Well stocked, kind, and helpful. Why go anywhere else? Besides Ted Brown has been in Seattle for a…read morelong time, maybe 40 years +. I like to support the classic Seattle stores. Ok, so you could say like Nordstrom, Starbucks, and Amazon? No. Once a store has achieved world domination I give up on it. The rest of the world supports Amazon so why should I? But I do like to stick with the smaller stores like Ted Brown that have managed to hang on for decades.

I came in to Ted Brown Music for the first time to look at guitars and maybe play a few as I start…read morea journey to purchase a new acoustic. Not only did I leave with a little more information, a little more confirmation about the kind of guitars that suit me, but the particular employee working that night was so kind and helpful. First, the store itself. It's tucked away at the end of a plaza that includes a cute dessert place. The store is small and carries a modest variety of instruments, as well as sheet music and accesories. I'm not sure if this was just timing but the guitars seemed more suited toward beginners, and most fell under $500. I found a couple that I wanted to try out and this gentlemen engaged me in a really non-intrusive way, leading to a nice conversation and him offering to plug in the electric acoustic I was playing. Later, I heard him helping a kid make up his mind about some part to his instrument that he needed to replace. When I left he let me know he appreciated me and welcomed me back anytime, and I know many employees say that at places, but he just had that genuineness to him. I will definitely keep this shop in mind as a shop around and encourage anyone looking for sheet music, lessons, or exploring what instrument to get next or for your first one to put this place on the top of your list!

Have been here twice excellent guitar recommendations. Sat patiently with my in laws as the chose…read morenew instruments and the follow up on a repair on the FIL was incredible. I will purchase my next instruments from here for sure. Grateful the kind folks here treated us with care and support.

One of the best acoustic ships in the world! Nice and knowledgeable. The selection is stellar. I…read morebought my National Delphi, there, and I'll always stop by when I'm Seattle.

Chad and the team at School of Rock (SoR) have done such a great job building a community of music…read moreloving (and learning) families! Our son (9 y/o) has been taking drum lessons there the past 7 months and has gone from a true beginner to playing songs together in a band with his peers. This is a combination of 1:1 weekly practice with an instructor at SoR (each has been fantastic with emailed notes after every session on recap and focus areas) and a weekly 90-minute band practice which he loves. Most of all, his enthusiasm for learning and enjoying music is through the roof and he is proud to be part of the band. All of this included in the monthly Rock 101 package, a unique offering for sure!

From the owner: School of Rock provides both in-person and online music lessons for students of all ages. Our…read moreprograms, camps and workshops for toddlers, kids, teens and adults make learning to play music fun and create great communities of musicians. School of Rock is the leader in performance-based music education. We combine one-on-one drum, bass, keyboard, vocal, and guitar lessons with group practices. Students learn to play music from day one and put on live performances at local venues. Our experienced instructors are local musicians themselves who combine the performance-based School of Rock Method and programs with individual music lessons to get results for your student.

Great communicators and wonderful teachers! Their free lesson allowed us to get a feel for the…read morespace and teachers before committing. They didn't pressure signing up afterwards, either or try to reel us in with gimmicks. My daughter said that the 30 min flew by and looks forward to future lessons!

Rescheduling is easy and the instructors are professional and great. The music selection is awesome…read moreas well.

Go here!!!! Very very helpful and friendly staff. They…read moregenuinely wanted to help me get the best deal and did not try to upsell me on anything, which was a relief. They weren't condescending to me as a beginner either, and gave me the information I needed. Great atmosphere, super chill and laidback. Incredible prices too. I got a fender amp for half the price of what it would be at other shops.

I came in looking for a small travel size guitar. Hannah welcomed me with a smile and took time to…read morefind me exactly the guitar that would fit my needs. She (and Darren) gave me expert advice, and I ended up with a guitar that was great. They even did a pro set up on the guitar (awesome service BTW!!) Highly recommended!!!

David is an amazing musician and gifted instructor. Online or in-person he is thoughtful, patient,…read moreand thorough.

