EncoreX Piano Studio - Santa Clara, California

黄口天

Cheryl is a wonderful teacher: very skillful and knowledgeable in piano playing and music theory. She’s also very good breaking down concept and techniques into different stages of practices, so it’s easy to make consistent small progress along the way. I’m not only learning classic piano playing but also how to make impromptu accompaniment to modern pop music as well.

Dong W.

I'm an adult beginner and Cheryl is an incredible piano teacher for me!

Before finding Cheryl, I spent nearly two years with another teacher but made little progress, my previous teacher was a skilled pianist but obviously did not take an adult student like me seriously. I wish I could know Cheryl earlier.

In the past 3 years, she's taught me the fundamentals that make all the difference – proper finger technique, how to express emotion through music, and music appreciation. With Cheryl, I'm not just mindlessly hitting keys, I'm truly playing piano. She is a professional, and always patient and encouraging. If you're ready to learn the right way, Cheryl is the teacher for you.

Xuebo Y.

Teacher Cheryl is awesome! My daughter started learning Piano with Teacher Cheryl since age 5 and now she is 6.5 I can’t believe how much progress she has made over the past 1.5 years and how much love she has gained for music, piano, singing in general.
Cheryl not only teaches the fundamental knowledge and skills, but also influences with her genuine love and passion for music and her expression of emotion through demonstrations of her skillful play of the piano. She is patient, supportive, encouraging and passionate at the same time.
I’m grateful to have found Cheryl for my daughter and highly recommend her for anyone looking to establish good piano foundation, solid knowledge and skills, and ready to appreciate the joy of music for their life!

Minjie Z.

If you're looking for a piano teacher who is equal parts talented, encouraging, and passionate, then look no further than Cheryl. My son began taking lessons with her 4 years ago, and it's been an absolute joy.

Cheryl has a wonderful way of tailoring lessons to the individual needs and goals. She created a personalized learning plan that keeps my son motivated and engaged. We have seen his growth every a few months.

What truly sets Cheryl apart is her infectious enthusiasm for music. She fosters a love of learning that makes every lesson enjoyable. She is also incredibly patient and supportive, always offering constructive criticism that helps you improve without ever feeling discouraged.

In our time with Cheryl, my son have not only developed the piano skills, but also gained a deeper appreciation for music as a whole. She taught the music theory in an easy to understand way.

I wholeheartedly recommend Cheryl to anyone interested in learning piano. She is a fantastic teacher who will help you unlock your musical potential.

Butterfly H.

Ms. Xiao has been an outstanding piano teacher for my son.

My son began his piano lessons at the age of 8 with a US and continued for four years. While he enjoyed playing, he struggled with flat and weak fingers, making daily practice feel like a chore.

To encourage him to reach the next level, we decided to switch to Ms. Xiao. Over the course of a year, she focused on correcting his technique from the ground up, and the results have been remarkable.

Not only has his playing improved technically, but Ms. Xiao also shares her deep understanding of music, allowing him to connect emotionally with the pieces he performs.

She encourages her students to engage in self-reflection by recording their practice sessions, which has further enhanced his growth and understanding.

Now, my son looks forward to his daily practice, finding joy in every session. He is also proud to have passed the ABRSM exams grade 6 with an excellent level.

We truly wish we had started lessons with Ms. Xiao earlier!

Yi J.

Very professional teacher! You don't know how great Cheryl is until you make a comparison! Cheryl was recommended to me by a friend. During a casual conversation, I and my friend discussed children learning to play the piano. My friend's child is very self-motivated and enjoys the process of playing, and my friend can see significant progress in her child's musical abilities. On the other hand, my child had been studying with two different teachers for several years, but the results were not satisfactory. The music my son played didn't sound good to me, and I felt like there was little progress.
My son lacked interest and had to be pushed to practice. So, with a "give it a try" attitude, I switched to Cheryl's instruction. It's been almost two years now, and the progress has been astonishing. My son is more self-motivated in practicing, has started to appreciate the beauty of music, and has even developed a daily practice routine. One day, my son said to me that he used to learn in vain before. I am thankful to my friend, but even more grateful to Cheryl. I feel incredibly lucky to have found such a great teacher!

Le W.

It is not easy to find a good piano teacher that fits one's needs, at least not in my case. In the past, I had trial sessions with 4 piano teachers and took classes for a few months with 2 of them.

Now, I have been studying with Cheryl for 2 years. Two reasons that I like her a lot (1) she has a focus on the fundamentals and techniques, and more importantly she knows how to teach so the student will get there; (2) she also emphasizes a lot on musicality, dynamics and phrasing, and she is able to communicate it to the student either through analogy, singing and even stories.

I would recommend her for any serious piano learners. Her skills and experiences definitely allow her to take advanced and even professional students.

I am also extremely impressed by how she could tell the subtle difference in color and touch during our online classes, and I am sure this level of sensitivity won't come to her easily without tremendous efforts she has put in her years of learning, practicing and teaching. This is just an example to show how great she is as both an pianist and a teacher.

Catherine W.

I studied piano with Cheryl from 2012-2023. Throughout this lengthy span of time, my teachers in other extracurriculars came and went, but I always stuck to Cheryl as my piano teacher.

It’s one thing to master the piano, and another to be good at teaching it. Cheryl has accomplished both. She sets high expectations for her students because she knows what they are capable of. When she assigns a hard piece to me, I do not doubt myself because I trust her judgment of my skills. However, she takes students’ input into account if they have a differing preference.

Cheryl ensures that her students develop good technical skills from day one; I will always remember her telling me “piano is like ballet for the fingers.” Thanks to her, I have developed dexterity in my fingers from years of hard work and discipline. Earlier this year, I achieved a Distinction on the ABRSM Grade 8 Performance Exam. However, I also wish to highlight her keen sense of musicality. Cheryl ensures that you execute a piece with not just what’s objectively accurate to the sheet music, but also a stylistic interpretation that adds emotion and depth.

Cheryl’s guidance has given me a three-dimensional approach to music that has expanded my skill set beyond the piano. I have composed several solo piano pieces starting as early as fifth grade. My sight-reading ability made me a standout flute player for my two years in band. I developed an excellent sense of pitch, which enabled me to breeze through my 9th grade choir class and ultimately receive the “Most Valuable Singer” award. It is great fun to exercise this sense of pitch in more casual ways, such as combining it with some basic music theory (also learned from Cheryl) to play songs by ear.

As I’m going to college in 2024, my regular classes with Cheryl have come to an end. It is a bittersweet closing to this 11 year long chapter. However, I am proud to call myself a student of hers for life!