I have taken guitar lessons with Andrew for about two years. I would be considered an advanced…read moreplayer, and my goal with him was to make my formal jump into jazz, and I chose Andrew's tutelage over other teachers. Andrew is a wickedly talented, extremely knowledgeable, and hard-working studio musician and live player. He really is a true working musician, and honestly the kind of player I always aspire to become. As a teacher, he's been really patient with me, but knows when he should be pushing my musicianship's bounds and limitations. The level of enthusiasm he has for teaching inspires a lot of confidence in the people he works with. I've always recommended my other friends who are both beginning and advanced players to at least try out taking lessons specifically with Andrew, with one friend taking up the mantle and several others trying to figure out a way to make it happen. Andrew has been more than just a guitar teacher and instructor. We would have conversations regarding music, the changing local scene, and the art scene associated with it. Beyond the fret board, theory, chord charts, and sheet music, he would always recommend various artists, music, soundscapes, and people to help enrich my overall learning experience. I highly suggest anyone taking their music and craft seriously to hit him up. Also, support your local musician! Andrew does write his own music and perform regularly around the Bay Area.

I've learned more about music in 3 months of lessons with Andrew than I did in the 10 years I'd…read moreplayed guitar previously. He's patient, enthusiastic and remarkably talented. I really can't recommend him highly enough.

Matthew is, hands down, the best music instructor I've ever had, on any topic…read more My musical background - both in theory and technique - is pretty scattered. After college, I decided I wanted to learn the cello, so I searched Craigslist to find a teacher. I recognized Matthew's name from Ifshin's and he had a good review from the Berkeley Parents Network, so I decided to schlep up to El Cerrito (from South Berkeley, without a car, with a large instrument) to attend a lesson. Matthew was able to quickly, accurately, fluidly gauge what topics I understood and which I needed help on, and immediately cobbled together a lesson in which I felt not a single minute was wasted. I came away from that lesson feeling like I'd learned more from him in an hour that I'd learned from other teachers in six months. I was hooked. Since I already had a basic background in music theory, Matthew jumped pretty quickly into teaching me straight from repertoire. Matthew himself is quite an excellent musician - very artistic and expressive - and gives similarly excellent instruction on musicianship. He has the unusual ability of being extremely precise about what he wants you, the student, to do to achieve a given effect. (And is very good at being precise from several different approaches until you have that 'a-ha!' moment.) He's been very patient with me on the days that my head just hasn't been in the game and very persistent in making sure I get something out of those lessons, anyhow. Because of his high degree of achievement in cello and his patience, innovation, and keen intellect, Matthew would probably be a wonderful teacher from everyone from complete novices to seasoned professionals. (He does, in fact, teach both these levels, but I can only speak from my own experience. :P ) I have moved towns twice since I started taking lessons with him and, six years later, he is still absolutely worth the transbay drive.

I am very lucky to have found Matthew as a cello teacher. I started to learn to play the cello as a…read morebeginner since almost a year and can strongly recommend him as a teacher. It has been an amazing experience for me to play the cello ever since I started my lessons with Matthew. He is amazing, extremely patient and explains musical concepts and the cello as an instrument to an adult with great precision. In addition, he has a great ability to communicate and can provide explanations to you that suits perfectly well to the way you can understand, which is essential for learning. He always has an analogy to an everyday movement when you learn a new technique that is a great help. Matthew is a remarkable person and has a great personality. He can combine his understanding of humans with his teaching extremely well. Although sometimes your own performance might not be the best (e.g. because you could not practice enough for the lesson) at each lesson you learn a lot and have a smile on your face after you leave the lesson. What I like the most about Matthew's teaching is that he has an exceptional sense of creativity and tries to unmask this ability in his students.

Conor at Acorn Music is a wonderful teacher! It's no exaggeration to say that he reignited my…read morepassion for music. I took music lessons on and off as a kid, but never stuck with it long enough to get good at any one instrument. I had no patience for music theory and practice always made me frustrated. I'm glad that I gave it another shot with Conor. What I like most about his approach is how fun and effortless it feels to learn under his guidance--his enthusiasm for playing and teaching are infectious. I'm excited for my lesson each week. I found Conor through a friend who knew I was looking to get back into guitar, and I've been taking weekly lessons with him for a year now. My original goal was to learn a few campfire songs, so he tailored his approach to this, but rather than simply showing me some chords, he makes sure that I understand the "why" behind what I'm doing. I actually started to get more interested in music theory as a result--Conor explains it all in context, making it easy to understand and apply. And he has a knack for identifying what's giving me trouble in a particular song or section, not just telling me what to do but showing me how to do it (it also helps that he's super patient). I've got a few songs under my belt now, but I'm definitely sticking with my lessons for the foreseeable future, and getting psyched about setting more ambitious goals for myself.