I came to David about a year ago with what I imagine is a pretty familiar story: I taught myself…read morewhen I was younger, but it didn't click, and now I want to learn for real. I wasn't expecting much, as I took my failure to learn previously as evidence I just wasn't very talented. Now, with a year of lessons and practice under my belt, I've made more progress than I thought possible. I never thought I could get good enough to solo, and now I can play and improvise solos pretty well in multiple keys. I can write chord progressions and songs, and my understanding and enjoyment of music in general has skyrocketed. In addition to teaching you songs, chords, and scales, David makes sure you understand the underlying music theory at the heart of music. This was the "aha!" moment for me, understanding that intervals between sounds are the basis for all music. Now when I sit down to play, I have a good understanding of where I want my chords/melodies/solos to go next, as opposed to banging out chords and hoping they sound cool. If you've been wondering if you have what it takes to play, go see David, he'll get you there.

Don't bring your repairs here. I just had my second experience having my repair forgotten about in…read morethe queue. I was quoted 2-3 weeks, when I followed up 2 months later they discovered that the unit had been sitting ready for pickup for a long time and no one reached out to me to tell me it was ready. If I had to guess, it seems like the repair folks are swamped with work and that they're constantly asked to prioritize items that are going to the sales floor over local customer repairs. Sad, this used to be my favorite shop in Seattle. Now it feels like they target the tech-salary or boomer collector over working musicians, and all the charm and relatability is gone. Won't be back.

I brought in a guitar with some very relic'd tuners. They were rusted, bushings to the post, on…read moremultiple tuners. The repair shop took the greatest care, cutting the posts, drilling them out and protecting a beautiful flame maple neck. They then buffed the headstock. My stellar Tele works as well as it looks! I am so grateful! I could not recommend this shop enough! Thank you Thomas!

I happened to be in Seattle in 2019 and also happened to know a friend the owner Joe grew up with,…read moreso I was invited to come and check out the archtops. I found one that was not cheap but still met my limited funds, a pre-war Gibson L-50. I still have it and it sits out ready to be picked up and played each day. We agreed on the selling price and I went away a happy man. But doing the buying via video calls is the usual norm, from what I gather. I would buy again from him when I am ready, more likely via video call and delivery since I'm now living out of WA state.

This guy is basically an Asshole!! If you read my review then you should understand my frustration…read morewith this clown!! While I admit that I dropped the ball by not being more meticulous with the video calls. And unfortunately taking his word that the guitar was in mint condition and was listed that way... nothing could have been further from the truth. The guitar was sold for $5,000.00. He did reimburse me $200.00 for fretwork and a setup. He can say whatever he wants but I won't ever consider doing business with this person ever again!!

This is my favorite violin shop. They are very friendly and accommodating and always make me feel…read moreat home. They have worked on my violins and I have always been satisfied. It's also wonderful that they have a female luthier, Jessica.. and the shop represents 4 generations of the family now, I think that's pretty incredible

We used this shop for a school violin rental and had a frustrating experience overall…read more Over the course of the rental, we ended up paying around $1,500 for an instrument with an approximate value of $800. I understand rentals can cost more over time, but there didn't seem to be a clear or meaningful path toward ownership, which made the value feel questionable in hindsight. The bigger issue came at return, when we were charged an additional $150 for a bridge replacement that had to be done for my son to play it after it broke during orchestra class upon normal use (confirmed by orchestra teacher). For a student instrument used by a child, this felt more like normal wear and tear than something that should result in a significant extra charge. Not to mention they didn't offer to give us the replacement bridge back but demanded we wait for the new one. Customer service also felt fairly rigid and not particularly accommodating, especially for families navigating school music programs. Overall, the experience felt expensive and lacking transparency. We went out of our way for this ship and sure wish we hadn't! I'm sure they are great for those that live in this world, but I would highly recommend other families look closely at rental terms and consider alternatives that are more straightforward and family-friendly.