The teachers are patient, encouraging, and professional. We've seen great progress and always have a positive experience. Highly recommend!

My daughter started piano lesson with Ms. Kelwin last fall and she has grown much interest and improvement since then. Ms Kelwin is so patient and very experienced. I am very happy and highly recommend. read more

My child has been learning piano with Ms Kelwin and we had a great experience with her. She is very patient and knowledgeable and takes time to teach well. Also participated in a recital organized recently which was a great experience with kids playing multiple instruments and paired in groups. read more

Instrument and tutoring techniques are pretty higher matching to students. My daughter and her classmates are enjoying studying cello, violin, and piano there. read more

Very limited selection of instruments. Doesn't seem like they get a lot of customers.

Piano teacher Kelwin is professional and gentle with kids. My young daughter can be grumpy sometimes and Kelwin is always patient and kind!

This place has a really solid selection of music for piano, violin, and guitar, plus all the accessories you could need. The staff is super friendly too. Great spot if you're looking to pick up some new music or just need some gear for your instrument. read more

Friendly, professional service. I bought a couple of really nice ukuleles here and they were very helpful. I also got a great deal on a few instrument cables after the counter clerk pointed them out to me. read more

i came because its the only close music store and my last clarinet reed wore out. the site said: open. so i was like, great! i arrive and there is a note saying "closed this weekend, see you monday!" no explanation! they should at least update their site saying theyre closed! read more

I was a little leery at first about going to this music shop based on some of the older reviews, but I think most of those reviews were based on the former owner. Apparently the shop changed ownership in 2018, and the new owner, Alan, is super nice and helpful. I had a great experience. At first I was considering purchasing a 3/4 violin so Alan texted me some photos of his current inventory. Since my child would probably soon outgrow a 3/4 violin, I decided to rent one instead. So I went to the store, and Alan showed me the rental options. He was very patient with me and allowed me to take my time inspecting the violins before deciding on one. I ended up with a very beautiful sounding violin, and my kid is super happy with it! read more

I appreciate having a local music store we can walk into and try different instruments. Liz was very helpful answering our questions about selecting a violin. She did not pressure us to buy anything, instead was quite friendly pointing out what to look for in a good violin. This is the kind of service we can't get from amazon. read more

Totally agreed. This place deserves 0 stars. As a kid, I came here because it was the closest shop, but now I know better. The rent for any instrument is grossly overpriced. Buy an used beginner instrument and switch if you become more serious. The teachers here are mediocre in my experience. One time when he showed up late due to traffic, he still charged me for the "time" it took him to get here. Moreover, the teachers consistently tell you to get "small upgrades" to your instrument. These small upgrades were clearly overpriced and commission based. It's bullshit that I progressed so much that I need to "upgrade" my mouthpiece and ligature every 6 months. For alto sax players: a c* selmer will be enough for classical and a meyer 5 will be enough for jazz The owner (Shun Hwa) may seem nice to those who come once or twice but I've been going for several years and I see right through him. He is rude, unprofessional, and pompous (Dude you run a music shop and you're 50). Any niceness is a facade, because he will always try to squeeze extra money out of you when it comes to more substantial items. I tried to get my saxophone fixed yesterday knowing what the problem (a loose spring ) was and he goes and says "there were leaks all over the sax and that the tube was bent" and had the audacity to ask for $250. When I told him that I had just repaired the leaks 6 months prior, he screamed through the phone asking me to "prove it." He believes his time is so precious because he owns a music shop at 50. Big whoop. I went to allegro instead because I was done with his business. I'm not going to lie, the extra drive is worth it for people living in the Weibel/Warm Springs area. The teachers are better and the service is fairer. I got my sax repaired for $100 bucks; the repair man also said that if there was any persistent problem he would fix it free of charge. Overall- the owner needs to realize that being a music shop owner doesn't mean he's a badass. It means that he is poor and should treat customers better if he wants more business. read more

This place seriously deserves 0 stars. The owner is rude and doesn't know how to properly talk to customers. Avoid this place at all costs and take your business else where. read more

