If I could give Cornerstone Music 100 stars, I would! Our family's musical journey truly began here many, many years ago, and I will always be incredibly grateful to Jan, Pebbles, and, of course, our beloved Mrs. Annie for being such an important part of my son's life. My son is now 14, but we started at Cornerstone when he was just THREE years old! He was so little that I'm not sure he could even really "play" anything yet, but he was completely fascinated by music. We started with their children's music classes, and it was such a wonderful, nurturing introduction to the world of music.When he was old enough, we moved into piano lessons, and that's where Cornerstone really gave him the foundation that would stay with him for years. They taught him the fundamentals of music in such a kind, patient, encouraging, and incredibly thoughtful way. He went from book to book to book, always learning, growing, and gaining confidence.Then COVID hit, and even that didn't stop us. We continued our piano lessons over Zoom, and somehow Cornerstone managed to keep the experience engaging, personal, and meaningful. My son continued learning how to read music, understand rhythm, develop his musical ear, and build a strong overall musical foundation. Most importantly, he LOOKED FORWARD to his lessons every single week. He loved practicing. He loved learning. And he loved going to Cornerstone.As My son grew, his curiosity about music grew right along with him. In fourth grade, he decided to pick up the cello, and eventually he began focusing more seriously on that instrument. But even after that transition, we continued with piano at Cornerstone for quite some time because of how much we valued the education and the people there.And it wasn't just piano! Over the years, My son explored so many different aspects of music at Cornerstone, including their voice classes. When he was younger, he loved doing vocal work there, and even when he was cast in a production of Matilda, he continued working on his voice and learning the music with the wonderful teachers at Cornerstone.That is what makes this place so special. They don't just teach an instrument. They nurture a CHILD and allow that child to discover what they love. They encourage curiosity, exploration, confidence, discipline, and a genuine love of music.The staff is caring, patient, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in their students. Over the years, they stopped feeling like teachers and started feeling like family.And now, all these years later, it's pretty incredible to look back and realize where this journey began. That little three year old who walked into Cornerstone fascinated by music is now 14 years old and has already had the extraordinary opportunity to perform at CARNEGIE HALL. I truly believe that every musical journey needs a strong foundation, and Cornerstone Music was ours.If you are looking for high quality music education, wonderful teachers, a structured and well rounded program, and a place where your child will be genuinely cared for and encouraged, look no further. Cornerstone is truly something special. Jan, Pebbles, Mrs. Annie, and everyone at Cornerstone THANK YOU for being such a beautiful part of My sons story and for helping plant the musical seeds that have grown into something we could have only dreamed of when he was three.Our musical journey started here. And at 14, it has already taken us to Carnegie Hall. I think that says everything. read more

My son has been taking the Harmony Road piano course from Miss Annie for 3 years, and my daughter just started. We love Miss Annie and we love this school! Miss Annie has an incredible passion for teaching music. When the pandemic shutdown began, Miss Annie switched to Zoom without missing a beat, and kept up instruction better than my kids' schools. I love the emphasis on ear training and the subtle weaving in of music theory. My 8-year-old can transpose songs into multiple different keys, has learned chords in different keys, and is absorbing all this without even realizing it. I took piano lessons as a kid, and wish I had gotten this kind of instruction. read more

Cornerstone has something for everyone. If you're an adult wanting Alto Sax lessons or a parent with a little one wanting violin lessons for your kid Cornerstone has a teacher and time for you. My children have been attending Cornerstone for over five years and have been paired with excellent teachers, working on lessons tailored just enough to push them without burning them out. About once every few months Cornerstone holds small recitals for their students, exposing them to performing in front of an audience. A nice touch which I greatly appreciate. read more

Cornerstone Music Conservatory - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Santa Monica, California

This place is phenomenal! My son had been coming here since he was about 3 years old, he's now 10 and is just learning away. I've always been the type of parent that likes to keep kids busy mentally and physically, you really can't learn enough!! read more

Cornerstone is fantastic! The school quickly switched to online Zoom classes so there was no break in my daughter's violin education despite the Pandemic. Our teacher Praxton masterfully teaches music theory, performance, and posture, all while keeping our 5 year old involved with creative games and props. Amazing. A++ read more

My son has been playing piano at cornerstone for the last 11 years and it has been an amazing place for his artistic growth. I highly recommended it. read more

Could not ask for a better musical home for your child. Students are inspired to do their personal best to perform at the highest level in a warm, friendly community of music-loving families. Founder, Ms. Annie has the teaching and leaderhsip genius to create a Conservatory with the highest musical standards and biggest heart anywhere on Earth. read more

I've seen some bad review for this place around the web. I don't get it. Jan is nothing but nice and sweet and accommodating. My guess is the reviews are from a disgruntled employee or something. The instructors are all top notch and the kids all have blast. read more

