Heidi Saario Piano Studio

"Ms Heidi Saario is an expert pianist as well as a passionate teacher of budding musicians. She takes her teaching very seriously and is heavily invested in the musical growth of her students. Our 9 year old daughter has been a student of Ms Saario for the last one year. Ms Saario is very well organized in the way she plans and structures the class, the homework that she gives out, and in following up on how the student did on their homework. She recognizes that practice outside of class is a major factor in student growth, and to that end is always seeking new ways to motivate her students. In one such instance, she introduced an incentive program over a period of 75 days for all her students and this program had a very positive impact on our daughter’s desire to practice music at home every single day without any urging from us. This in turn drastically increased the rate at which she was learning new songs and improving her piano skills. Ms Saario also provides several opportunities during the course of a year for her students to perform in front of a wider audience in a formal setting. These events establish target milestones for students in addition to fostering confidence in them. We have been fortunate to have Miss Saario as our daughter’s musical inspiration, and have been amazed to see her musical ability grow over the last year."

"Hello piano enthusiasts. My piano journey began with lessons for one year at age ten, when I had to stop. I always wanted to go back to the piano but was never able to. Fast forward 50 + years, and I found myself able to retire. As a gift to myself I started taking piano lessons again. After a few years I was able to connect with Heidi as my teacher and have studied with her for the last 18 months. I feel I have learned a great deal from her over this time. Heidi is extremely knowledgeable about music and piano and is an excellent communicator of her knowledge. She is very patient. Her teaching is very organized and systematic, so that my overall understanding of piano has greatly increased. My initial foundation of piano playing had some gaps, which I feel are on the way to being filled. Some specific areas I have seen significant improvement in are as follows: 1. Learning to use my whole hands and arms in playing in a natural way, not just fingers. 2. Greatly improved musicality, such as where the phrases begin and end, dynamics, overall feeling of the music 3. Increased confidence in performing for other people. Heidi has supported me in this by encouraging me to participate in recitals, and in helping me prepare for the RCM exam program, where I passed my first Exam last year. Being able to learn and play piano is such a joy! I am so glad I have been able to take it up again after all these years. Having a good teacher that can help you develop and bring out the best in yourself is a tremendous asset. I wish Heidi was able to stay here in the south bay. But since she cannot, I encourage anyone in her new area who is interested in piano to get in touch with her. I’m sure you will be very happy you did."

"Ms Heidi has been teaching our nearly 6 year old daughter to play the piano for over a year now. It would be an understatement to say that during this past year, our daughter has enjoyed and developed a great love and fondness for both piano playing as well as Ms Heidi. Piano lessons soon grew to be the favourite activity of her week! Ms Heidi is a seasoned teacher, experienced with students of all levels from beginner through advanced and also a wonderful person - patient, gentle and caring. Under her guidance, our daughter has grown from a timid beginner to a confident piano player comfortable with recitals to any size audience. We have been very lucky to have Ms Heidi as a teacher."

"I would definitely recommend Heidi as a piano teacher for anyone who is willing to play the piano. There are many excellent musicians in the Bay area who offer piano lessons, but it is much more difficult to find those who, like Heidi, are also excellent teachers. Like many of Heidi's other students, I attribute much of my daughter’s progress to Heidi’s teaching style, which is rigorous, but patient, and highly personalized. Heidi has a unique ability to motivate and inspire. She tailors each lesson to whatever progress my daughter has made since her last one. Learning from Heidi has been such a fun and challenging experience."

"I have been taking piano lessons from Heidi for the last 1.5 years. She is an outstanding teacher and has been instrumental in bringing music back into my life. Heidi identified what type of music I enjoy and has introduced me to some lovely compositions which I would never have had the opportunity to hear, much less learn. She is patient and identifies a student’s strengths as well as weaknesses. She provides encouragement and effective strategies to work through the challenging sections in a piece. She also emphasizes on attention to dynamics. Her lessons are fun and in a relaxed learning environment. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning from her and she is extremely hard to replace."