Very pool customer service, I will never go back again. We came here to rent clarinet for my daughter more than 1 year ago. We were told we could do rent to buy option if later we decided to do so. A month ago, we went back thinking we should just buy the clarinet. The guy at the store, did not even bother to look me in the eye while he was talking to me. He was just busy with his own paper work. He told me we were not in the rent-to-buy program. That wasn't what I was told in the beginning. He did not care. Yesterday, we went back to return the instrument. Another guy was there, all he wanted to do was yawn his way out, he kept yawning while unwilling doing the paperwork. We returned the instrument. He did not say thank you or anything. These people clearly do not know what customer service is. We will never go back again. read more

I would give it a 0 star if there's such an option. I've been renting instrument and buying music supplies from this store. My child grew and was in need of upgrading to a larger instrument. Unfortunately, this store didn't have the larger instrument available for rent at the time and we had to rent it somewhere else. Now comes the problem. On July 5th, I called about returning the old instrument and getting a prorated rental refund. I was told NO refund since the July rent was charged to my credit card July 1st. I asked the clerk to check with the owner to see if he'd honor the prorated refund in good will. I expected a call back that day but NO ONE called. Today (July 6th), I took the instrument to the store and spoke to the same clerk again. Since the rental instrument was returned early in the month, it seems fair to honor the prorated refund. The clerk still said NO prorated rental refund. I pressed if this was the owner's decision on my request and did not get a straight answer. The clerk proceeded with the paperwork to end my rental contract and NEVER bother to say 'Thank You For Your Business'. Given the way prorated rental refund is handled and the poor customer service, I would NEVER do business with this store again!!! And I will steer all my friends AWAY from this store. read more

I bought my first ukulele here and might I say, what a horrible mistake. The lady at the front counter helped me pick out a ukulele which had low quality strings but the price said $30 and I didn't know any better about ukuleles. Anyway, I picked a ukulele, paid for it, and went home. As I was trying to tune the ukulele, one of the strings gave a flat tone and I was unable to tighten the string to get into tune. I went back to the store the next day to see what could be done. There was an Asian man at the front desk and I asked him "where was the manager?" he told me that he was the owner. I told him what was wrong with the ukulele. He told me that it was my fault that the ukulele was broken as he was trying helplessly twist and turn the string's knob but with no success. In the end, he told me there was nothing that he could do. For starters: never blame the customer for a product's malfunction. Secondly, why even sell me a broken ukulele in the first place if you don't know how to fix it? Thirdly, this business owner has poor business etiquette by turning me away even though my problem was still unsolved. This store is sub-par in talent, unprofessional, and irresponsible. read more

I had my trumpet polished and repaired here. The store manager was very transparent about the whole process and kept me informed on the pricing and the length of the repair the entire way through. Everything is working smoothly just as new. I would definitely recommend this place for instrument maintenance. read more

It's so ridiculous that a violin teacher counted "no show" as a student got fever and nonstop coughing and couldn't attend class that night! Who could predict a kid would get sick within next 24 hours during the weather changes unpredictable and flu season? Bad teacher attitude! read more

Took a brand new instrument in to get set up and was told it would be ready later that day. Terrific! Except we got a call saying it needed a little extra work (sanding). Okay. Clerk was polite and firendly. We went in the next day to pick it up and it wasn't ready. Hmm. Different clerk on duty. I asked when it would be ready and he said, "It will be ready when we call you." Wow. A week later it is still not ready. I could have taken it to Thin Man in Alameda and had it back by now for $20 less than what C&L is charging me. Other than that, the store is okay, but it depends who is working. One clerk is pretty obnoxious and the other one is really friendly and personable. I would go here again in a pinch, but never as my first choice. Good luck. read more

