About
McAllister Music Studio offers private piano lessons, voice lessons, piano/voice combo lessons, guitar lessons, guitar/voice combo lessons, songwriting lessons, music production lessons, piano/music production combo lessons, and DJ-ing lessons. The program also includes MMS Recording Sessions at Tiny Telephone Studio, Kids Birthday Party Recording Sessions, open mic sessions, recitals, workshops, summer lessons, year round lessons, and summer camps.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
McAllister Music Studio states that its mission is to offer music education that changes lives and changes the world, and that its purpose is to serve San Francisco by offering what it describes as the absolute best and most heartfelt music education in the Bay Area. The studio describes its approach as an immersive musical experience that engages brain, body, and heart, and offers in-person lessons as well as online lessons for children and adults. It offers private lessons for beginners through advanced musicians and has a recording studio and small performance space, along with a waitlist option when no available time works for a schedule.
The leadership team includes founder and owner Ciara McAllister, who started teaching piano lessons at age 12, moved to San Francisco in 2005 to pursue music, began teaching adult students out of her two-bedroom apartment in the Lower Haight in 2008, opened the first commercial Lower Haight branch of McAllister Music Studio in 2014, and opened the Mission Studio in 2017. Teacher Lizzie Clapper began growing the children’s program in 2011. Administrator Naomi Markle supports operations and administration and has dual degrees in Political Science and Mass Communications with a minor in Education from UC Berkeley, and is also a piano/voice combo student as of Fall 2022.
The program’s history includes moving all lessons online during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 75 new students joining for online lessons during 2020, and closing the physical Lower Haight branch in August 2020. As of the description, McAllister Music Studio operates with three teaching studios and a recording studio at the Mission Studio, one studio at Ciara’s home in Buena Vista Park, and online.
McAllister Music Studio states that it carefully selects, auditions, interviews, and trains its teachers, and that it guarantees students have a fun, positive, and inspiring experience in each lesson. The studio hosts open mics, shows at Bottom of the Hill, concerts at the Noe Valley Ministry, recitals, workshops, summer camps, and special events to build community with its students. It also gives back to underserved members of San Francisco financially and by sharing music at several community outreach events throughout the year, and describes itself as a vibrant community of musicians that share music together.
Parent and student testimonials describe long-term enrollment, participation in open mic sessions and concerts, continued virtual lessons during the pandemic, and experiences with piano lessons, recitals, studio opportunities, and online classes. Families and students mention working with teachers such as Lizzie over many years, note that lessons have continued across four years and a pandemic, and describe ongoing engagement with practicing and with assigned musical selections.
Last updated June 6, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
McAllister Music Studio states that its mission is to offer music education that changes lives and changes the world, and that its purpose is to serve San Francisco by offering what it describes as the absolute best and most heartfelt music education in the Bay Area. The studio describes its approach as an immersive musical experience that engages brain, body, and heart, and offers in-person lessons as well as online lessons for children and adults. It offers private lessons for beginners through advanced musicians and has a recording studio and small performance space, along with a waitlist option when no available time works for a schedule.
The leadership team includes founder and owner Ciara McAllister, who started teaching piano lessons at age 12, moved to San Francisco in 2005 to pursue music, began teaching adult students out of her two-bedroom apartment in the Lower Haight in 2008, opened the first commercial Lower Haight branch of McAllister Music Studio in 2014, and opened the Mission Studio in 2017. Teacher Lizzie Clapper began growing the children’s program in 2011. Administrator Naomi Markle supports operations and administration and has dual degrees in Political Science and Mass Communications with a minor in Education from UC Berkeley, and is also a piano/voice combo student as of Fall 2022.
The program’s history includes moving all lessons online during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 75 new students joining for online lessons during 2020, and closing the physical Lower Haight branch in August 2020. As of the description, McAllister Music Studio operates with three teaching studios and a recording studio at the Mission Studio, one studio at Ciara’s home in Buena Vista Park, and online.
McAllister Music Studio states that it carefully selects, auditions, interviews, and trains its teachers, and that it guarantees students have a fun, positive, and inspiring experience in each lesson. The studio hosts open mics, shows at Bottom of the Hill, concerts at the Noe Valley Ministry, recitals, workshops, summer camps, and special events to build community with its students. It also gives back to underserved members of San Francisco financially and by sharing music at several community outreach events throughout the year, and describes itself as a vibrant community of musicians that share music together.
Parent and student testimonials describe long-term enrollment, participation in open mic sessions and concerts, continued virtual lessons during the pandemic, and experiences with piano lessons, recitals, studio opportunities, and online classes. Families and students mention working with teachers such as Lizzie over many years, note that lessons have continued across four years and a pandemic, and describe ongoing engagement with practicing and with assigned musical selections.
Last updated June 6, 2026.
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