I purchased a cello from Michael (Mike) Lyons Violins last fall to upgrade from the beginner…read morestudent cello I had for several years. The new cello projects the sound well and has a warm tone. The price was reasonable and less than an instrument of similar quatlity in the Boston area. I have taken the instrument back a few times for some minor adjustments; I always learn something from Mike about the cello and how to better take care of it. The service is outstanding. He has a unique inventory of violins and cellos and it is more likely you will get the instrument that is best for you. He has a good selection of bows; I upgraded to a new wooden bow a few months ago and love the sound it produces Mike's shop is cool to visit, even if you are just looking. It is a 90 minute drive each way for me, but it is definitely worth the trip. I highly reccomment Michael Lyons Violins.

The service I received at Michael Lyons beautiful violin studio was excellent. As a brand new…read moreviolin student and first time violin shopper, I got the feeling I was becoming a part of a music community by starting here. Michael took plenty of time to show me and tell me all about his custom violins, and he answered all my questions. I love my violin and I'll go back to him when I am ready for a new one.

Outstanding music school. The best we could find in the area…read moreand we looked for some time. My daughter has been taking piano for almost 8 years now. She had good "in home" teachers but she needed to move forward and was not getting that. We looked at White's Music Ed School and met with David White. He was awesome and recognized her abilities and areas of growth during the first "meet and greet" class. We enjoy this school and recommend it to anyone... even ourselves. Our son started taking drum lessons this year and is learning and moving along quickly. He loves it... and so do we. Instruments and Vocal classes, too. White's music offers many options.

I have been a student here on and off over the past few years. I began taking guitar lessons as…read morewell voice lessons here in my teens then left because I became too busy with school. I return to White's Music a few months ago and am now taking trombone lessons. It is obvious that Dave White makes it a point to hire the nicest and most knowledgeable people to work as his instructor. I would recommend this place to anyone

I took drum lessons from Tom, the owner of Oasis, for a number of years. I've purchased over a…read moredozen instruments from Oasis, and absolutely love the store. Everyone there is friendly - Tom becomes good friends with his customers, and has a strong base of regulars because they've learned that Oasis is the best place to shop for music instruments. The selection is small, but the prices are always competitive, and Tom is the most honest business person in the state. I can't recommend drum lessons from Oasis highly enough - he is great with kids, and adult, and has a true love of music. It's a fun shop, and really one of the hidden gems of the Rhode Island music scene. A MUST for any music lover.

Cool little shop. Tom is a cool guy and always welcoming to his customers. The selection is…read morelimited, because it's a tiny store, but the great customer service makes up for it. I bought a drum set there when I was younger, a guitar or two, and even took a couple of lessons. Check it out.

Strange instruments can make…read moregreat music Two questions. The first, who is Charlies Ogle? Charlie is a maker and seller of viola da gambas. In fact the largest purveyor of viola da gambas in the country. The second question?, What exactly is a viola da gamba? The viola da gamba is a musical instrument, actually a family of musical instruments that are superficial similar in appearance if not in sound to modern strings. The bass , which is about the size of a cello is the most common and the usual solo instrument but trebles, tenors and the large violone also exist. The gambas showed up in the late 1400's, about the same time as the modern violin and cello but are not an ancestral to the modern strings. The two families seemed to have developed contemporaneously and then for some reason the gamba fell out of favorite around 1750. Some absolutely incredible music was composed for it, music that is now usually performed on modern strings. In spite of the similar appearances some important differences between the two families exist. First of all the gambas have movable frets, the modern cello has no frets. The gambas have six strings, cello four. The bow is held with an underhand grip with the gamba, over hand with the cello. The gamba also use gut strings, cello or violin occasional gut but usually synthetic strings. Gambas were usually played in families during the Renaissance but then during the Baroque the bass became the solo instrument and the smaller instruments become scarce. It's difficult to verbalize sound but the timbre of the gambas tend to be softer, less refined and more transparent than the modern strings. Well suited for the polyphony of early music, the sound becomes extremely obvious once heard. Of course you just can't walk into any music store and get a gamba, you have to find a maker. Charlie not only makes fine gambas but also Baroque violins and cellos and has a workshop in Beijing where he manages to produce fine beginner instruments at a reasonable price. Reasonable at least for a anachronistic musical instrument that virtually nobody plays anymore. Charlie also has books, bows, cases and an endless supply of extremely poor musical jokes on his website. He does not have a store but does occasionally appear at various early music shows throughout the country. I have met him numerous times and he always has been helpful and friendly. Once he spend considerable time with me explaining the best way to adjust, tune and tie the damnable frets. Other times we just talk about technique and interpretation of the the music. I purchased both a treble and tenor gamba from him and once I got over the initial difficulties of adjustment, love both instruments. Charlie is obviously not in it just for the money. So if you like music, history or better yet musical history check out his web site. Music has been around for a long time and did not always sound like it does today. Who knows, you might end up buying a gamba and start exploring the polyphonic world of centuries past. Strange instrument can make great music

The programs at the school are amazing. The most interesting and fun ways to learn. Great staff…read moreand parents. My 16 year old son is there and enjoys every minute. He has made some great friends and is learning so much. I have been in the music business my whole life and tell every one how I wish I had something like School Of Rock when I was a kid.

