My daughter's piano teacher is great. This company however has been a nightmare experience. Over the past few years it's gotten progressively worse to the point we stopped lessons completely. They charge weeks in advance for the following month, they text, call and email asking the same questions about how many lessons my daughter is taking, has taken, her schedule. But trying to get a response from them was impossible. The first was an email I sent they took a full YEAR and two weeks to reply to. I've asked countless times for a copy of the contract policies, payments etc. I have still never received it. I checked online and cannot find the current address. All emails are bouncing back to me as server rejected. No replies to texts. Their charges have gone up and up with no explanation, charging random dates, sometimes multiple times per month all with zero communication. I emailed to cancel and got a bounce back. Texted, no response. Called, no answer. We had to go to the bank to get charges disputed and payments stopped. I checked and the license number listed on their website isn't actually a business license number. I checked out the Secretary of State and their business license is currently suspended and has been since 2002, shortly after establishment. I will also notify the Dept of Consumer Affairs and BBB. Please BEWARE before you decide on going with this company and definitely before giving them your banking information. read more

My son (8) and I have both taken in-person lessons at the Carlsbad location: piano and vocal. We've had a smooth and easy experience the whole way through! The teachers are very talented, professional, and kind. They are also flexible and friendly. I am grateful for the enrichment my son and I receive every week as we embrace our creativity and cultivate our talents. The love of music is important to my happiness, and our experience here parallels my life goals of embracing and supporting the arts in all ways possible. read more

Our 11 year old daughter has been with CA music lessons for over 2 years now. She loves Ms. Andrea, her piano teacher. She comes to our home every Friday and makes learning fun. Dad has also been taking lessons with her which has made a fun bonding time for them each week. Our daughter has progressed quickly and can even read music!! She loves playing the piano now. We highly recommend Andrea! read more

I found out about CML from a random ad I saw online during Covid and thought I'd give it a try. There are many teachers they have available and I took voice lessons with Jiyoung. I really loved them! As someone who's always been a terrible singer, I learned so many things during my lessons and I am a MUCH more confident singer than I am before. I'm never going to be singing on Broadway, but I highly recommend lessons even if you have no intention of ever becoming a singer or even doing a live performance. Besides being really fun, I use to feel shy about singing in the car or trying to sing someone a song that I forgot the name of the song, but the lessons has given me confidence to be more expressive with my voice. I loved that Jiyoung challenged me and pushed me to improve my vocal technique. Secondly, I found the CML billing platform very easy to use. They billed me via e-mail every month and it was simply a few clicks to pay and they sent a detailed invoice with every payment that was easy to save. I can't speak on the other teachers, but for voice lessons Jiyoung is great. I will note though, that you can't just take lessons once a week and expect to improve much. Yes, just learning better technique can already dramatically improve your singing, but it also takes a lot of your own time and practice. I had to unfortunately pause lessons for now because I became busy with a lot of things, but in the future once I have some free time again I'm looking forward to starting lessons back up. read more

My 6 yo has been taking ukulele lessons for few months now with Ms. Katie. It's a group class with two other kids around has age. It's 45 mins every Friday. I do like it because he is learning hands on how to play simple children songs and understanding the chords. He does enjoy it. Ms. Katie also sends an email after with an outline and progress report of what he learned and how he did in the class. Also says what he will need to practice on at home. My son really enjoys it and already I see a progression in his playing. read more

Pro: These people found me great piano teachers. Cons: CMS were total fascists about tuition payments -- they often demanded it for 5 (!) weeks in advance; they always hiked their fees every year; they sent multiple notices every time that payments were late, even after I had mailed the payments; they never gave credit for lessons that were cancelled without me having to pester them first, but they were quick to remind me that they would not provide any extra lessons during long months (i.e., months that had an extra lesson week). Also, I really doubt that the teachers saw all that much of the payments that I was forking over to CMS. read more

I have been a guitar instructor for CMS for 7 years. I find it to be a first class operation and enjoy my students very much. The pay off is the wonderful recitals and concerts many of my best students perform in throughout the year. So much fun! read more

California Music Lessons - Private Tutors Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Update: I was called back by the company and they scheduled another lesson with a different teacher. My opinion of this place has totally changed. I am absolutely loving my guitar lessons. If you want to learn how to play the right way you def have to try California music studios today... read more

I have always found Melissa in Support to be very helpful with any concerns about billing. She is super!

