My son has loved his clarinet lessons. When he started, he was the youngest student the teacher had ever had, and the teacher did a great job tailoring lessons to my sons age and total beginner status.My son has had two teachers at GAMA, and he has learned so much and gotten along well with both of them. GAMA also did a great job transitioning to the new teacher when the first one moved on.Communication from the office is always helpful and timely. Everyone Ive dealt with has been great.

I have been with GAMA since early 2017, taking lessons weekly. This school has it all—highly trained teachers, and a curriculum with opportunities to perform throughout the year via recitals, performance classes, and holiday programs (included with tuition)! As an adult learner returning to piano, I bounced from instructor to instructor for a few years never finding the right match. I met with Matt and at his suggestion started lessons with Eric. My growth has been exponential. Whether you are looking for a spot for yourself or your child, I strongly encourage you to check out the Greater Austin Music Academy!

I want to give a huge shout out to the GAMA crew for creating such a seamless experience for me from beginning to end. Immense gratitude to my piano teacher Danny Kavka, who was incredibly kind to this nervous adult beginner. He provided me the structure I needed for learning the foundations, while being sure to bring my own interests into every single lesson. If you’re on the fence, I really recommend trying it out, especially since you can pay month-to-month. Cheers!

Ive really loved being a student at GAMA! They helped me to find the right one of their teachers for studying jazz piano and music composition as an adult. Ive been able to make use their practice rooms when lessons werent happening. I had a great time at sing-a-longs, recitals, and jam sessions at their location(pre-pandemic), and theyve done a great job of taking the recitals, group classes, and lessons virtual during the pandemic.

Weve been super happy with our experience with Greater Austin Music Academy. We started with an instructor who left pretty quickly after we began, but the studio made the transition to a new instructor quickly and they were understanding of my concerns. My two kiddos have been taking lessons with Miguel ever since. Even through the pandemic, weve been really happy with the quality of virtual lessons. The virtual recital was super fun for my son to participate in. We cant wait to get to come back in person.

Starting music lessons for the first time as an adult was a big step for me. Luckily, I found GAMA and they set me up with an exceptional harp teacher. The school is very well organized and is great about communicating. They have done an exceptional job at keeping things going during the Pandemic with on-line recitals and activities. They even offer a free weekly music hangout where any student can join to play whatever they are working on or just to listen. All of the teachers are professionals who care about their work and their students. GAMA is a real treasure for music students - young or old!

My 9 yr old daughter and 6 yr old son take guitar and piano lessons here. We really love this studio and our teacher. Id highly recommend lessons here.

Weve had a fantastic experience at GAMA, would highly recommend it. My son loves going to his piano lessons every week and being part of the larger GAMA music community. Big shoutout to piano teacher Hannah Pagitt!

I would not hesitate to recommend Matt to anyone looking for a dedicated, talented, and very inspiring teacher. My two daughters, who have been playing piano for 10 and 7 years, have been taking lessons with Matt for almost a year and both girls have made huge advances in their skill level. My oldest, specifically, often remarks how Matt makes the music come alive for her! He has been very patient and encouraging in correcting some of the poor technique that other teachers have allowed to continue for all these years. Even though Matt has high standards for practice time and attendance at lessons, he is very realistic and has been flexible with finding the best schedule that suits our family. We feel extremely blessed to have found Matt!

My 8 year old son receives wonderful piano instruction from Matt. He has been attending lessons for a year and has made tremendous progress. I am grateful that Matt teaches technique, theory and also incorporates proper posture. None of my sons previous teachers taught posture and I believe that is has helped my child excel at piano. Matt has also helped instill a love of playing in my son. He knows what he is capable of and pushes him to his level of achievement.

Lots of positive things to say about Matt and his studio. He is patient, organized, encouraging, and always up-beat. Great sense of humor. Im amazed at his depth of musical knowledge, both historically and structurally.As an adult semi-beginner student, hes tailored the lessons to be challenging, yet achievable, and is guiding me down a mostly-Bach path (my main interest right now). He also has insights into what might be called the psychology of playing the piano - how the mind and body interact when learning and playing music.All in all I feel pretty fortunate to have gotten into his studio!

I started piano lessons with Matt four years ago at the beginning of high school. I had just moved to Austin from out of state, and was looking to continue the piano lessons I had been taking since second grade. After having preliminary lessons with several teachers in town, however, I was left feeling discouraged, depressed, and overwhelmed by the prospect of continuing piano. It was then that I had my first lesson with Matt. His very nice, friendly demeanor was extremely refreshing, and he was very adept at picking up where my last (less advanced) teacher had left off and then pushing me on to new heights. He helped me to rekindle my love for the piano, and for that I will always be immensely grateful. His comments are always helpful and insightful, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot as both a pianist and a musician in general since I started lessons with him. He’s great with young beginners, too, as I’ve witnessed during his studio recitals; it’s very apparent that he enjoys teaching. Four years later, I’m headed off to music school to pursue a degree in composition (with piano as my applied instrument, of course). Matt was a great help throughout the long and stressful college audition process, and I felt very prepared and confident. I can proudly say that, with Matt’s help, I completed successful auditions at the San Francisco Conservatory, the Oberlin Conservatory, the Peabody Conservatory, UT Austin, and the University of Colorado at Boulder. I owe a great deal to Matt for getting me to where I am today, and I would strongly recommend him without question to anyone with a love of music looking to study piano.