I would highly recommend this music school. I caught a community performance recently and all of…read morethe kids could proficiently play instruments and it looked effortless. All the kids looked relaxed and happy as well which is worth its weight in gold. The arts get so overlooked in the various school districts in the area, definitely check out this school. in the grand scheme of this short term investment has long term gains.

I highly recommend Providence Guitar Academy!!! Phil has the…read morerare talent of staying calm and patient while making the learning experience fun. It is obvious that he really enjoys teaching. Jake, 5 years old, looks forward lessons , practicing and showing off what he has learned. Finding the right music teacher is so important and we hit the jackpot with Phil.

Where do I start describing such a wonderful, amazing teacher! First of all, Phil is indeed an…read moreextremely gifted musician in his own right, and has a very deep knowledge of technique and music theory. You can tell that he has a true passion for music and his 10+ years of experience definitely show in much of his sage wisdom that comes across in the lessons. For a total beginner in guitar and music like myself, showing up to this talented fellow as a grown adult with my cheap acoustic and telling him that I just wanted to be able to strum along to Bob Marley or the Beatles could have been intimidating. Instead I felt that Phil was delighted to teach me and he calmly encouraged me at every step from then on. He first made a special effort to understand my background, the types of music I like, the parts of learning music that interest me, and the amount of time I could commit. Then he came up with an individualized, structured plan for me to reach my goals, which also changed as my whims and interests changed as months went on. I began taking one 30-minute lesson each week, which might not seem like much; yet Phil is such a professional that not a minute is wasted, and by the end of each lesson I had tons of exercises to practice and things to think about every day for the 6 days until my next lesson. I felt I made very fast progress under Phil, thanks to his incredible teaching technique. As time went on I was so happy with the lessons that I increased to two 30-minute lessons per week. My progress became even faster and more intense. Phil effortlessly helped me switch between learning chords and guitar technique and the somewhat separate subject matter of reading music and understanding music theory. He helped me play songs while also helping me understand the underlying patterns and connections that many songs are based off of. Had I not unfortunately moved away from Providence, I think Phil would have turned me not only into a good guitar player, but also a well-rounded musician! I would like to be very clear, his lessons are a steal at the price he offers them at. The teaching is first class and Phil is a great human being, and obtaining beautiful abilities like playing the guitar and understanding music might change your life like they did mine.

My 12-year-old son has been a proud student at The Drummers' Studio for the past two years, and we…read morecouldn't be happier. Kris is deeply connected within the music industry, which truly sets him apart from other studios. His passion for music and teaching is evident in everything he does, and he goes above and beyond to give his students experiences they simply wouldn't get anywhere else. From a VIP tour of the Zildjian factory where students learned how cymbals are made, to an unforgettable evening with legendary drummer Simon Phillips, and even backstage access at an Earth, Wind & Fire concert--these are epic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities! Kris is not just teaching drums; he's opening doors to the world of music.

My 7 year old son and I have been taking guitar lessons at the Drummer Studio for around 6 months…read morenow. I had played a little bit about 20 years ago, but since then I just taught myself online for a few months, but was basically a beginning. My son, at 7 years old, was obviously a beginner. Kris was willing to work with us on a plan that worked for a 2 person lesson, as they typically do private lessons. He hooked us up with Tony, who we love. Tony is patient, is able to teach to both my level and my son's, and even makes an effort to come up with some exercises we can do together. I highly recommend these guys!

I took lessons from Richard just a few years back. He is both a terrific person and an excellent…read moreteacher. I'm delighted to see this business. Richard, can you teach through zoom?

All 3 of my kids took weekly lessons with Dr. B until he moved out of our area. I was amazed at the…read moreprogress they made - from zero experience to reading and playing from sheet music within months! He used an iPad app to start out and I was skeptical at first but was sold when I saw how it kept their interest and allowed them to make progress right away (also a plus that they could play songs they already knew and liked) before starting with sheet music. Dr. B even did a little recital with all his students, which was a really nice touch :)