Alani Sugar
About
***Please message me to set up lessons!***
Alani Sugar is a dedicated and versatile music educator with a deep-rooted love for bluegrass and American old-time music. Her fiddle playing has earned awards including the Steve Mandell Memorial Music Scholarship, Fletcher Bright Memorial Award, and the Seven Mountains Bluegrass Assosiation Fiddle Scholarship, highlighting her exceptional skill and commitment to her craft.
Throughout her career, Alani has had the privilege of sharing the stage with many of her musical heroes. Inspired by the impactful guidance of her own teachers and mentors, Alani felt a profound desire to inspire others through teaching.
Alani has performed in various corners of the world, immersing herself in the traditional music of different cultures. This rich tapestry of experiences informs her teaching, allowing her to offer a broad and inclusive perspective on music.
In her teaching, Alani embraces a diverse array of students, ranging from young beginners to seasoned players. She also has experience teaching special needs students. Her commitment to fostering a supportive and dynamic learning environment ensures that every student, regardless of age or ability, has the opportunity to grow and thrive musically.
Reviews from Another Lesson Platform
Such a good first lesson! So excited for more!
Good lesson
Enjoying lessons.
I was super nervous for my first lesson, as I’m a total novice at fiddle and had never taken an online music lesson of any kind before. Alani made me feel super comfortable, and I feel like I’m going to learn so much!
I have been taking Fiddle with Alani for a little more than a month and I am already learning Fiddle tunes. She is an excellent teacher, able to explain unfamiliar territory with ease. I never imagined I would get this far in so short a time. While I don't read sheet music, she teaches me how to name the notes by the fingers on the strings, a system that is working well for me. Alani is skilled at breaking down the Fiddle scales, phrases of a song, and general bow and string techniques, so that a novice can really play and gain confidence. I highly recommend Alani.
Wonderful wonderful actitud super patience and very knowledgeable about the need & goals for my class. Thank you Alina for such a wonderful class.
Alani is very experienced, professional, and kind. She’s efficiently teaching me, who has no experience with the violin, how to play one. I’d recommend her to anyone.
I have little experience playing the fiddle and felt awkward a LOT! Alani helped me feel more at ease and really is helping me zero in on what my goals are and how to reach them. I recommend her highly!
Excellent lessons! Alani is great! Very patient and friendly! I'm so glad I started these lessons.
Alani was very thorough and patient with a very novice, first time student. I am looking forward to our next lesson.
Alani is an outstanding instructor! My daughter is 13 and has learned so much from Alani. Alani is an accomplished musician and is very knowledgeable regarding fiddling and music. Alani has great communication skills and you will be happy with her as your instructor. I especially liked that Alani took the time to create youtube instructional videos for my daughter after the lessons. Thank you, Alani!
I am currently working with Alani on the mandolin and I have already learned so much. Alani is has been very patient with my limited understanding of music and incredibly encouraging. I chose to work with Alani because she identified in her profile that she enjoys playing and teaching old-time and bluegrass. She has been helping me learn to play by ear so I can eventually contribute to some campfire jams when I am back in my home state of Maine! She always sets me up with a task and/or lesson to practice on my own. The lessons include a Youtube video that allows me to follow along and listen as I learn. In all, she is incredibly knowledgeable, talented, kind, and a great communicator. I have already recommended her to two friends who are looking to get into playing.
Amazing teacher!!
Really fun, met me where I was at. A really great experience, looking forward to our next lesson
I was pleasantly surprised by Alani's calm and patience. Very knowledgeable and make understanding music easy.
Knowledgeable and patient!
Very patient thank God. She really tries to teach according to what you want to learn. Looking forward to many more.
It was my first lesson online. And I was worried about time lag. But it worked perfectly! I really appreciate supports from Alani and staffs of ******. And the lesson was great. I'd love to say that you can take lessons from overseas, like Japan!
Really enjoying my lessons with Alani. She’s very knowledgeable and has good plans of action each week. I would Recommend her as teacher.
Alani is an awesome fiddle teacher who gave me the personal attention needed for a beginner. As an adult student, she was quickly able to assess my strengths, weaknesses and learning style. She made me feel at ease and had lots of patience. I would highly recommend Alani to anyone looking to learn the fiddle. Can’t wait for my next lesson!
I saw a post on Facebook by Alani that she was giving fiddles lessons. It had been a while since I picked up the fiddle and thought that this was the best way to get back to playing. I messaged her and we set up a date and time for the lesson. The lesson was amazing, we were both a little nervous but it didn’t stop us from playing some awesome music. Alani was really patient with me as I hadn’t tuned or played my fiddle in a good while. After the lesson, Alani sent me audio files of the music we played so that I could listen back and continue learning. Overall a great lesson, and I hope to take another soon!!
Alani has been wonderful. She was so flexible and understanding when I had to cancel due to family reasons at the last minute. She has taught me several types of tunes and songs and listens and lets me take the lead in what I would like to learn and answers all my questions. She even simplified one of my favorite songs by Nickel Creek that was way too complex for me to try to play as a beginner but now I can play it and work up to the more complex version if I'd like. She is good at helping me find answers to many of my questions myself and guides me so that I can figures things out on my own. She is a great teacher for an independent person and can give a great foundation for a student to build from and know how to teach themselves. (Like the teacher who teaches one to fish rather than just giving the student the fish)
Alani is a charming and patient teacher. I especially appreciate (for me) her focus on fiddle vs. violin techniques. (The "fiddle" teachers near me are violin players and don't really understand the difference in playing technique.) I highly recommend her if you're looking for some fun fiddle lessons.
My 13 year old daughter is a classical violinist and wanted to learn how to fiddle. We found Alani and after 4 lessons my daughter is fiddling! Alani has a patient way of teaching teenagers how to fiddle by making it fun. She sends us recordings of the song so my daughter can work on the piece during the week and we appreciate it! I highly recommend this artist! We are having so much fun!
Alani is very personable and easy to communicate with. She quickly assessed my strengths and weaknesses and gave me immediate feedback to improve on my concerns. Very positive and encouraging. She is also able and willing to work on what I’m interested in but also points out things she thinks I need to improve on. On my first lesson she started me on some embellishments for a tune I had started teaching myself (Whiskey Before Breakfast) a made a recording for me. 🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻
Rated this class 5 stars.
Teaching Style
Alani Sugar is deeply committed to helping students succeed and goes above and beyond to teach in a way that resonates with each individual, ensuring they find meaning and connection in their learning journey. As a flexible and patient teacher with extensive knowledge and experience, Alani excels at explaining concepts in multiple ways to guarantee understanding and continual growth in every lesson.
Alani believes that a strong foundation in technique and music theory, combined with a dynamic and engaging lesson plan, is key to mastering any musical genre. For that reason, she tailors her approach to meet each student's unique needs. Although she occasionally works from books when requested, Alani generally prefers a personalized teaching method that encourages students to explore what inspires them and delve into the music that captivates their interest.