I would rate no stars, if that were an option. I STRONGLY recommend to look elsewhere for music lessons. Our son's instructor Gina, was great until there was an issue with payment and not being informed about the promo CML was advertising and promoting at the time of registering. CML promoted but failed to inform our instructor about the buy 4 get 1 lesson free if PIF. (In our case, we PIF to take advantage of the free lesson.) Now, I can't get a hold of CML to remedy the issue and get this maniac instructor Gina from communicating with us displaying her true character when dealing with issues of this kind, rude and unprofessional. read more

We have loved CML and especially Mr. Chris, our piano teacher! We started piano for both my 9 year old son and 5 year daughter old during the pandemic. Mr. Chris has the perfect touch with little kids. He knows how to balance kindness with firmness. He gave positive feedback while still challenging my kids to do better and mind the details of their songs. He was a pro at handling behavior from my high maintenance 5 year old, which is no easy feat. I highly recommend Mr. Chris! On top of that, the CML office staff is extremely friendly and competent. They always answered my e-mails and phone calls promptly. All around, what a great experience! We often recommend CML to our friends. read more

I am very unhappy with the service provided. They are not at all accommodating the clients. There are many more options out there for getting music lessons. I strongly recommend to stay away from CML. read more

My two daughters are taking voice lessons. Their teacher is Jiyoung. My daughters took voice lessons before and from that they've picked up bad habits. Teacher Jiyoung was able to figure out what my daughters were doing wrong and as a result I could hear the difference in their singing. There's So much difference in the my daughter sings. The teacher is firm but not harsh, she'll correct you if needed, praise you when you are doing well, she'll encourage you when you need it,...etc I highly recommend! read more

Wow! want to talk about high pressure! CMS is more like a referral service than a location - the music version of 1800-DENTIST perhaps. I was interested in taking some voice lessons and called CMS because they were listed on the GSDBA website. Decided not to, not because the teacher was bad, uninformed or unknowledgeable, but because of the literally creepy high pressure sales tactics of the CMS referral service. They must have learned their biz practices from the shadiest of telemarketers and/or bill collectors. Since my original call, in just a few weeks I have received: - 7+ phone calls 'following up' from CMS (not the instructor..from the referral service/CMS - most times they just call and don't leave a message) - 5 or so followup emails - Major No No to me: They added me to their 'email announcement list' (aka SPAM) and there's no link remove yourself. Technically, since I've taken the Boulder Pledge and they spammed me then I cannot ever do biz with them. If that weren't the case, I'd still avoid them like a habitually recurring nightmare or herpes. Such a shame...the instructor they hooked me up with was ULTRA cool (the only reason I didn't give them a "1"). I will not take lessons from her because of CMS. I've had to configure my phone to send their calls directly to voicemail (they don't leave messages anyway) and their emails go directly to the bin bucket, with a snazzy autoresponder that tells them how much their biz ethics are a blight on the arts community. UPDATE 5/23/11: Received a response from CMS oooh...exciting They deny they called me 7+ times. I have phone records...it's cell phone. Fail Cute how they try to make it sound like SPAM and telephone harrassment is praised by others. If that's your shtick, go for it. I love how she worded the comment, tho. Very antagonistic in that cutesy pseudo-professional sort of way. let's go with a play-by-play: "I would like to apologize for any negative experience you had with our company, as it is never our intention and we are truly sorry we did not exceed your expectations." It was not their intention to call me and email me repeatedly? So, just because you make contact with them they decide to send MANY emails without ever asking if you want to do biz with them...they just snag your email addy and add it to their SPAM list. That is bad biz practice. It's common, but bad. And as a consumer, I have an opinion that this shoudl stop. You are not 'sorry' for my experience, because you have no intention of changing it. Your intention IS to spam and is evidenced by the _fact_ that you immediately add email addresses to your rather prolific announcement list regardless of the fact of anyone doing any real biz with you. So the 'sorry' is fully fake and just damage control misdirection. Cute, but still fail. "Our goal is not to overwhelm the customer, but rather work with students to find a qualified teacher who matches their needs and who can help make learning music a positive endeavor..." If the goal is to not overwhelm the customer, why add them to your announcement list BEFORE they even sign up for any services?!? Once again, damage control propaganda and nothing truly that addresses the issue. Sort of like when you use a racial epithet in public and then issue a 'sorry if anyone was offended' statement. LOL...more fail. "In regard to the number of calls, it is possible that our staff called and hung up to take another call as we do not show 7+ calls on your fil..." ...it's my cell phone. I have the records. Calling me a liar isn't a message of concern...it's trying to cover your butt in the face of an authentic complaint...one that you obviously do not take seriously. "We understand the busy lifestyles of our students, ..." A harrassing number of calls & emails indicates you do NOT understand busy lifestyles. Once again, I have proof that CMS does NOT understand at all. "Many people have praised our communication techniques, and your experience is not common" I must not be the lucky one, then. But then again, this is an opinon website and forewarned is forearmed. When I post this, consumers can understand what they are getting into. Further, those who can read in between the lines will be able to see this farce of a followup message from CMS. "I am sorry that you did not have a chance to work with us and receive the personalized service that we offer all of our students." ...in the same way that stalking or harrassment are considered personalized services. "We don't want to bother you, but if you see fit we would like to follow up with you further on the phone and offer you an apology for your experience. Please let us know if you approve this, and the founder of California Music Studios will be happy to contact you. Thank you for your time and reconsideration. " If CMS did not want to bother me, what's with all the phone calls and SPAM? Fail again. updated my review to 1 star because of their followup read more

