Carli Bates Cello Studio

I made a personal goal this year to learn a musical instrument mostly because I wanted a creative outlet for stress — I work full time as an engineer and work can get really crazy.
I have always admired the cello and really wanted to learn. I was unsure of how difficult this would be not knowing how to read notes and possibly not having enough time to practice. This is where Carli comes in — she is a godsend. Carli is extremely patient and focuses a lot on technique, which I really appreciate. I also like that she focuses on nailing down the basics — the bow hold, shifting and scales so you have all the tools to play most any song and play it well! She also goes above and beyond and has often gone over the lesson time to make sure I get things right. Further, she suggested extra material and pointers that I have found very helpful while learning the instrument and techniques.
Make no mistake, the cello is a difficult instrument to learn and master but Carli makes this process easy. In addition to her incredible skills as a cello instructor, she is very accommodating with her time. This is important for me since my schedule tends to change a lot and she has always been flexible.
I highly recommend Carli as a cello instructor for people of all ages. She is an extremely gifted teacher and a wonderful person to boot!

As a busy father of two, I started taking lessons with Carli skeptical that I could learn cello and improve upon my musical ability. However, I enjoyed learning from Carli right from the start. Learning from her felt comfortable and she provided a good balance between pushing me to go further in technique, musical knowledge and overall playing ability and just enjoying playing music. In just a few short lessons, I felt that I progressed significantly largely due to my lessons with Carli. I definitely recommend her for both adults and children that want to learn how to play cello and improve their musical ability.

My grandson began playing the cello in 4^th grade. In 5^th grade we put him in the Suzuki program and began private lessons. When he entered middle school, Ms. Bates was his Orchestra teacher. At that time he lacked self confidence and did not know how to read music.
Carli Bates teaches in a supportive nurturing environment. It quickly became clear to me that she was the teacher for my grandson. He started private lessons with Carli and began to gain self confidence and build skills.
Carli has high expectations and deeply cares for her students. She consistently focuses on the fundamentals, raising the bar over time, which is key to success.
When conflicts come up in scheduling she can be flexible.
I cannot recommend Carli Bates highly enough. She is structured but encourages creativity. She gets the best from her students, who all enjoy working with her.
My grandson is now in the high school Symphonic Orchestra and, yes he can read music and still loves to play his cello!