Matt is an amazing piano teacher!! We are so blessed to have found him following a move to the Austin area. When Matt plays the piano, it is truly magical, he is one of the best piano players that I have ever seen...it is clear that he has put his heart and soul into perfecting his art, and is able to pass his gifts, talents and skills over to his students. This is the teacher that you hope for for your child, or yourself...he is the best of the best.Matt is keenly observant, and picks up on his students strengths and weaknesses in order to make them better musicians. Matt is inspiring, and even discusses the history behind various pieces and their composers for an amazing, well-rounded and comprehensive instruction. In addition to being the best teacher my son has studied under in terms of skill, Matt is kind, approachable and very organized in his method of teaching.Lynda & Zakariah

I started taking lessons with Matt in the fall of 2013 as an adult beginner. I had some musical experience growing up with strings, but this was my first foray into piano land. I cant recommend Matt highly enough, and here are just a few reasons why:If you get stuck on a particular spot or series of spots in a piece, Matt is able to quickly unwind your frustration by articulating what is most likely causing your roadblock, and then breaks the solution down into small, achievable steps.Related to the last point, no matter how much practice and/or progress youve been able to make in the week prior, Matt is able to assess where youre at and make sure you leave each lesson ahead of where you started. So even if youve had a really busy week at work and you couldnt get much practice in, Matt is going to understand and help you make progress no matter how small. This continuous progress was absolutely critical to keeping me engaged and motivated, especially when I was just starting out.The piano books we work from present accessible, enjoyable pieces that are fun to play. If youre interested in particular composers or styles that may not be in the standard lesson book, Matt is good about finding alternative pieces that match your ability.Each week you get to play on his Steinway during the lesson. This is definitely a highlight for me.Matt looks at learning the piano holistically. Theres just the right balance of technique, memorization, theory, ear training, scale work, and learning new pieces to keep you fully engaged.If you are not already convinced by his credentials, you will find out very quickly that Matt truly knows his craft inside and out.Tremendous value for the lessons. I probably shouldnt say this, but I would gladly pay double the current rate.Above all else, you can just tell right off the bat that Matt is a nice guy. I genuinely look forward to my lesson each week!

I am an adult beginner student with no prior musical experience. I wanted to learn, and I chose Matt. Matt is always friendly, and he understands a busy adult schedule. Also, if I have trouble with a piece, Matt is really good at coming up with different lesson plans so I can learn the piece. A year and a half later I can play, as well as recommend Matt as an excellent teacher. In fact, I recommended him to a colleague and now she also goes to Matt for lessons!

I took lessons from Matt for 6 years and I could not be more thankful to have had him as a teacher. As a student interested in entering competitions and festivals, I was searching for a teacher who would not only have the knowledge and skills to teach me at a higher level, but also the dedication to prepare me for frequent performances and help me maximize my potential. Matts depth of knowledge in a wide variety of music styles and strong background in music theory has given me valuable insight into every piece I have worked on. His attention to detail has helped me identify my weaknesses and systematically refine my technique and showmanship. Matt has always put in an tremendous amount of work into making sure I felt prepared for every performance. Every class was challenging and engaging but I never felt overwhelmed or pressured. His friendly personality creates a comfortable environment for students of all ages. I love how Matt allows freedom for individuals to explore their musicality, which has helped me better understand and experience the beauty of music. I would recommend Matt without hesitation to any student searching for a a higher level piano education or simply to explore music

I feel so lucky that we found Matt not long after we moved to Austin in last year. We went to several recitals but were not satisfied with the feeling about teachers, then I found Matt online. My daughter began to like Mr. Matt after first trial lesson, and so far we have been learning piano from him over a year now. He is so young compare to the other teachers we had in the past, so I was wondering if he could be patient to young kids. But over the time, his patience and always being encouraging are definitely impressive, my daughters learning and practicing become more initiative. It is very important for kids doing what they really like, and I think Matt is a kind of teacher making kids enjoy what they are doing with excellent skill and dedicated attitude.

Having been a former music student, I simply wanted the best possible piano teacher for my daughter. I feel that I have found that teacher in Matt. My daughter looks forward to her lesson each week and practices everyday...not for me but for Mr. Matt. It is amazing the progress she has made in the past four years as a student of Matt. Our friends and family are always complementing her playing. I cannot recommend him more highly.

I think this school has the best teachers in Austin. Everyone is friendly and when I come here Im so happy and excited to practice until my next lesson.

My son has taken piano lessons here for years and has learned to read music, improvise, and (most importantly) enjoy playing. I highly recommend this music school!

Ive been taking my niece to Matts piano studio for over 3 years now and I cant say enough good things about him. Before Matt we didnt have much luck with piano lessons, and only found him after being referred by a musician in town. Matt is amazing with children and can explain things in a way they understand. Hes very gentle and understanding but he always has high expectations for his students.His central Austin location is really convenient, but after starting with Matt we would even drive farther to continue with him. He also has a lot of events throughout the year for his students, which are great for the family to spend time together (our family is very close knit).His student recitals are great motivation for the younger students and we always stay until the end to hear the high school aged students play. They are extraordinary!

There is absolutely no comparison between Matt McLaughlin and anyone else! He is, by far, the best and most dedicated teacher Ive ever come across.

My granddaughters study piano and violin here and absolutely love it. It is a great studio!

My 2 kids took lessons here when we lived in Austin...wonderful place and terrific instructors!! I highly recommend!!

Matt is not only awesome with my 10-year old boy, he is also incredible at dusting my skills off!

I want piano blues how much?