Elizabeth is an amazing musician and a talented teacher. The patient and knowledgeable guidance is encouraging and freeing which has allowed my young musician to grow in cello skills and creativity! My young musician has gained tons of confidence in their ability to learn music by ear, reading sheet music and conservatory cello techniques. As a musician, I am very selective about teachers and I highly recommend this studio based on how Elizabeth creates a lovely community and allows the students to grow in their creativity and confidence!
- parent
My 2 boys have been studying music with Liz for 3 years. Liz is amazing with all her students. My boys have very different personalities and learning styles and Liz meets them where they are at and guides them along their own paths. They love their classes and the new on-line format gives them so many different options and fun approaches to learning. I am so thankful to have found such an amazing music teacher for them!
- parent (students play recorder & piano)
Knight Lizard Music has been a fantastic music school for my two daughters, who play cello. Liz is knowledgeable and patient. Her programs are well thought out and varied. The students learn to hear and feel the music, as well as to read it. We feel very fortunate to have found such a positive place to learn.
- parent
Elizabeth is both a brilliant musician *and* an inspired teacher. We’ve loved the opportunity to try out different instruments within the safe space of the same studio, and her original compositions are pedagogically and creatively wonderful. It’s also been a breath of fresh air for our family to get to stay the course with our music studies, moving it all online and keeping our groove on at home.
- MG, Sebastopol (students currently on violin, viola, and piano; family members have also tried out recorder and guitar in the past)
I am so thankful for Liz’s lovely teaching style. She teaches ear training through games and incorporates singing and chamber music making every week to encourage teamwork and group listening.
She effortlessly teaches music theory and cello skills with a fabulous mix creativity, imagination and critical thinking skills that my daughter loves!
- parent
Liz Erickson is an AMAZING teacher. I've had different teachers for different things in different stages of my life and she is one of the best teachers I've ever had. She teaches both adult learners and children both equally well which is not an easy thing to do. She really has a knack for it. I recommend her highly.
- parent & adult student (students on violin, cello, and piano)
I have been working with Elizabeth on composition for over four [now eight] years. Though I already had a BA in music, continuing my studies with her has proven to be absolutely invaluable to mygrowth as a musician and composer. She has a wonderful and rare combination of qualities which make her one most effective teachers with whom I've worked: She is knowledgeable, clear, patient, and organized; she uses lesson time with absolute efficiency (never a wasted minute); she tailors lessons to my individual goals and is flexible as those goals or focus evolve; perhaps most importantly, she is able to give feedback that is specific as well as general--details are always clear, but never feel restrictive or inflexible. It is delightful and deeply enriching to study with her. Elizabeth is a treasure.
- Gretchen Menn
I had been playing with Liz for four years or so, when one day in the middle of my lesson I blurted out "you know, what I really want to do is play folk music by ear." Up until that point I'd been playing a lot of classical pieces, but I had recently realized that what I really wanted to do was play in folk groups, and that my ear wasn't really up to the challenge. The week after my spontaneous declaration Liz had come up with a huge list of exercises for us to do that would continue to build me as a cellist and take me down the ear training/improvisation path I wanted to follow. She even came up with a plan that would keep me playing classical pieces, but with a twist that would build my ear and my memory skills at the same time. It was wonderful, and we've been working in that direction ever since.
I have known Liz to transcribe or arrange pop music for her students, arrange traditional pieces to suit a student's playing level, and help a cellist write an accompaniment for her friends folk guitar song. Her frequent master classes give a sense of community and incentive to polish a piece that might otherwise not make that final hurdle. Aside from being a fantastic cellist and teacher, she genuinely cares about helping her students enjoy music, love their instruments, and take both in whatever direction makes them happy.
- Catherine Miller
Having no musical training and a very engaged career, I was unsure how long my little experiment in cello learning would last. Today, I have been a cello student of Liz for more than three years. Her patience and ingenuity make her an ideal teacher for those trying to balance life with the hobby of cello playing. She is very adaptable, and will adjust her teaching style to match each student's needs. Liz will not impose any particular style on her students, and is truly supportive of experimentation and new ideas. Last but not least, her use of software and online tools gives a modern feel to cello learning.
- Itzcoatl Pla
Choosing to learn the cello was the easy part of my post-retirement plan to pursue a life-long love of music. The sound, the wonderful music for it, and the prospect of someday making music with a small group directed me to the cello. And besides, they are such beautiful creations.
Musician friends advised that finding a teacher capable of dealing successfully with adults would be harder. I started my search on-line, found three prospects (within driving distance of my country locale) who taught adult beginners. I contacted them by email, followed up with phone conversations and arranged to meet.
Liz was the first of the meetings, and after spending an hour with her, I cancelled the other meetings. My gut told me I had found someone who would suit me. She is bright, engaging, professional, and prepared to help students deal with the wide chasm between understanding and doing.
Once my lessons progressed, Liz showed even greater teaching skills than I had imagined. She is quiet, listening with patience and attention, studying the student's playing to diagnose, and then -- the best part --- makes very specific technical suggestions. I always left my lesson with the urge to go home and practice what she had just advised. And she is efficient -- using the lesson time to make her inputs for the next steps, even though I longed to play over and over again when she played with me on my parts or in duets.
I have studied with Liz for 15 months, and want to thank her for making my introduction to playing the cello so satisfying and rewarding.
- Jane Loos