McLaughlin School of Music

Our son was at the point of quitting the piano altogether when we decided to give the music one more chance. Now we've reached the point we've never even had hoped to be at: he starts his daily piano practice spontaneously and wants to excel and do it right. . .

I began studying with Matt McLaughlin three years ago, after a hiatus from piano lessons of nearly forty years! He is, quite simply, a superb piano teacher, and I whole heartedly recommend him to anyone who is serious about playing the piano. In my case, employing kindness, patience, phenomenal skill, and good humor, Mr. McLaughlin has significantly improved both my understanding of music theory and my playing.

He has introduced me to sophisticated fingering, phrasing, voicing, pedaling and myriad other techniques, suggested more effective ways to practice, and taught me how better to interpret the music as written. Thanks to his customized instruction and unwavering support, I am finally able to tackle music I always wanted to play but never imagined I could learn. Playing the piano is once again a source of great joy in my life, and, thanks to Matt, I am daily reminded that even an old dog can learn new tricks - - if she has the right trainer.

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 son's 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 I've dealt with has been great.

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!

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!

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!

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

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.

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 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 daughter's 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.

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.