Caileen Tallant-Adams believes music can genuinely enhance people’s lives. Her namesake business, Tallant Music Studio, strives to make music education accessible to everyone.
There’s an old proverb that says, ‘give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.’ Tallant-Adams applies that same philosophy to teaching music.
“It’s like for us, ‘it’s how can music, you know, supplement your life and make it better?’ That’s what we’re gonna do, even though we’re all extremely highly trained, I think we have the ability to meet anybody where they are at,” she said.
Before starting her business, Tallant-Adams juggled her studies, performing and teaching on the side as an instructor at Slater Music Academy in Fort Thomas. Initially seeing herself as a performer, she grew passionate about teaching, viewing it as a more sustainable way to stay engaged in sharing music with others.
In 2020, Slater Music Academy ceased operations when it merged with Northern Kentucky University’s Preparatory Academy. Around this time, Tallant-Adams had aspirations of starting her own school, but had to put her ambition on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the closure of Slater Music Academy, there was a vacuum in the market.
In July 2020, Tallant-Adams founded Tallant Music Studio, a private, one-on-one instructional music school in Fort Thomas.
Tallant Music Studio provides lessons for various instruments, such as piano, voice, drums, strings, guitar, flute and piccolo. Brass lessons were available in the past and might resume depending on demand. The studio is also introducing a rock band program, allowing students to participate in genre-specific groups.
Since then, Tallant and her team have grown the business, boasting over 250 students and 14 teachers. The studio has moved into a larger building, located at 112 N. Fort Thomas Ave.
“The other thing that I really like is that anyone can come here,” Tallant-Adams said. “It’s not like we’re training you all to be a concert pianist, or we’re expecting you to do all these things. Maybe you just want to learn to play a song, or maybe you used to play or you want to pick it back up.
The studio’s student body is diverse, as the school teaches people ranging from six to 76 years old. Its trained instructors tailor their approach to each individual, helping students enjoy playing music at their own pace.
Tallant instructor Veli Franta, has more than 40 years of experience teaching piano.
“What I like about teaching people at different ages is that teaching each age is a challenge, but also very rewarding experience,” she said. “I have to adjust my approach to each student and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
One challenge Tallant-Adams has faced since starting her business is maintaining the attention of younger students throughout lessons. With the increasing popularity of social media among young people, it can often be difficult to keep them engaged.
To address this, Tallant-Adams and her instructors aim to connect with younger students by engaging with their interests in video games, content, and TV shows, using them to support their lesson plans. Additionally, Tallant-Adams explains to students how playing an instrument can have real-life applications, like impressing live audiences at a concert. This way, she can hopefully pique the students’ interest.
“I think the aspect of talking about how this can actually be something that you could do if you wanted to, and then to see all the different avenues,” she said.
Tallant Music Studio will mark its fifth anniversary in 2025, a milestone Tallant-Adams is proud of, particularly since she didn’t originally intend to follow an entrepreneurial route during college.
“I do have a chemistry degree, but it’s collecting dust in my basement,” she laughed.