If you choose to buy a instrument or rent a instrument or choose a music teacher，you can take it one step at a time here. There are best instruments and the best teachers to choose. Here is the best teaching environment I have ever met in Bay Area. Fortunately I found it. here gave me the best choice, and compared to many other music store and studio ,the price here is the fairest. I found my instrument here，I love it so much,I found my teacher .My child just entered the Hopkins Orchestra this year. From orchestra I learned that the owner of this music store was once the conductor here. I also learned that he is the best cello teacher in the Bay Area, and even the other instructors here are all from C&L music. They have 28 teachers, any school needs support, they will let the teacher support in the past. And I understand now that if your school or teacher recommends a different music store, it depends on the music store donation to the school or ......oh my God!which is too unfair to parents.I only choose by my own mind.I will let my family and friends ask for help here. The employees and boss here are all professionals. They are not businessmen just for money. If you want, you can become good friends with them. Every time I call them or the boss, they are very patient to answer. Of course, this also depends on your own attitude.If you are an unreasonable person or a person who is not literate, who will cooperate with you? I will continue to cooperate with them as always.Here is the best.thank you. read more

My husband had an emergency broken screw on his bass saxophone, a day before a band recording session. We had to search on Yelp for an open music store for screws. Yelp directed us to this shop, since it was the nearest . We were treated professionally, and everybody inside was very friendly. We found the screw that fit the bass saxophone's neck and asked how much the cost was. The Asian guy said it was nothing. It's for free. Free help and service was awesome to my book. Obviously, my experience was different from the others who have reviewed this place negatively. We also bought one of their ergonomic saxophone neck straps. So far, it is working well with my husband's bass saxophone. I might go back and buy one for myself. Thank you very much for helping us fix the screw on the bass sax! read more

This is a great place for instrument rentals and purchase, with a variety of choices and price ranges. If your child is in the school band or orchestra, this is a great place to visit. Owner is friendly and knowledgeable, with great suggestions based on your budget. read more

Walked in and was greeted by this hatted man lady with "What do you want?". Is "how can I help you?" not cool enough any more. Don't assume everyone walking in is coming for your restroom. I still rent their beat up instruments for my son as it is right next to my house. You should stay away if possible. read more

I get my knick-knacks here. Picks, tuners, and strings for my guitars. Being a guitar player, there isn't much for me to look at :O Staff is okay, and the manager is pretty cool. read more

Very bad customer service. The store owner is not an honest and decent person. Be careful when dealing with him. we purchased a clarinet made by Buffet Company from C&L music at $491.04 on 11/05/2011. In February 2014, we found a crack on the lower joint. The Buffet company warranty document says it has "An additional guarantee of 3 years against cracking is granted on plastic instruments ( a total of five year for these instruments)". At first I went back to C&L Music, the store owner told me I need to contact Buffet Company directly. So I called Buffet Company at 904-821-0234. I was told they only deal with their dealers, not customer directly. Since I purchased from C&L music, the store should take care of the warranty issue. The store should contact Buffet for parts replacement. I went back and talked to store owner. He said he was going to contact Buffet and it would take a month for the replacement part to arrive. A month later, I did not hear anything. I called the store owner. He told me he had not received anything. So I took the liberty to call Buffet myself. I was told C&L did not placed any order! They do not have any record in their system showing C&L ordered any parts. I had to go back to the store, and talked to the store owner again, asking him whether he placed any order. He did not give me a definite yes or no answer. I assume he did not order at all. He promised to make another order. I verified a few days later. He said he made the order, and the part will arrive again in one month which would be the end of July 2014. At the end of July, I did not heard anything, I called C&L. The owner told me he has not received anything yet. I need to wait longer. So I called Buffet again today on 08/13/2014. The customer service manager named Cliff Dennett told me the same story. They do not have any order from C&L in their system! C&L did not place any order. I was very sad and mad. This issue has been dragging on for almost six month. The two parties here are telling me contrary stories. One of them must be lying. I can not stand anymore. School will start soon. My son needs clarinet to play. I have to solve this issue. If I go back to C&L again, I know I will not go far. I already complained to the owner the first time when I found out he lied to me, and did not order parts. A second complaint probably will not solve the problem either. So I called Buffet again and complained about it. Cliff heard about the whole story, and kind enough to offer me a direct return work order so I can bypass C&L, and directly ship my broken clarinet to Buffet to get fixed. My advice is never buy anything from C&L especially important ones may need customer service later. The owner does not care about customers. read more