Take your lesson somewhere else. Overpriced rate and they keep charging wrong amount of money (this happened twice already). If I didn't check my bank bill, I wouldn't have noticed it. They also have 30 day cancellation policy which is extremely inconvenient for music lesson. You don't want to wait 30 days before you quit once you decide that the lesson isn't for you. read more

After having bad experiences with referral type online companies, I started to look for private instructors when I was told about this place. What I like about them is they actually interview their teachers and only hire qualified teachers. I was told if I didn't like my instructor for whatever reason, I just had to call and they would handle everything for me! I personally took lessons from them in both violin and voice at the Encinitas studio. Both instructors were extremely well qualified to teach and they hit the nail on the head when they matched me up personality wise. The office staff was very friendly and didn't mind my 1001 questions. My friend's son and daughter also took piano lessons from them and had a bit different story. Her son is ADD and needed a different type of teacher than their daughter, which they didn't notice until they began lessons. She called and was able to get two different teachers for her children and they both came to their home. I know they also hold free recitals for students too. I was sorry I had to move. read more

Hannah is lovely. She is patient and motivates my girls. So happy to find this program. Looking forward to their musical growth. Staff is patient and efficient. read more

I have no idea who wrote all of the poor reviews, but obviously it was the same person! Check out the poor spelling and grammar, consistent with each negative review. I, personally, have had a pretty good experience with California Music Studios. I have been teaching privately and in the classroom setting for going on ten years now. I, too, have multiple degrees in music and carry a large load of students (50-75 at any given time). It is true that CMS takes part of your fees, as a teacher, for administrative purposes. However, they reward GOOD teachers. You are rewarded for retention, referrals and higher education. Are they expected to do this for free? There is a reason they have been in business so long. CMS keep teachers booked, and that is worth the chuck of the tuition they take. Some teachers may think they are worth more, but my response is, are you staying booked?! I do! As far as students coming out with terrible posture (buy the way, that's how you spell that word). I have never had that experience. I have inherited a few students from different teachers and have ALWAYS had a satisfactory evaluation of their skills. Rarely do teachers enjoy inheriting a student's bad habits, but that is part of the business...no matter where you get them from. Not to mention, that may have NOTHING to do with the previous teacher. The bottom line is this, CMS is professional. They deal with PROFESSIONALS. The more seriously you take your lessons, whether you be a teacher, student, or parent, the more you will get out of your experience. The staff is courteous and intelligent (that is a rarity). They are well organized and efficient. The vast majority of teachers are EXCELLENT! If you have question about the student's skills or abilities, I would recommend you read the newsletters filled with their accomplishments or attend a recital to see for yourself! I, for one, would be proud to let anyone observe one of my students in action. You'll be sold within the first five minutes, that's not fluff, that's FACT. read more

I am extremely happy with my experience with California Music Studios. My daughter has been coming to CMS weekly for the past 10 months. My daughter loves her teacher (Krystle Cruz) she is amazing, talented, patient and a wonderful teacher. I have seen my daughter gain confidence and her vocal ability has increased dramatically. I would recommend CMS to any one who needs or wants music lessons. I have had nothing but positive experiences with CMS. My daughter has performed twice with CMS. The customer service and billing is exceptional as well. I will have my daughter stay with CMS as long as I can. They are the best I have had the joy of dealing with. read more

