Josh was the best! He was so patient and sweet with our children. Both of which have ADHD and can…read morelose interest quickly. Josh kept them laughing, engaged and on task throughout their back to back sessions. I love the virtual training option via video conference, and honestly they would not have excelled so quickly and proficiently if we had to drive out to his music studio with our very busy schedules. Josh is very talented and was even featured on "American Idol" Give Laughing School of Music a try- you won't be disappointed- I guarantee it!

I have attended many social Fusion dancing events that Josh was hired to perform at in and around…read morethe San Francisco Bay Area as well as in Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Denver, and Vancouver. At these events, Josh performed his own original electronic music for huge crowds of dancers. He is a very talented musician, and has great stage presence. I love his original songs!! I have also listened to him play great covers on the piano as he leads a group thru some late night karaoke sing-alongs :) Recently I contracted him to help me record and produce a song of my own, and he really guided me every step of the way. Josh is also a music teacher offering piano, drum, guitar and ukelele lessons out of his home studio. I couldn't recommend him more as both a performer and a teacher!!

I always tell people: this is Not-Your-Mother's piano studio. Thankfully! I took piano for years…read moreand it was a slog. Not only that, but as soon as I quit my lessons, I stopped playing altogether. For my girls, the piano at WOW has been an entirely different experience. Both (ages 15 and 13) have been taking lessons there for 7 years. This probably sounds nuts, but truth is, practicing is actually fun for them, and they play the piano as a break from homework, to relax, and to entertain friends and family. From the get-go, on the first day, Tommy and his team teach how to actually play songs (rather than bore them with scales and theory), which helps demystify the instrument and music. Once the piano becomes super familiar to the kids, and they know a long list of songs, the teachers then work in theory -- and the kids pick it up quickly because they are already so piano literate. Which makes sense -- the way I learned back in the day was like learning to read books without quite knowing how to talk yet. It's wonderful to watch my girls and their partners write music and improvise. They are not afraid to take a tune they've learned and mix it up or change the key. Very empowering. They've learned tons of chords and can pick up a piece of popular music and quickly figure out how to play it, which is so fun when we are gathering with family and friends. The program is a cool mix of classical piano pieces (Bach, Beethoven); jazz (Vince Guiraldi); the blues; old favorites (Billy Joel, Elton John); and current pieces (Cold Play, Pink). Tommy is an energetic, fun, patient guy who has a gift for working with kids and communicating in general. He makes the kids look forward to class, and I am grateful my girls have had him in their lives for all these years. It's been a remarkable experience.

The owner Tommy Toy is the real deal. He is a talented musician, he can teach and he genuinely…read morecares.

I LOVE Rhoda. I started voice lessons with her over 7 months ago. My thoughtful cousin gifted me…read moretwo lessons for my birthday and I haven't stopped going. I think I've always secretly loved singing but didn't think I was any good. I enjoy karaoke and wanted to learn to be a better singer. Rhoda has helped me find parts of my voice that I didn't know where there (hello, high notes!). She has helped me breathe through songs (I can make it through Hamilton rapping without running out of breath!). She has given me more confidence in my voice and expanded my repertoire to songs I didn't have the technique to sing before. She is funny, talented and has been so encouraging to help me fine tune a tool I really didn't understand. Even as complicated as our voices are, she somehow makes sense of all of it. I look forward to our sessions and can't wait to keep up this progress. Thank you for everything, Rhoda!

She's great - she's taught both of my daughters piano lessons for several years now and we couldn't…read morebe more pleased with the relationship she develops with each pupil and how positive she always is - ensuring they will only grow to love the instrument more.

I know negative about guitars. I have a nephew graduating from high school this spring and I…read morewanted to get him something meaningful and useful. He plays bass in one of those School of Rock type places and is passionate about it. I called my sister to see if there was anything he could use and she sent me a blurry photo of some kind of board he uses and told me he needs a carrying case. I went to Bananas at Large because of their reputation for being kind and knowledgeable. Their reputation is well deserved. I was greeted right when I walked in, I decided to look around a bit before asking for help because while I don't know anything about guitars, some of the instruments they had on the wall were works of art and I enjoy looking at art. When I was ready, I found the first employee, showed him the photo and explained the situation. He knew exactly what it was and where to find what I was looking for. He then took the case over to where they had the exact thing in the photo to show me how well it fit and other features of the case. He explained the 14-day return policy if it turned out to be the wrong thing and let me decide what I wanted to do. I wound up purchasing the case. I loved that I was nicely greeted when I walked in but left alone to browse. I loved that I didn't have to hunt down someone to help me when I was ready. I loved the general vibe of the place. I loved that they had what I needed and clearly a ton of things I might need if I ever decide to get into playing. I loved that parking was easy. I loved that they were excited to help someone who had no idea what they were doing in a guitar shop, were in no hurry to get me out of the store and patient enough to answer all my questions. I even loved that they accept Venmo for payments. Great place to go if you don't know anything about guitars but love someone who does.