We have been going to C & L off and on for years. Our son bought his first guitar there, took all his guitar lessons there. Then when he started playing the trumpet to join the school band, we bought all our supplies there. The owner and staff have always been helpful and polite no matter how small a purchase we end up making. Yesterday we went in for a lyre to hold his music sheets, since my son will be starting marching band this year. The owner was very helpful and even ended up sanding down the end of the lyre to fit in our non-standard holder. He wouldn't even hear of being compensated for it. All that work for such a small sale. He is great. read more

i wen t the today to buy a Keilwerth SX90r shadow that was posted on ebay. I should of known they didn't know what they was doing. It's not a shadow but the Black lacquered SX90r also they was not open at 12pm. like the sign said this is the worst music store in the bay area. Glad I didn't spend my money there. read more

came here 2 months ago to shop for a new guitar. ive been playing guitar my entire life, i come from an entire family tree of music performers, guitars to piano to harps. so one can easily understand my frustration when someone blatantly undermines my own knowledge and talks to me as if im stupid. I decided I may have to shell out some cash for a real Martin and the sales guy hands me this Blueridge BR-160A (solid wood all around, Adirondack spruce top), amazing, this thing was a cannon! More Martin than Martin. I pretty much decided I was going to buy it and asked him to give me his best price. $1500 he says, lowest price guaranteed he says. I said i really doubt it, let me talk to your manager. turns out he was the manager and said that id be 'stupid' to walk away from this deal. "watch me" and I leave the shop and do my research. I can get the same guitar sent over from the US for $900 WITH shipping and hardshell case included. I can get the Sitka version with hardshell case and shipping for $750. enough said, Yelpers, take your business elsewhere where you are treated with respect and dignity. read more

This place has extremely bad customer service, the cashier, at times, is extremely rude and will be very rigid with business. I wouldn't recommend coming here to purchase items, you will find much better product quality as well as customer service at other music places. read more

Very bad customer service. The store owner is not an honest and decent person. Be careful when dealing with him. we purchased a clarinet made by Buffet Company from C&L music on 11/05/2011. In February 2014, we found a crack on the lower joint. The Buffet company warranty document says "An additional guarantee of 3 years against cracking is granted on plastic instruments ( a total of five year for these instruments"). At first we went back to C&L Music, the store owner told me we need to contact Buffet Company directly. So I called Buffet Company at 904-821-0234. I was told they only deal with their dealers, not customer directly. Since I purchased from C&L music, the store should take care of the warranty issue. The store should contact Buffet for parts replacement. I went back and talked to store owner. He said he was going to contact Buffet and it would take a month for the replacement part to arrive. A month later, We did not hear anything. I called the store owner. He told me he had not received anything. So I took the liberty to call Buffet myself. I was told C&L did not placed any order! They do not have any record in their system showing C&L ordered any parts. I had to go back to the store, and talked to the store owner again, asking him whether he placed any order. He did not give me a definite yes or no answer. I assume he did not order at all. He promised to make another order. I verified a few days later. He said the part will arrive again in one month which would be the end of July 2014. At the end of July, I did not heard anything, I called C&L. The owner told me he has not received anything yet. So I called Buffet again today on 08/13/2014. The customer service manager named Cliff Dennett told me the same story. They do not have any order from C&L in their system. I was very sad and mad. This issue has been dragging for almost six month. The two parties here are telling me contrary stories. One of them is not telling the truth. I can not stand anymore. School will start soon. My son needs clarinet to play in the band. I have to solve this issue. If I go back to C&L music, I know I will not go far. I already complained the first time when I found out the store owner lied to me. They do not help. So I called Buffet Company and complained about the whole story. Cliff was very kind to offer me a direct return work order, so I can bypass C&L and send my clarinet directly to Buffet for repairing. My advice is never buy anything especially important instruments from C&L. C&L does not care about customers. read more