The staff here was AWESOME! So here's the scoop. I have 4 kids (yeah I know, rough huh?) Each one of them want to play a different instrument in the hopes of creating a Brady Bunch like band or something.I called various places and ran into the same problem all over. Either they didn't have the teachers, they didn't teach children, they could only teach two of the four, they wanted my left leg, etc. So then I saw California Music Studios ad in a coupon magazine. I called, told them my situation, "I have no time, I have 4 kids, did I mention I have no time?" They were able to work with me and in two days find just two teachers to accommodate my kids AND I was able to have them come to my house. We ran into a slight budget problem as my husband works partially on commission and they were able to adjust a few months where the kids took turns every other week. Though it's sometimes hard to get them to practice, and occasionally they want to give up, the teachers are great and have worked through the plateaus with us. Maybe you'll see our family band on "America's Got Talent" if you don't first see me on "Moms driving up walls" read more

I really like these guys. It's easy to sign up for lessons, and even easier to change an appointment. They have great professional level instructors too. I recommend them to anyone seeking music/voice lessons. read more

My daughter recently started singing lessons with the California music studio about 2 months ago. We love it! She loves her teacher and I do too! The president of the company is very attentive and accommodating. She made sure we had what we needed and were happy with our service. We will be with them long-term. In addition, I can tell they are very picky about the teachers they choose. They are the best! read more

California Music Lessons - Private Tutors Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I have been taking lessons at CMS for over a year and have had the opportunity to take instruction from five different teachers. All have been highly professional and the very best in the business. In fact, all five of my teachers have extensive professional careers in the music industry - and notoriety. All five are highly regarded and respected in their individual crafts, most on an international level. It's been an honor to work with such talented individuals who have helped shape the music we all listen to. This access to a great pool of talent is where CMS excels. As a result, the music student can widen their learning experience extensively and tailor it as learning progresses. CMS office staff is always very friendly and accommodating. The president of the school called me herself after my first lesson to ensure I was happy and receiving the instruction I needed. She's been checking in with me regularly since and helping me shape the ideal learning path as well as offering mentoring as needed. CMS lesson pricing is fair (in home instruction is also an option - and works great!) and automatic billing is easy & seamless. It doesn't really get any better than this. This is my school of choice. read more

I've been studying with Jennifer Paterson for months now. It's my favorite time of the week! She's helping me rediscover my voice after some medical issues. She's incredibly talented and very good at sharing her wisdom. She creates a professional and relaxed vibe that is conducive to development. She has actionable suggestions and is always willing to give extra attention. She's flexible when my schedule necessitate it and I couldn't be more grateful for her encouragement. I've worked with several voice teachers over the years and she stands out as the best! read more

I haven't had a lesson in months and California Music Studios is still billing me. This has been a problem since the start of working with California Music Studios--even when I was out of town and my instructor told them we had no lessons, they still charged me. Now, as I said, I haven't had a lesson in months and I'm still getting charged. I do want to point out that my instructor was great. I honestly wish I could have worked directly with him because California Music Studios--aside from setting up the relationship--has caused nothing but problems. I understand they need to be compensated for putting together instructor and student, but they really mismanage the logistics and I'm sure are taking way too big of a cut for the "service" they provide. You're better off finding an instructor on craigslist and working with them directly. That way, the instructor makes more money and you pay less by cutting out a useless middleman. read more

As a child, I always wanted piano lessons but didn't get them, so when my ten year old son indicated an interest in playing, I was happy to get him started right away. California Music Studios set us up with an instructor who comes to our apartment once a week for lessons, and a year later, we are thrilled with the results. My son has performed in one of their free recitals and is getting ready to play in another one, and his progress was so warmly encouraged and nurtured by the teacher, I started to take lessons, too. We are having a blast, and my son even had a leg up on music when he started band in middle school. (If you ask them about the family discount, they will help you out. Every time I've spoken to someone there, they have been very friendly and helpful.) I was told, too, that if my son wants help with his trumpet playing (his band instrument), they can help him there, too. They do lessons for all instruments. Five stars! read more

