The Instructor and the Studio
Lynnette Barney is a creative, enthusiastic, and innovative piano teacher and a registered Music Together® teacher in Tucson, Arizona. Her goal is to provide enjoyable, motivating, and individualized music instruction to each student and family.
Lynnette’s quest for a research-based early childhood music program led her to Music Together. She became a registered teacher and was licensed to open a Music Together program in Northwest Tucson in the summer of 2013. She loves the foundation that Music Together gives children and their families, preparing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers for future success in other musical adventures.
Piano students in the Creative Keys piano studio develop many skills including note-reading, improvisation, transposition, and technique, as well as knowledge of theory and music history. Ms. Barney has a particular love for collaborative music and provides many opportunities to learn and perform piano ensemble works and explore group improvisation.
Private lessons are taught on a 6 1/2 foot Kawaii RX-A grand piano which sits side by side with a 100 year old 5 1/2 foot Chickering grand piano. The studio also features a fully equipped keyboard lab where students explore theory, music history, composition and improvisation, ear training, rhythm, and have a lot of fun! The keyboard lab includes four Yamaha DGX-640 keyboards for ensembles and to take on the road, two iPads, and a state-of-the-art Yamaha Clavinova CVP-705. A large carpeted space is perfect for Music Together classes, group lessons, and summer camps.
Students at Creative Keys have access to a large lending library of music from many genres to help them sightread and discover new music. Frequent studio incentive games help keep students motivated in their music studies.
Ms. Barney has been a music educator in Tucson for over thirty years. She is a member of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Arizona State Music Teachers Association (ASMTA), and Tucson Music Teachers Association (TMTA) and has served as treasurer, state conference co-chair, committee chair and member, and in other positions. Ms. Barney was chosen as the ASMTA Janice McCurnin-Beatrice Searles Honored Teacher in May, 2025.
As a collaborative musician she has accompanied choirs, musical theater productions, voice lessons, and ballet classes. She also serves as a church musician and enjoys presenting at state, national and online music teacher conferences. She has studied with Dr. Rex Woods, Dr. Jeffrey Shumway, and David Glen Hatch. She’s been featured on podcasts and blogs with Nicola Canton, Jennifer Foxx, and Tim Topham.
Ms. Barney seeks to preparing students to be lifelong musicians and has enjoyed preparing her students to accompany school, college, and church choirs; earn college piano scholarships; serve as church organists; share music with their families; and play for their own love of the piano.