This place is everything a music store should be. Yes they have great selection, and yes their…read moreprices match anything you can find online (even Reverb, often) but it's their service and relationships they build with you that's special. True stories of what they've done for me even in just the last month: My guitar needed some repairs before a gig, and they fast tracked the service and ordered an uber to bring the guitar to my house! I wanted a tuner pedal that was out of stock basically everywhere in the country, and they took their last one from Santa Rosa and shipped it to San Rafael store for free for me to pick up the next day. Best of all, I was unhappy with my guitar tone and Dan spent nearly 2 hours sitting with me trying different pedals and setups, before settling on showing me some different settings on my own amp, some different plectrums and swapping a pedal I'd bought recently for only a $10 difference! It would have been so easy to have sold me another pedal or 2 that I didn't really need, but the fact he didn't builds complete trust and makes me a customer for life!

Saved By The Magic Flute!…read more My newish Nord Electro 6 took a major tumble and several of the lower keys were mangled, ugh..I thought I needed to plan a keyboard funeral. Needless to say, I was DEVASTATED when I discovered my baby at the beginning of a gig.. The Magic Flute repair rep didn't guarantee a successful fix, BUT TOTALLY DELIVERED IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK!! My keyboard funeral was canceled. THANKS MAGIC FLUTE!

The Magic Flute has been providing solid instruction for a myriad of instruments for decades…read more Currently, Chris Collins is an insanely talented musician who is a wonderful piano teacher. He is able to tailor his lessons so the material is relevant and age-appropriate and engaging. His ability to not only play music by ear but to create sheet music from that is brilliant. Highly recommend!

My fiancée has been working with Patrick for the last 2 months and her lessons have been the…read morehighlight of her week! She comes back from her sessions feeling inspired and excited. In a short period of time, I have heard a significant improvement in her vocal control and range. He is such a talented and passionate teacher, and I can't say enough wonderful things about him!

I took a series of singing lessons from Patrick Leveque over this past summer. I began these…read morelessons thinking I could not carry a tune and very shy about singing in front of anyone. He put me right at ease. Patrick was encouraging, supportive and informative about the singing process --- all way beyond any expectations---right out into the stratosphere! He's a great teacher and very nice person. Patrick presents the information in an easy to understand gentle way. I wondered about the question of whether to have a male or female teacher and am so glad I chose Patrick. I highly recommend him to anyone at any level of skill. If there were more stars I could give, him I would!

Our 14-year-old son has been taking guitar and drum lessons with Jason for two years, and we truly…read morecan't say enough good things. What started as a fun hobby has grown into a real passion--thanks to Jason and his teaching style, encouragement, and deep love of music. He's kept our son motivated and progressing, always tailoring lessons around the music he's most excited about--mostly rock--and making it both fun and challenging. One of the most meaningful parts of this journey has been watching our son not only grow as a guitarist and drummer but also find the confidence to sing.

I feel incredibly lucky to have found Jason as a guitar teacher for my son. Jason brings his…read moretalent, experience, patience, and positive energy to each and every lesson. He was able to connect to my son, initially a 4th grader with online lessons during the pandemic to now, with in person lessons and adapting to him as a teen. Jason manages to strike a balance between keeping lessons fun while also challenging my son to improve. He actually wants to practice! I have seen such an increase in his confidence and musical ability since working with Jason. Jason truly cares about helping students grow, both as musicians and as individuals. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a guitar teacher who reall makes learning music something to look forward to each week.

David Trevors was absolutely amazing! He spent plenty of time with us before our wedding making…read moresure he understood exactly what we wanted. He asked thoughtful questions about the music we loved, songs we did and didn't want played, and details we probably wouldn't have thought of ourselves. On our wedding day, David was professional and did everything we asked and more. He played beautiful acoustic music during cocktail hour and kept people on the dance floor throughout the reception. He read the room perfectly and made it fun for everyone. We can't say enough good things about David and would recommend him without hesitation

David played live acoustic guitar for our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour and DJ'ed/MC'ed at the…read morereception. He was phenomenal! The live music was absolutely beautiful, and he even learned a custom song for our recessional. We had so many people come up to us at the reception (and for a few days afterward!) to tell us that the DJ was one of the best they'd ever heard, if not THE best. If you're still wondering whether or not you should book David for your event, take this as your sign! You will not regret it.

Great Studio to work in, good vibes! Good times! The place has a feel that allows you to be…read morecreative as you want

Whether you're a professional or just want to fuck around with your friends, Studio D is an awesome…read moreplace to master your music. This place has seen people like Aretha Franklin and bands like Soundgarden to regular ole peeps like me and my friends doing silly stuff on a Saturday afternoon. Jason was really great to work with. Since we were getting charged by the hour, I was kind of worried that we would go over our allotted time, but Jason did not lag at all! He edited the song as he played it back to us and just made the song so much better without it being too fake or auto tuned. Moreover, I felt like he was a really great listener - didn't shoot down our ideas, but made genuine suggestions. Booking studio time by the hour with him would even be a great idea as a birthday gift. Or if you wanna brunch and sing here instead of karaoke, it isn't a bad idea either! There are couches for your friends and groupies, and we brought our own drinks haha. I am just looking for more reasons to come back!