Our daughters have been receiving singing, piano and flute lessons from CMS for many years now and we couldn't be happier. The teachers are high quality and really love teaching music. The exposure to playing at live events is invaluable to the learning experience and CMS works hard to help make your child's performance experience a positive one. If you are looking to expand your children's horizons I highly recommend CMS. read more

So happy with my sons violin teacher they always do warm up and she gives him homework to work on before the next lesson which my son really enjoys read more

My children had a fantastic experience and made so much improvements. The staff was super professional, it was worth our money. Thank you California Music Studios. read more

Our sons's piano teacher had to leave abruptly, and I was panicking trying to find another teacher that would be as good and that would be willing to travel to our home. We feel so fortunate to have found one of the teachers from CMS- his name is Ryan. He comes to the house once a week. He also helps our son with guitar. Our son is 15 and has Aspergers (high functioning autism) and has perfect pitch. Ryan is extremely patient and really great with him. Our son can be a real challenge, as far as behavior, but Ryan handles it in stride. We feel very grateful that we found him. Our son is very happy to work with him as well. Highly recommend this school because they will find your child their perfect match. read more

The music studio contacted me and apologized. They also reimbursed me. I think they made a honest attempt to help the situation and I appreciate that. read more

I was excited to get started and was even provided with profiles of two teachers so I could learn more about them. This was via an email exchange on Thumbtack. When I called to move forward with setting it up, they renigged on the quote that they gave me, by 10%. We own a business and know better than to do stuff like that. So I am going elsewhere. read more

I don't know why there is such a hostile review of this place because I have had nothing but positive experiences. First off I LOVE my teacher. She is so patient and really knows her stuff. Plus she laughs at my jokes so who wouldn't love that! As for the company, when I called they were very kind and encouraging since I was a little nervous about taking music lessons for the first time as an adult. (It's not too scary guys. Hard work? Yes. Scary? Nah!) I didn't find their follow ups to be an annoyance at all and in fact, they were great about calling me when I asked them to. I happen to be very clear in my communication when I call companies, so maybe it helped that I told them when I am available to be reached and when I prefer to be called. I also wasn't bombarded like the other yelper here so I don't know if their business practices have changed or if that was a unique case or what have you, but I've been very pleased with them thus far. I have now been taking lessons for 4 months and the only follow ups I have received since were one after my first lessons seeing how it went and if the teacher was a good fit and one again around the 3 month mark seeing how I was doing. Call me crazy, but I like the fact that they don't just sign you up and leave you hanging. Maybe I'm just old fashioned like that. read more

We are so happy with CMS and our children's piano teacher. We could not be happier. On top of great experiences in the music process, it is so easy to change appointments and auto pay. The recitals are optional but we love them that the kids get this great experience!! Thanks CMS! read more

My 12-year old daughter and I are very happy with CMS. My daughter has been taking lessons for about 6 months now and she loves it! Her teacher, Daniel Griesgraber is outstanding! My daughter's enthusiasm and motivation for playing the piano is strong! It is incredible how much she has learned to play! Daniel is very enthusiastic, patient and positive with my daughter! We could feel his strong love and passion for music! We definitely recommend him! read more

My son took voice lessons from Daniel Griesgraber in San Diego for 1-2 years and his voice improved exponentially. Daniel is a great teacher. read more

We absolutely love California Music Studio's! If you are looking for a good professional company to help your kids with singing lessons or guitar lessons or piano lessons, this is the company for you! Both my son and daughter have been involved with CMS for about five years. They get all kinds of opportunities to perform at different recitals, they taking us to the fair, they also allowed us to perform at Knottsberry farm! These have all been wonderful experiences for my children and they've gotten better and better at guitar and singing! CMS is highly recommended!! read more

Our family could not be happier with Shayla -- she is a wonderful piano teacher! My son is excited to play piano each week. I feel like we are giving him a gift that will last a lifetime. Thanks, California Music Studios!!! read more

Wonderful teachers and programs. My kids love it. Better than the program through their school. Truly foster their music growth.

I contacted California Music Schools trying to get lessons for my daughter. What a mistake. As soon as I got off with them my phone started ringing off the hook with calls pressuring me to sign up, both from the teacher and the service that referred her. The teacher seemed like she might be good but the service really turned me off. She told me she was required to call multiple times within three days of contacting me to get me to sign up. They also charge in advance, and if you have to cancel a lesson there are no refunds. I found another teacher my daughter loves for half the price and no pressure to sign up. read more