We like Cornerstone Music. It's been around for a long time. It isn't the fanciest music conservatory, but my daughter's piano teacher is decent, normal, grounded. When my daughter's former piano teacher left the studio where my daughter was taking lessons before, it took us a year to find a decent piano teacher - one who didn't want my daughter to just practice the scales or play Disney music, even showing my daughter a video of, "Let it go," when my daughter told her she had no interest in playing Disney songs, or told us their childhood trauma of how they hated playing and practicing piano. We tried several different teachers who came to our house or at different studios during the course of a year. It wasn't until a friend suggested Cornerstone that we finally found a normal piano teacher who had no hidden agenda or childhood trauma they needed to share. I never knew it could so difficult. I can't speak for all of the music teachers at Cornerstone, but we are very happy with my daughter's piano teacher. There is lot parking as well as neighborhood street parking. read more

My daughter has been a student here for two years. The classes are wonderful. The teacher, Miss Annie, is so sweet and knowledgeable. She's patient and seems to really enjoy teaching. My daughter has developed perfect pitch under her care and has learned a great deal. Wonderful school. read more

My daughter, age 4, tried the piano class for kids. Most of the other students were under 4. We tried one free class session. I liked it a lot. Naomi says she wants to try it again. The teacher, Miss Annie, played the piano and sang throughout the session. Most of her instructions are delivered in song. She plays chords in staccato as she tells us to jump, and she plays a fast ditty as she tells us to march in a circle, etc. She has us repeat a short song that she sings, and then she replaces the words with their do-re-mi notes. We use tambourines to make different accompanying sounds as she directs from behind the piano. This all sounds cute, but believe me, Miss Annie is no-nonsense. Pay attention in this class. Students open up little electric pianos which are disguised as desks during the session. Miss Annie gets students to play the highest note, the lowest note, to play random keys and then just black keys, to use pointer fingers and to use all fingers like spiders or like dinosaur claws. Session ends with the use of egg-shakers as rhythm tools. Others have recommended that we try private lessons from UCLA music graduate students, but I opted to try this class because my daughter does not take direct instruction consistently well yet: she prefers to do what other kids are doing. Also, the classroom situation is much more affordable for me. Downside: the bathroom is shared by other businesses in the building, and it is just your standard industrial bathroom, not kid-friendly and no diaper-changing station. Well, I can only talk about the men's room. And of course there is not much that the Conservatory can do about the bathroom facility, since they do not own the building. read more

Jan at the front desk is very sweet and always called before class to make sure my daughter was still coming. My daughter would have continued music classes here but the Monday class was canceled due to the teacher having a family emergency and not enough students to keep the class going. We may try to enroll our daughter in the Saturday morning class. read more

Miss Annie is a genius who has a profound knowledge of music and its structure. She loves classical music but knows other genres in depth as well. She starts off with small toddlers and helps them progress towards piano, violin, voice and other instruments. The array of professional musicians who had their start with her is impressive, but I'm there because she loves my kids. And can play Beethoven and Jelly Roll songs at the drop of a hat! read more

Really as good as it gets! We were first introduced to cornerstone by way of a gift certificate we bought at my son's school fundraiser. Boy were we lucky! My son loves many instruments and so we took the opportunity to try our several different ones, we tried guitar, drums, violin and piano. I am being sincere when I say each and every teacher he had --they were all different--were so patient with him--he is 6 years old-and they were able to convey the lesson in a way he understood and was able to follow. I highly recommend all the music teachers here. You will be very happy if your child takes lessons here. My son decided he likes drums best! read more

So this place is not worth the money. On two separate occasions even with an email confirmation they did not have my daughter on the schedule. If you want to go there and roll the dice be warned. There is no guarantee you will have a lesson. Very poor business practices. read more

I started taking my daughter to the toddler music class when she was around 18 months old. Needless to say, toddlers do not have long attention spans so I was not sure if she was getting a lot out of the class in the beginning. Then all of a sudden she started mimicking the do-re-mi hand movements she saw the teacher doing in class. Singing (as best a toddler can do of course) and other movements also followed. I started noticing other benefits such as an increased attention span. Since my daughter is not in preschool yet, the interaction she gets with other toddlers in a classroom environment is fantastic. My daughter is a little over two now and really looks forward to the music classes. The morning of the class, she starts making the hand movements from the do-re-mi song and gets excited when I ask her if she wants to see Teacher Dan. The teachers and staff here are really great. We have had Teacher Dan the most for classes and I have to say that he really knows how to introduce music to the young ones in a fun manner, really having a great sense of how much their minds can absorb doing one thing before moving onto another music activity. read more

i must say im very impressed with the training of their teachers. all of the teachers have at least a masters if not a phd in music and for the prices you pay, you are getting a steal! there are group classes for all ages as well as private lessons for any instrument as well as a music therapist for children with special needs. this place has a lot to offer at an affordable rate. read more