Helping students of all ages and levels of advancement
discover the joy of music-making
and unleash their full creative potential.
discover the joy of music-making
and unleash their full creative potential.
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Amy Aberg McLelland, NCTM, Teacher
Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano through The Music Teachers National Association; Certified with The Golandsky Piano Institute; Past-President Birmingham Music Teachers Association; Award-winning pianist and teacher; Bachelor and Master Degrees in Piano Performance; Post-Graduate studies in New York City. Expert in healthy piano technic and ergonomic motion; Certified teacher of the Taubman Approach to piano playing. In-person private lessons available in Birmingham and Hoover, AL and Atlanta, GA and other Southeastern states tba. Online video lessons available across the country and internationally. 
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Recipient "Best of Hoover" award in music education 7 straight years
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Teacher, Lecturer
Amy Aberg McLelland, Nationally Certified Teacher of Music
For over 30 years McLelland has taught students of all ages and levels of advancement in colleges and her private studio. Her students are the recipients of numerous awards and regularly receive the highest ratings in competitions and festivals. She has served on the music faculties of William Carey College, Mississippi College, taught piano at Alabama School of Fine Arts, and at the Taubman and Golandsky Piano Summer Symposiums at Princeton University, NJ, Amherst College, MA, and Williams College, MA. McLelland is an expert in injury prevention and healthy, ergonomic motion at the piano. Past president of the Birmingham Music Teachers Association, McLelland has been a long-standing member and officer in numerous professional organizations. Her students have been chosen as winners in local, state, and regional competitions and have received scholarships as music majors.
Excerpts from student performances:
Recipient of Best of Hoover Music Education Award for 6 straight years in a row.
What students and parents are saying . . .
"Thank you for making piano so much fun for our son. We appreciate all that you do for him and are thankful he has found something he is passionate about and excels in!" "Thank you for being so patient and kind with me. I feel like I have truly grown as a musician over the past 3 years and I have you to thank for this." I've never felt so confident at the piano." -- Adult piano student “I’m so proud of you! [Your students] sound great and their hands look wonderful. You’re such a good teacher and fine musician, Amy, and that really comes across. Congratulations to you and [your students] too." --- John Bloomfield, faculty chair of the Golandsky Piano Institute, NYC The pain and numbness in my hands is completely gone now! I thought there was no hope of ever playing again and I can't thank you enough for giving music back to me. I'm so thankful to be out of pain and I can honestly say that my playing has improved from before my injury. I'm most impressed with the quality of sound now -- it used to be so thin and now it's full and rich and warm. Also, I never would have believed piano playing could feel so easy. I was raised to believe that tension and effort was required but I've learned that, actually, piano playing can feel absolutely delicious and effortless in the body. I highly, highly recommend this approach [Taubman Approach] to all pianists and musicians. You are an amazing teacher!" -- Formerly injured pianist after retraining in the Taubman Approach at McLelland Piano “I just want you to know how much we appreciate the fact that you do these extra competitions for your students. We appreciate the sacrifice you make to work on your day off, to prepare the students, and just the hassle factor that goes in to going the extra mile in challenging these kids. As always, I’m so glad you are our teacher!” -- Parent of 5th grade students High school student at Spring Studio Recital performing Debussy:
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Pianist, Composer, Adjudicator, Clinician
A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Amy Aberg McLelland is an award-winning pianist whose playing has been described as "ravishing ....with a wonderful variety of tone colors and nuance of interpretation." McLelland performs in both solo and collaborative recitals and has appeared on Public Television and Public Radio and as a soloist with symphonies and other large chamber groups and as an official MTNA piano accompanist. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships and won many piano competitions such as the MTNA Collegiate Artist Competition, HSO Young Artist Competition, AMTA State Winners Circle, Louise McAllister Scholarship, Luke A. and Mary M. Wood Scholarship, Hindman Foundation Fellowship, MTNA Teacher Enrichment Grant.
Trained as a classical pianist, reviewers hail her as an expert on Mozart, and indeed she was chosen among 100s of pianists to perform for Imogen Cooper (featured on the soundtrack for the movie Amadeus) in Spivey Hall. However, McLelland enjoys playing all styles of music, from Chopin to Shearing, Rachmaninoff to Rhabee, Bach to blues improv, and her own original compositions which often have a Barber meets B-52s meets Bartok feel.
"Your Liszt was ravishing … a wonderful variety of tone colors and nuance of interpretation … a good ear for color.” --- Review of a television performance by Amy McLelland In demand as an adjudicator and clinician, McLelland regularly presents lectures on the Taubman Approach which instructs pianists in the art of coordinate movement, encouraging healthy motions that “maximize physiologically sound arm and hand position.” (Dr. Frank Bunn, Harvard Medical School). The Taubman Approach is a groundbreaking analysis of the mostly invisible motions that function underneath a virtuoso technique and has helped pianists from all over the world overcome technical limitations, improve tone production and other components of expressive playing, as well as cure playing-related injuries. (Golandsky Institute).
McLelland has helped numerous pianists and organists overcome technical limitation and playing-related injuries. She is the only teacher in the Southeast US who has received certification in the Taubman Approach through the Golandsky Piano Institute, NYC. McLelland is also in demand as a pianist for receptions and cocktail piano.
One of her most recent chamber concerts featured her own compositions. Here is one of the selections (violinist, Daniel Szasz, cellist, Warren Samples).
McLelland also enjoys arranging and of course had to made a nod to one of her alma maters . . .
All said and done, her favorite composer is JS Bach. (With a possible 5-way tie between Chopin, Barber, Brahms and Bartok). OK, she loves all styles of music.
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