Jason Bellenkes has been an amazing clarinet teacher. The last teacher my son had just had him play through the book. Jason has such a passion for music and has gone in to music theory and composing teaching him more than just reading music and playing the notes. C & L has been a great source for repairs and supplies as well. Very happy we found this little spot. read more

Went to the store during the posted business hours. Store is closed and there is no note stating why they aren't open for business. Waste of my time. I'll be taking my business elsewhere. read more

Looks like everyone had a share of my experience. I was treated like an idiot by the storekeeper/cashier or maybe the owner when I asked to buy a $9 book. To top that, when we finally agree on what book that I will buy, he just won't let me to grab it, brush me away and sighing as he walk to the cash register! WT$? Really ridiculous, you would think that I would steal a $9 book for my daughter?? Anyway, I bought it for only 10 mins, cause I returned the book after I found one online. It's actually cheaper online, minus the drama! I love online shopping, especially when you have the treatment like that. .. read more

Bought a hard case for my guitar about 2 months ago - the key they gave me didn't fit; brought it all back as they said they might have one in the back - they didn't. Next they said they'd call the manufacturer for a replacement key - they never called me once but each time I called them (about 10 times), they kept giving me excuses. Not one to give up easily, I continued to call periodically and was given some lame excuse each time. Finally tonight, I had my guy call and he was told the manufacturer doesn't make that model any longer nor do they have any keys laying around. Really? And just when were they going to call ME to let me know? If you can, and if you prefer being treated with some respect, shop at Allegro. read more

Owner was very rude. I feel bad for the staff working there next time ill go to allegro.

Many items here are overpriced, especially the instruments. And unfortunately, they do have poor customer service. I'm greeted with an uncaring attitude, and the staff/owner are pretty unapproachable. You might fare better in this store if you're a knowledgeable musician. Looking at the previous reviews, obviously it isn't just me who feels this way. My advice to the staff would be that if a customer isn't very knowledgeable about an instrument or has questions that need more clarification, be patient and answer them. Or just head over to Allegro and watch how they treat their customers. :) read more

The owner is just plain rude. He makes you feel that your business is not appreciated (no hellos, no thank yous, no help). I try to avoid talking to the owner at all cost and only go there if I need something urgent. Too bad, good store, fine staff otherwise. read more

This has been said many times in previous reviews so I am definitely not alone, the owner is rude. I was repairing my instrument and BTW asking if there is any trial chance for the classes they offer. Is it free or not and other logistic questions. Suddenly they turned nervous and stared at me and said you should pay! Nobody offers free trail! Am I asking a question that is politically incorrect? Many instructors welcome people to go and try. There are such flyers everywhere. Are they trying to foul people in such a funny way? Also I read through the 5 star reviews and they seem faked. I had a completely opposite experience with allegro. read more

No doubt the store seem to be a decent and with all bare necessities for music enthusiasts. But the owner is kind a weird he offered us the trial class (violin) the day we walk-in for an inquiry of classes etc., before the class he said its free trail then surprisingly he asked us to pay full class worth price, rather what we expected but he didn't even seek/provide feedback, how was the class, outcome of our trial, didn't talk to teacher what he thinks of the trial, opinions/suggestions or next steps etc,... none of that and just asked us to pay! and he can't take credit card or any other convenient payment types but luckily I had spare paper check that I could take care then and there. Anyway the teacher was really good he seem to know his skills/discipline but very hard to understand his accent and struggles some basic words..., we love to send our kids to music class but afraid we can't pay another trial class(es) and keep losing the money, unless if owner helped us the way. Too bad owner didn't get the fundamentals to deal with customers/music lovers... read more

Great store - I've been coming here for years. The owner is very friendly and always helpful. They almost always have what I'm looking for - reeds, swabs, and other little things. The one time they didn't have what I needed (a very specific book I'd read about online) the boss made a special order for me and it was ready the next time I came in for my lesson! read more