Piano lessons
Patient, joyful lessons from a teacher with 34 years of experience — every lesson shaped around how your student learns best.
Built around the music you want to play
Reading music
Notes, rhythm and hand independence, one step at a time.
Chords & accompaniment
Chord charts and lead sheets so you can play along with songs you know.
By ear
Picking out melodies and improvising instead of only reading the page.
Pieces you love
Pop, hymns, classical and film music — matched to your level.
Donna Kelley
Hello! I am the cofounder and instructor at The Octopus Garden Music Studio. With 34 years of teaching experience and a degree in Education, my life’s work has been centered around helping students unlock their unique potential through creative, patient and joyful learning. Donna’s classroom experience spans elementary school, middle school, high school and junior college, giving her a deep understanding of academic development and instructional design. However, her most rewarding teaching experience happened right at home. For 31 years, she homeschooled her six children. This immersive journey taught her firsthand that no two children learn the same way. She became an expert at adapting lessons to fit visual, auditory and hands‑on learners, a skill that defines her music studio today. Music has been a living, breathing part of Donna’s life story since her own youth. Growing up, she sang in the church choir under the direction of her father, and she later served as the church pianist alongside him. Combined with her years playing in her high school marching and concert bands, she has spent decades using music to bring people and families together. Donna brought this lifelong passion into her own home by immersing her six children in music education. They took lessons in a vast array of instruments — including piano, cello, classical violin, bluegrass fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bass, drums, viola and voice — and eventually formed a band. Donna stepped into the roles of booking agent and manager, guiding them through rehearsals, public performances and real‑world musical opportunities. Several of her children went on to study music at the college level and are professional performers, teachers and session musicians in the music industry. She knows exactly what it takes to guide a young musician from their very first notes all the way to a public stage. At The Octopus Garden, Donna brings this blend of generational musical history, professional training and maternal patience to every student who sits at her piano.
- 34 years of teaching
- Degree in Education
- Taught elementary through junior college
- Former church pianist
- Co‑founder, Octopus Garden Studio
One simple monthly plan
Same teacher, same weekly time slot, and support between lessons when practice gets tricky.
Monthly lessons
- Four weekly 30‑minute private lessons
- A personalized curriculum
- Practice support by call or text between lessons
- Priority booking for your time slot
- Prep for recitals, auditions and performances
- End‑of‑semester student recitals