About.
Ms. Sierra K. Schmidt founded Sierra Music Academy in 2025. Ms. Schmidt is a senior student in the School of Music at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Ms. Schmidt is on track to receive a Bachelor of Music degree with honors in May 2026. Ms. Schmidt completed her honors thesis in music education at the Franke Honors College and School of Music at the University of Arizona, where she invented a handy, user-friendly music theory application that is offered on this website ($15/mo). During the first half of 2026, Ms. Schmidt is currently studying music and Spanish in Barcelona, Spain.
Ms. Schmidt earned an Associate of Science degree in Music with high honors from Salt Lake Community College in 2023 and was named the Provost Graduate of Excellence for the School of Arts, Communication, and Media. Ms. Schmidt was selected as the top community college scholar in Utah in 2023, then named a national New Century Scholar by the American Association of Community Colleges, the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. Ms. Schmidt is a member of the National Association for Music Educators, the Tucson Music Teachers Association, and the Cochise County Music Teachers Association. She also a member of and participates in activities of the Piano Technicians Guild; she is currently learning how to tune pianos. Ms. Schmidt is a lifetime member of both Girl Scouting and the international Olave Baden-Powell Society that supports international scouting. Sierra Schmidt won the Gold Award in 2020, the highest award in Girl Scouting, when she was a senior in high school. Ms. Schmidt won the Gold Award for establishing a piano lesson system for young students in Naco, Arizona, a border town. She then expanded her piano lesson system online so more could take advantage of her system. Sierra's professional goal is to provide effective, economical music education and piano tuning in English and Spanish. Sierra is a fifth generation Bisbee resident. She has a strong passion to share her musical knowledge with students. Ms. Schmidt is assisted by Dr. Anita Riddle, a fourth generation Bisbee resident. Dr. Riddle completed many college courses in music history, music theory, electronic music, and piano. She has six years of experience tutoring music theory, music history, electronic music, and beginner piano. Dr. Riddle has three engineering degrees (BS, MEM, DE) and is also the app developer of Ms. Schmidt's Music Theory Application. Dr. Riddle has attended a national convention of the Piano Technicians Guild and aims to build her skills in piano tuning. She is studying abroad in early 2026 in Barcelona Spain to study AI in music, classical music history, music therapy and conversational Spanish. |
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Sierra Schmidt explains, "My piano teaching style for elementary school children will initially be very kinesthetic, auditory, and visual. The lesson studios are inviting; the large room has a lot of light, comfortable seating for parents, and child-friendly, music-styled art on the walls, and a beautiful piano on which to learn. Children love to touch something and see, hear, smell, or feel a response. Children learn quickly that they can control an object by touching it. That is the very first lesson I will teach - touch a piano key with one finger and hear the piano make a sound! Touch a key and see a hammer hitting a string! Seeing a young student smile and be thrilled with the ability to control an object by touching will draw them into wanting to learn more. I will offer no complex music theory and no scary music notations in the first lessons. Lessons will be engaging and entertaining. I am confident that parents sitting in will be pleased to see their child engaged, learning, and even playing their first song!
In the subsequent lessons, I plan to continue to use kinesthetic and auditory styles. I will begin using established teaching methods, such as Michael Aaron Primer level, Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level, and Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Prep Course Level A. Among those, my favorite is the Faber Piano Adventures for beginner young children because that series focuses on auditory and kinesthetic learning, which are my favorite approaches. Additionally, Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level is designed for my target student group, which is the age range of five to six years. I like that the Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level has a Lesson Book, Technique and Artistry, Performance Book, and Theory Book." (December 12, 2025)
In the subsequent lessons, I plan to continue to use kinesthetic and auditory styles. I will begin using established teaching methods, such as Michael Aaron Primer level, Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level, and Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Prep Course Level A. Among those, my favorite is the Faber Piano Adventures for beginner young children because that series focuses on auditory and kinesthetic learning, which are my favorite approaches. Additionally, Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level is designed for my target student group, which is the age range of five to six years. I like that the Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level has a Lesson Book, Technique and Artistry, Performance Book, and Theory Book." (December 12, 2025)
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Sierra Music Academy Music Studio 500 E. Vista St. Bisbee, AZ 85603 |
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