I've been taking guitar lessons with Conor at Acorn Music for 2 years. I can proudly say that I'd…read morenow actually consider myself a guitarist! I started out trying to teach myself, but like many people that go that road, I keep hitting roadblocks. When I began lessons, I could barely even play a few simple chords. Now I can write my own songs, jam with friends, improvise over many different chord progressions, read lead sheets and chord charts, and read music... it's pretty incredible what I've been able to accomplish in 2 years with Conor. He is a super talented musician and a great teacher - his approach clear, enjoyable and very effective. He's got a real knack for how to isolate my individual needs as a student and zero in on exactly what i need to practice to meet my goals. Most importantly, he provides me with skills that I can use to begin to "teach myself". Thanks to his guidance, I now get more out of a 30 minute practice than I used to get out of 2 hours. Not only have the lessons been super awesome, but the entire experience has been very "together". They provide in-home lessons and have really put a lot of work into the over all experience . All aspects of Acorn Music are well very professional - from the email communications to the website, scheduling, policies, billing, and invoicing. I can't recommend this business enough!

So far so good! My son is in our trial month for piano lessons. His teacher is Akiko, and she's…read morebeen great so far! She's been fun and engaging, and very patient. The stickers help. :) To start, I had a phone consultation with Jamie, who was very sweet and we had a good conversation about our goals. She recommended Akiko and I think she was spot on. We're excited to continue!

First! If your kids want to learn some MUSIC???? COME here! It might be a little pricey, but the…read moreinstructors are nice and helpful! Plus your kids will learn lots! My girl takes singing classes here and has learned lots of techniques for singing, which is exactly why I recommend it for kids and adults!!

I'm so happy that I found East Bay Guitar Repair. After having some subpar experiences with other…read moretechs in the bay, I can truly say that Mike is top tier. I have brought him 4 of my guitars now and the work has ranged from just a standard setup to installing new pickups with custom wiring and switches. He's knocked it out of the park every time. I am admittedly a pretty picky person when it comes to my guitars and Mike has been MORE THAN accommodating any time I had a follow up question or asked for a tweak or a second look. His setups have made my guitars play better than they ever have. His prices reflect the value that you get out of his services; and even though there most certainly will be a wait; it's well worth it. I hope to keep taking my guitars to Mike for as long as I am a bay area resident.

Mike did an excellent job improving a problematic old Fender Jazzmaster/partsmaster with some…read morefairly involving work. First, I had him install a Mastery bridge to replace a non-stock Vox-style bridge that was very noisy and plonky sounding. To do that, he first had to drill out and re-fill the existing, sloppily done dowel-and-drill work that was done decades ago--by another shop--to accommodate the funky Vox bridge, and then drill new bridge thimble holes for the Mastery. He also dealt with a problem with the old Fender-licensed Allparts neck: there was a sizable gap between the sides of the neck heel and the walls of the neck pocket routing, and he filled and re-drilled the neck's bolt holes so that the neck could be nudged forward to at least close the gap between the end of the neck heel and the body, which also helped to more accurately dial in the Jazzmaster's intended scale length. In addition, he replaced a noisy output jack and set the guitar up with 11-48-gauge strings, and it now plays *quite* nicely. No more rattling from the bridge, and the guitar has a more stable and playable feel to it. I'm happy with the quality of the work Mike did, and I would go to him again. I also like that you get to communicate with Mike in person, face to face. I've dealt with other repair shops where you don't get to talk with the person doing the work, which has sometimes resulted in a communication breakdown that had an impact on the work done. But with Mike, you schedule an appoint and you get to discuss with him--one on one--whatever work you'd like him to do, which is exactly how it should be.

Mike is an incredible instructor. I am an adult learner, and having never played an instrument…read morebefore in my life, I was intimidated to say the least. I've now been with Mike for 4 years. His guidance, patience, and passion demonstrate that it is never ever too late to learn. I've had the chance to meet fellow students - of all ages and walks of life - and Mike does an excellent job of meeting the student at their level and connecting 1x1. Whether you intend to learn for school, fun, or professionally Mike can certainly help guide you and progress at a pace that's comfortable for you.

Excellent service and fair pricing. What's not to love about sales folks who give you an honest…read moreopinion.

I'm so pleased with the service I've received from this wonderful local shop. Adam ( the owner )…read moreset up my new Stratocaster and fixed my Martin so perfectly. I feel like I can play so much better now. It's nice to practice without the stress of knowing the guitar is just not right. Extremely happy!! The entire staff is friendly and very helpful. Definitely getting my next guitar from Mountain Music!! I know they will help me get the perfect guitar.

DO NOT pay a deposit to place an order to Mike. If you see a…read morecompleted instrument for sale in his workshop, buy it if it is good. But no deposit. This is what happened to me.... I used to trust him, and put down $1800 in October 2016 for a custom Tenor uke. It's January 30, 2018 today, 1 year and 3 months later. No uke, no news, nothing. I called, emailed, messaged...... I wish there was a ukulele forum that I could warn others about Mike's scam. I have a feeling I am not the only one out there.... Now I see through his antics like giving free lesson, educational chats, etc. It's all to make you part with the deposit. Even if his instruments are suppose to be good, it feels really bad owning an instrument from such an unscrupulous person. And how can students go to learn from such a dishonest person, who is only interested in your money? If you give him a deposit, you are just giving away charity money.

Mike is a fantastic teacher! Took the beginner class tonight and I learned a ton of techniques that…read moreI wouldn't have learned from youtube videos. He focuses a lot on building a good foundation and good habits so you can have a better practice as you learn and start playing songs. The class flow was fun and I barely felt the 2 hours pass. I would definitely recommend attending a few classes. There's so much to learn and absorb from the simplest techniques.