talents of each child. Truth is, I would not want to have my kids taking lessons with anybody else.”
“I found the piano lessons instead of tiring him out as ‘another activity’ is actually a relaxing mental break from his day, and he always left in a much better mood than when he entered, which is a sign of a great teacher. I was very concerned that [our son] would not want to continue piano for the whole year because he often resists ‘commitments,’ but actually it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience both for the student and parents. The way you helped him with songs like the Star Wars theme as well as the ‘classics’ and some pieces to build his music reading skills was key. He is definitely at the right level and is motivated by the music he enjoys.”
“During the past four years that we have been taking piano lessons from Emily Mott, she has fostered a genuine love of music-making in both of my children (ages 8 and 10). Additionally, Emily has rekindled my own long-dormant enjoyment of piano playing by teaching duets to me and each of the kids.”
“Emily teaches with an ideal combination of high expectations and low stress. Her teaching style is encouraging, not judgmental; her directions are clear and technique-driven without being stiff or overly technical. Emily brings a great deal of humor and creativity to her lessons. She gets my children to engage with their music by singing, dancing, and even drawing.”
“Emily has gotten to know and come to appreciate my kids as unique individuals with their own strengths, weaknesses, and musical interests. I truly value that Emily’s choices of sheet music and instructional goals are particular to each child.”
I would highly recommend Emily as a piano and/or music teacher in any setting. Her ability to present fairly complex musical ideas to young children is apparent not just from our personal experience but in those of the community of students that she gathers for a twice-yearly Music Share. We are sorry to see her leave the Boston area but know that our loss is Burlington’s gain.”